canada.gif

gb.gif

de.gif

us.gif
Neil Young's new release ""World Record" w/ Crazy Horse is now available for pre-order. Order here
(Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking this link or YOUR COUNTRY's FLAG. Thank you!!!)
ADVERTISEMENT
<-Older Posts Blog Home Newer Posts->

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Wheat of the Moment: Riding the Dark Horse -- What Neil Young Taught Me About Autism and Fear

Neil Young & Bridge Kids
@ Bridge School Benefit Concert 2011
Photo Gallery by By Jay Blakesberg Photography


The karma of blogging.  

From the TW Vaults, here is a post from 2012,  "Riding the Dark Horse: What Neil Young Taught Me About Autism and Fear" by Hannah Brown.

In her essay, Brown blogs about how Neil Young's song  "Tell Me Why" from the album After the Gold Rush, helped her through a difficult period with her son's autism.

One day I was driving home when I got a very distressing phone call from Danny's school. 

He had had a terrible tantrum and still wasn't calm. I wondered how I would cope with him when he got home. We had just moved and I was finishing the final edits on my novel, If I Could Tell You, about four mothers raising children just diagnosed with autism. I couldn't help feeling frustrated that I had immersed myself in writing a book about autism, yet my son was still having such a difficult time. It was as if all my knowledge and experience wasn't enough to help Danny. After the conversation, I put on a Neil Young CD, After the Gold Rush, which I had just found in a box I had unpacked that morning. I hadn't listened to it in years. I heard the first song, "Tell Me Why," which contains the lyrics "Still the searcher/Must ride the dark horse/Racing alone in his fright," and a light went on for me. 

I pulled over, crying. 

Because then I understood what it was like for that dark horse, how terrible and intense his fear was. 

We parents are the searchers and we can't give up, no matter how rough a ride it is. 

A must read for all of us on the healing powers of music, here is  Riding the Dark Horse: What Neil Young Taught Me About Autism and Fear by Hannah Brown, Author, "If I Could Tell You".


Labels: , , ,


4 Comments:

At 4/24/2022 01:09:00 PM, Blogger thrasher said...

Bumped comment from original thread @ http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2012/07/riding-dark-horse-what-neil-young.html#c3021534914079505270 @ 7/30/2012 09:56:00 AM, Blogger Mr Henry said...

Very enjoyable and moving piece of writing; thanks for highlighting.

In a recent Comment, No One said something that really struck home: "Life is hard. Neil Young has made it better....".

We all have ways of enjoying, enduring and enlightening our lives.

Some of these are positive moves, some not so much. For me and so many others, Neil has been one of the brightest lights in some of the darkest times.

Many of us deal with a family member who has challenges. I'm pretty sure everyone at least knows someone experiencing this, either directly or as part of an extended family or group of friends. And whenever it starts to seem overwhelming and too much too handle, it's so helpful to have someone who can remind you "It's time to get behind the wheel". Thanks to Hannah Brown for sharing her tragedies and triumphs, and I hope the Dark Horse finds a pasture for comfort. Good luck to you and your son!

"Discover real peace and harmony within yourself, and naturally this will overflow to benefit others."
--Satya Narayan Goenka

 
At 4/26/2022 12:14:00 AM, Blogger Steve L said...

There's a new concert of the moment loaded up - Leipzig '96.

I've also just noticed that parts of the Where the Buffalo Roam soundtrack has been uploaded. I'm sure that wasn't there the other day?
7/15 of the tracks are available.

 
At 4/27/2022 03:10:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

He gives us hope to carry on,no matter how heavy the burden may be.Comes a time we all live in peace?I'm afraid that'll never happen as long as there are people that are not satisfied and don't care for another human being or living soul.Cees Mostert,Europe.Only love can break your heart.Love and only love...

 
At 3/30/2023 07:17:00 AM, Blogger Hannah Brown said...

