When Judy Marquette's son was killed by a drunk driver, she found comfort in a place she didn't expect - contemporary Christian music.
Marquette spoke to the Driving Under the Influence Advisory Council Tuesday afternoon and shared her experience with Christian music and how it is helping to heal her.
Marquette of Hughesville said her son Stephen Charles Harkins was killed by a drunk driver in 2003.
Her grief was overwhelming, so she bought any self-help book she could find that had to do with losing a child. However, she was unable to bring herself to read any of them.
Her son's friends brought her a CD with the song "Friends are Friends Forever," sung by Michael W. Smith.
"I played the CD over and over again," Marquette said. "I cried with the song and I got angry with it."
This experience led her to listen to more and more contemporary Christian music and from there the idea of a book began.
Now three years later, Marquette finished a book called "He Still Knows Your Name" and will begin selling it very soon.
The book is spiral-bound and contains lyrics to Christian songs on the right side of the page and Marquette's experiences with the song on the left.
The left side also tells a little about the history of the songs, about when or why they were written.
"Music is such a universal language and it allows us to express emotions," Marquette said.
Marquette had trouble finding a publisher that would print her book, which has a very unique setup - it contains tabs on the left side to help people easily find items.
She eventually decided to set up her own organization to print and release the book.
Her Web site, which will launch soon, www.hope4harmony.com, will have the books for sale, hopefully by Christmas.
Marquette describes the book style as "bereavement-friendly" and does not contain a lot of running text.
The book contains lyrics to 70 songs by more than 25 artists.
From the Web site, people may purchase play lists, located throughout the book, through iTunes.
Marquette said her goal is to get the book into the hands of people who have lost a child, so they can discover how music can help them through their grief.
