Amy Grant Makes Music Again After Traumatic Brain Injury

Her account may sound familiar to many older adults and families dealing with recovery from a head injury. AARP research found that 43 percent of Americans 50 and older have injured their head at some point in their lives. About one-third of those incidents were likely traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, which can have lasting consequences for physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral health.

The same AARP research found that falls are the most common cause of head and neck injuries among adults 50 and older, followed by automobile or other vehicle accidents. TBIs can be missed in older adults, because their impact may come on slowly, sometimes days later, or because symptoms may resemble other conditions, including dementia.

The effects of a TBI can extend beyond balance, memory and stamina. Adults who have had a TBI are more likely to feel anxious or depressed than those who have not, according to AARP research, and the likelihood increases for people who have had multiple TBIs. More than 1 in 5 adults 50-plus have had two or more TBIs.

Grant’s story also underscores the role spouses and family members may play after a brain injury. She has spoken before about Gill’s support, telling People in 2024 that he was “steady” during her recovery and helped her take the process one day at a time. 

Grant’s comments come as she is starting a new creative chapter. She is releasing The Me That Remains, a 10-song collection, on May 8. The new music, Grant told NPR, grew out of returning to the stage and seeing her own life reflected back at her from the audience.

“And I think I started writing because, you know, I went back on tour and toured in 2023,” Grant said. “But I’m just looking at all those people in the audience ... and they’re my contemporaries. At some point I thought, Am I doing us all a disservice by not writing about what life feels like now?”