Local Songwriter Releases Second CD,
as Lynda Dobbin-Turner presents “Just One Life”
In January of 2006, Lynda Dobbin-Turner released her first CD. It was a compilation of songs that she’d penned from her teens up until the time she went into the recording studio in August of 2005. It was the fulfillment of a life time dream!
“The album consisted of 16 songs…some written during the teenage angst years, some in mid-life…we even added a wedding and Christmas song I’d written to the album, believing that it was a once in a lifetime event!” says Lynda from her home in Lavenham, Manitoba.
Creating and introducing that album was a dream that she had held onto for thirty years. Seeing that dream come to fruition was a highlight of Lynda’s life, and something that will never be forgotten. However, that once in a lifetime event triggered the passion to write and create that had long remained dormant in Dobbin-Turner, so that in June of 2009, she was back in the studio recording her second CD. The result is her latest CD entitled “Just One Life”.
“I don’t remember a time in my life when music hasn’t been an integral part of who I am. It was part of who I was when I was 4 years old perched on the hearth of our fireplace in Victoria singing for house guests, and it’s a part of who I am now. There was a long period however, after the birth of my son, that music was placed on the very back burner of my life. All my creative energy had to be focused on ensuring he had a full, inclusive life with all the challenges that had been thrown at him. I couldn’t divide myself between those two passions, and my son took precedence.”
Her son, Shane Dickson, was diagnosed with spastic quadra-parapalegic Cerebral Palsy early in his life. That label and the attached diagnosis meant that Shane would most likely never walk, talk, eat normally or do many of the things that a typically developing child would do. Add to that years of surgeries, hospitalizations, and special equipment and therapies. But the diagnosis in no way affected his love for life, his ability to laugh and smile, nor his gift for connecting with the people around him. “When your child receives a diagnosis like Shane did, you go through a grieving process, mourning the death of the dreams you had for the child you carried. But Shane was an amazing young man. He never spoke a word verbally, but he was always able to get his point across and connect with whoever was there in the room with him. He was absolutely the child I was meant to have.”
A lot of time and energy was devoted to making Shane’s life as full and inclusive as it could possibly be. Being in a community that accepted him for who he was while attending a school (within the Pine Creek Division) whose philosophy was that each student should have the opportunity to achieve their own personal potential in their local school certainly helped. The end result was an amazing experience for Shane! “There were certainly bumps along the way, anonymous letters that pierced the spirit but fired my resolve…but all in all, all the hard work and effort paid off and I think his life was a shining example of what Inclusion can look like”, says Dobbin-Turner. “Part of the excitement of doing that first album was recognizing that I’d been successful enough in one part of my life that I could once again explore the musical side of me.”
Sadly, in March of this year, Shane passed away. “It was very strange…the album was all but finished in January. The completed songs sat in a file on my computer, but I just couldn’t finish the project. I couldn’t pick an album cover, I couldn’t pick a title…I just felt stuck. When Shane passed away, it suddenly all made sense because I realized that the album wasn’t finished. That there were more songs waiting to be born that had to be a part of that project. Even the album cover came to me when a friend gray scaled a picture of Shane and me. I printed it off, and after staring at it for a day or so, realized that was the new CD cover. “
In June Lynda headed back into the studio with new songs that surfaced in working through the pain of that loss. “I’m very proud of the finished album. I know I’d have been mad as can be had I pushed ahead in January! There are times I worry that this album might contain too much sadness….in the 11 months prior to Shane’s death, I also lost my Dad and my Mother-In-law, but I’ve come to the realization that grief is the one great equalizer amongst us. I have tried to offset those parts of the album with other material that will hopefully bring a smile…because as hard as it can be, our lives do go on.”
At the time of his passing, Shane was saving for a school trip to California to explore further communication techniques. The money that was saved for that trip has been converted into a memorial fund in Shane’s memory. “The Shane Dickson Memorial Award for Inclusion has been established to present an annual award to the MacGregor Collegiate Graduate (or Graduates)that most exemplifies what the philosophy of inclusion is all about in how they treat their fellow students, regardless of other’s abilities or situations. We presented the first one in June of 2009, and hope to continue it from now on. I’ve seen the difference that commitment to inclusion made not only in Shane’s life, but in the lives of all the other students he connected with, and I want to ensure that that gift to the world continues and is recognized in any way I can. “
With that, this CD has not only been dedicated to Shane’s beautiful memory, but 25% of each CD sale goes toward that memorial fund. “For now, the fund is dedicated to MCI graduating students, but as it continues to grow (current sales have guaranteed that the award will be covered for the next five years), I’d like to see the award expand to other schools not only in the Pine Creek Division, but throughout Manitoba. I don’t think we can ever underestimate the benefits that an inclusive world has on both children with disabilities and those without.”
“Just One Life” is a tribute to the difference that just one life can make, but also recognized that we each have “just one life” to treasure. Of the 14 songs on the CD, 13 were penned by Dobbin-Turner. “I’m a Middle Aged Woman was actually written by Lisa Koch of Seattle Washington, and besides the local events and House Concerts that I perform at, Charity fundraisers are likely one of my most common performance venues….and “Middle Aged Woman” is the most highly requested song for them. So, much to my Mother’s dismay, I had to put it on this album!”
“Just One Life” is available at a number of local outlets, or you can contact her website at www.musicwriter.ca , and purchase the CD there.
