Addie grew up in a small town on the state line between Mississippi and Tennessee. It was the kind of place where everyone knew her. A whole lot more people know her now because of her budding musical career.

Addie is in her last year of college, but she’s already sung the national anthem before big college football games and performed with country music stars. She first sang in front of an audience when she was 3 years old, and music on the radio was part of her daily life as she was growing up.

She’s been writing her own music, too. Sometimes her songs are meant for friends, to help them through a tough time. Other songs are about her own life – what it felt like to be diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia as a high school freshman, to be treated at St. Jude, to overcome cancer and have a second chance at life.

Addie says what helped her push through treatment was chasing her dreams of performing and one day hearing her own music on the radio.

Donate to St. Jude: www.stjude.org/donate

Transcript available HERE.

Credits Host: Joel Alsup
Recorded by: Andres Garcia and Nathan Black
Music production: Kazimir Boyle
Producer: Geoffrey Redick
Editor: Grace Korzekwa Evans
Executive Producer: Louis Graham

This podcast is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.