But family matters most, and a live-changing accident brought her closer to her loved ones ... and God.
“I grew up with a mom (Becky, Hank Jr.’s third wife) who had us in church every Sunday, a family of faith. She was one of the normal ones. She wasn’t the judgmental type that so many religions suffer from that kind of mind-set – ‘I’m better than you’ – and all those things. She raised us in a way that never brought that kind of heaviness on us. The wreck, it was a miracle that I lived. About a mile before the wreck, my sister told me to put my seat belt on. They especially didn’t think she’d live; and they said, ‘If she does live, she’ll lose both her legs.’ There were just so many things that happened, that I can only chalk it up to the Lord above and my mom praying.”
The knee-slapping “Mama” (written as a thank-you to her mother) and the solemn “Without Jesus Here With Me” (referencing the car wreck and her family) from Here With Me are extremely different takes musically, but both are personal and powerful expressions of experiences from Holly’s recent past. Let’s see how “Mama” and Holly’s sister, Hilary, are doing.
“(The song ‘Mama’ is) one of my favorite songs to play live. It’s so simple, it’s three chords. ... I wrote it very simply in about 10 minutes. It was one of those that just came out of nowhere; she’s been singing it live with me and doing backups a lot. ... She’s an amazing classically trained vocalist and pianist. It’s been really neat for our relationship, too, where we’ve kind of shared that together.
“She lives about two miles away and I go spend the night at her house a couple times a week and I’m like freakishly close to her and sleep in her bed sometimes. We’re very, very close. At my clothing store (the upscale H. Audrey, with clientele Holly really knows on a first-name basis – like Faith, Martina, Sheryl), she’s the accountant. We’re one of the few mother-daughter relationships that we can work together all day. She used to handle my business management, which I totally trust her. She’s single and her and my dad are still good friends, but at night I’m always asking her to do something with me. ... I’m very blessed to have her. ...
“(Hilary)’s had 24 surgeries, the last one was last fall. ... A lot of people had no idea of the severity of her injuries but finally she’s come around and the never-ending surgeries have finally stopped for a while. She’s walking on a cane. She’s walking really well now, though; she’s driving alone, she’s living alone again. She lives in Nashville, not very far from me. And I think she finally feels like she has her life back. 
She still is in a certain amount of pain, which they said probably will not go away; it’ll involve more therapy and things, but we’re finally at the other end of it. For the first year, it was pretty miserable. She was bedridden most of the time, she had to relearn to walk twice and just all those things. ... She’s feeling a lot better.” (Hilary, far right, is shown with Jessica Simpson, Bocephus and Holly at the CMT: Giants show taped Oct. 25, 2007, that honored Hank Jr.)
Article comments
1 - dtwsfan
Nice feature and love Holly's detailed comments. Hope her new album succeeds and there's a place for her in country music.
2 - ashley
Very interesting interview. Really enjoyed reading about those that inspired her.