It was nice to see that you re-posted my piece. Things have become much better for my son and part of what helped him was how I learned to accept him for who he was, and this song helped so much with that. He is almost 27 now and works in a carpentry workshop.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

<-Older Posts Blog Home Newer Posts->

Willie for a Nobel!
#Willie4Nobel

Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize
for Farm Aid and his work on
alternative fuels, and world peace initiatives.

farm-aid-logo.gif
Farm Aid

Go Farmers Markets!


"In the >field< of opportunity
It's plowin' time again."

SUPPORTER
logo
Silverline Communications

(Home of the FarmAidians)
Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada
(519) 737-7979



This blog supports free speech!


Demand justice for Aaron:
Support "Aaron's Law" and inquiry into his prosecution

(... he didn't kill himself either...) #AaronDidntKillHimself

Induct Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame



Please Help Support Independent Media &
Non-Corporate Advertising
This Blog's For You!


The Hypocrisy of the Mainstream Media

It's Been Called The
"Missing Link" in the Ditch Trilogy

time-fades-away-banner2a

Sign the Release "Time Fades Away" Petition
Join The 10,000+ Who Have Already Signed


broken-arrow-mag-new-logo.gif

Neil Young Appreciation Society


sugar-mtn-logo.jpg
Sugar Mountain

Neil Young Setlists
rust-radio-new
Rust Radio


bumpersticker-neil-concert.jpg


i-l-ove-neil-young-sm.jpg
Bands Covering Neil Young songs


bumper-sticker-live-music-better-sm.jpg
LIVE MUSIC IS BETTER


ny-times-logo.jpg
Official Neil Young News Site

bridgeschool_logo
The Bridge School


The Bridge School Concerts
25th Anniversary Edition

**100% of Proceeds to Benefit Bridge School***

linda-eastman-neil-young-sugar-mtn-sm.jpg
The Essential Neil Young

neil-young-sleeveless.jpg
Fans Favorite Neil Albums

neil-young-heart-of-gold-film-still
Top 50 MP3
Neil Young Song Downloads


Top 10 Best Selling Neil Albums Today
amazon-neil-store.GIF
Support Thrasher's Wheat
via Purchases from:
United States - Amazon.com us.gif
Canada - Amazon.ca canada.gif
United Kingdom - Amazon.uk gb.gif
Germany - Amazon.de de.gif



Neil Young Songbook Project

In the fields of wheat

"Children of Destiny" will NOT be harvested
However, the chaff will be burned by unquenchable fire

Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Europe 2016 Tour Dates



2015 Rebel Content Tour


Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Alchemy Concert Tour Reviews

Fall 2012 N. America Tour
Spring 2013 Australia/New Zealand Tour
Summer 2013 Europe Tour

Europe Summer 2014 Concert Tour
Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Thrasher's Wheat Radio Supporters Go To Europe

jttp-film-poster-sm.jpg
Neil Young Films

musicares-neil-young-2010.jpg
2010 MusiCares Honors Neil Young

Features Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Ben Harper, Elton John, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Keith Urban, and others.
Proceeds from sales go to MusiCares,
which helps musicians in need of
financial and medical assistance.

live-rust-promo-poster.jpg


"There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye"

#BigShift

trans-promo



Neil Young FAQ:
Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker
"an indispensable reference"

paul-neil-bridge2004-sat-sfc-kkomenich-sm.jpg
Paul McCartney and Neil Young

woodstock-poster.jpg


"You can make a difference
If you really a try"

lennon_peace_liberty
John Lennon and Neil Young


"hailed by fans as a wonderful read"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:
csny-1974-poster.jpg
The Supergroup of the 20th Century



Director Jonathan Demme's Exquisite film "Heart of Gold"

eddie & neil
Eddie Vedder and Neil Young

buffalo-springfield-poster.jpg
Revisiting The Significance of
The Buffalo Springfield


"The revolution will not be televised"
... it will be blogged, streamed,
tweeted, shared and liked
The Embarrassment of Mainstream Media

Turn Off Your TV & Have A Life


"Everything Is Bullshit" +
"Turn Off The News"
Turn Off the News (Build a Garden)


Neil Young 2016 Year in Review:
The Year of The Wheat

Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain and Neil Young

Neil Young's Feedback:
An Acquired Taste?

Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years
by Rustie Sharry "Keepin' Jive Alive in T.O." Wilson

"the definitive source of Neil Young's formative childhood years in Canada"

neil & joni
Joni Mitchell & Neil Young

europe 1987.jpg


dylan-young-crop
Bob and Neil

weld
So Who Really Was "The Godfather of Grunge"?


Four Dead in Ohio
kent state
So What Really Happened at Kent State?


The Four Dead in Ohio



May The FOUR Be With You #MayThe4thBeWithYou

concert-pass-europe-2003-solo.jpg


dissent is not treason
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism

Rockin' In The Free World



Sing Truth to Power!
When Neil Young Speaks Truth To Power,
The World Listens

emmylou-harris-neil-young-0305-crop
Emmylou Harris and Neil Young

wilco-062305-wide-background.jpg
Wilco and Neil Young

bluenotes-pass-young88crewlam-sm.jpg

bruce-springsteen-neil-young-bridge-oct-1986.jpg
Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young

europe87concertpass


elton-john-neil-young-crop-sm.jpg
Elton John and Neil Young

ronnie-vanzant-neil.jpg
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young

+

The Meaning of "Sweet Home Alabama" Lyrics


Neil Young Nation -
"The definitive Neil Young fan book"

powderfinger
"Powderfinger"
What does the song mean?

Random Neil Young Link of the Moment
neil-sad.jpg

Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young

Wisconsin-solidarity.jpg
I'm Proud to Be A Union Man

UNITED WE STAND/DIVIDED WE FALL


When Neil Young is Playing,
You Shut the Fuck Up


Class War:
They Started It and We'll Finish It...
peacefully

A battle raged on the open page...
No Fear, No Surrender. Courage
WE WON'T BACK DOWN. NEVER STAND DOWN.

"What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees?"
Full Disclousre Now


"I've Got The Revolution Blues"

Willie Nelson & Neil Young
Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize



John Mellencamp:
Why Willie Deserves a Nobel

willie_picnic_poster_070503


BOYCOTT HATE

Love and Only Love

"Thinking about what a friend had said,
I was hoping it was a lie"


We're All On
A Journey Through the Past

Neil Young's Moon Songs
Tell Us The F'n TRUTH
(we can handle it... try us)

Freedom:
freedom-video
Does Anything Else Really Matter?

"Nobody's free until everybody's free."
~~ Fannie Lou Hamer

Here Comes "The Big Shift"
#BigShift

Maybe everything you think you know is wrong? NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
"It's all illusion anyway."

Propaganda = Mind Control
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
Guess what?
"Symbols Rule the World, not Words or Laws."
... and symbolism will be their downfall...

Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge
Be The Rain, Be The Change

csny2k-plate.jpg
the truth will set you free
This Machine Kills Fascists


"Children of Destiny" - THE Part of THE Solution

(Frame from Official Music Video)

war is not the answer
yet we are
Still Living With War

"greed is NOT good"
Hey Big Brother!
Stop Spying On Us!
Civic Duty Is Not Terrorism

The Achilles Heel
#NullifyNSA
Orwell (and Grandpa) Was Right
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.”
~~ Bob Marley

The Essence of "The Doubters"



Yes, There's Definitely A Hole in The Sky


Even Though The Music Died 50+ Years Ago
,
Open Up the "Tired Eyes" & Wake up!
"consciousness is near"
What's So Funny About
Peace, Love, & Understanding & Music?

churchsign

Show Me A Sign

"Who is John Galt?"
To ask the question is to know the answer

"Whosoever shall give up his liberty for a temporary security
deserves neither liberty nor safety."

~~ Benjamin Franklin

Words

(Between the lines of age)


And in the end, the love you take
Is equal to the love you make

~~ John & Paul

the zen of neil
the power of rust
the karma of the wheat

~Om-Shanti.

Namaste