Featured in Mississippi Magazine: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Music That Follows

By Tommy Rice

I’m honored and deeply humbled to share that my journey was recently featured in the 2025 Wedding Register by Mississippi Magazine. To be included in a publication that celebrates love and commitment is incredibly meaningful, because love is where my music was born—and it remains the core of every lyric I write.

The article shares how my path to becoming a songwriter wasn’t typical. For nearly three decades, I was a Realtor and car dealership owner. I didn’t have a background in writing or music. That all changed when my wife, Deborah, was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer.

When I lost her, I was completely shattered.

Deborah and I shared a once-in-a-lifetime love. She wasn’t just my wife—she was my best friend, my biggest supporter, and the light in every dark day. In the depths of grief, I found myself picking up a pen and writing. At first, it was just a way to survive the silence her absence left behind. But something unexpected happened: songs started pouring out of me. Real songs. Honest songs. Songs full of heartbreak, hope, and healing.

That moment of personal devastation turned into a new purpose.

Today, I’ve written more than 200 songs—most of them right here in my small studio in Raymond, Mississippi. Over 100 of those have been recorded, and to my astonishment and gratitude, a dozen have hit number one on various music charts. I was recently named Songwriter of the Year at the 2024 ISSA Awards, and while I’m incredibly thankful for the recognition, awards were never my aim.

Like I shared with Mississippi Magazine:
“I just write what’s in my heart.”

And what’s in my heart is love—real, raw, and rooted in experience. Songs like “Eternal Promise of Love,” “There is No Love Like Our Love,” and “Can I Ever Love Again” aren’t just melodies. They’re chapters of my story with Deborah—our laughter, our faith, our pain, and the legacy of love that lives on.

To anyone walking through grief or trying to rediscover their purpose: I hope my story reminds you that beauty can grow from the broken. Healing can come through unexpected doors. And love—real love—never dies. It just finds new ways to speak.

Thank you, Mississippi Magazine, for honoring my story. And thank you to everyone who continues to listen, share, and find meaning in my music.

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Read the full article in the 2025 Wedding Register by Mississippi Magazine. And to explore the songs mentioned in the feature, find me on all streaming platforms.