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A 2004 R&B song called “Spirit” transports me to another time and place. I was being admitted to the hospital for a scheduled spinal surgery. I thought I had the strength to continue, but the more pain I felt after the surgery, the less faith I had that God would help me. This song kept me going after the surgery. One of the most important parts of the song to me is when the singer sings, “I can feel the elevation of an angel lifting me.” That’s exactly how I felt in my hospital room. As I was going through the painful process of my body’s being cut open, the angel stood by my side. The angel also stood by my side as I lay for weeks in the ICU in pain and kept me at ease when I was panicking for my life. This moment is when I realized I wasn’t alone and I should worry less, knowing that I would make it through this surgery. I spent lonely nights with my thoughts filled with despair. But “Spirit” brought me back to me and made me strong again. Listening to this song gave me hope that I thought was lost in the deep wound in my bloody spine. Now, this song is a reminder that hope is also within healed scars. This song taught me to never give up.

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Eddy Lemieux originally comes from Haiti. He now lives in Brooklyn and studies at the Brooklyn Public Library’s New Lots Adult Learning Center. His tutors are Florence Nau and Michel DeMatteis, and Nicolas Simon is the literacy adviser.