a healing path
Hickory Wind Ranch: A sober living model for a new, creative generation
Polly Parsons was just 5-years-old when her father, legendary singer-songwriter Gram Parsons, died in 1973 from an overdose of morphine during a vacation in the California desert in Joshua Tree. He was only 26.
While not a household name, then or now, Gram Parsons created timeless songs that profoundly influenced artists as varied as Beck, the Rolling Stones, Wilco and Emmylou Harris—his musical protégé and partner in the early 1970s. Today, Polly Parsons lives in Austin, Texas and has created Hickory Wind Ranch, a sober living community to passionately support men and women in recovery from all over the country.
Hickory Wind Ranch came to fruition in 2008 after Polly moved from Los Angeles to Austin and noticed a lack of supportive sober living. She decided to develop a sober living program in Austin that leaned more towards forward thinking ideas and included a healing space for creative people of a new generation.
With more than 10 years of experience in the field, she's inspired by the mind, body and spirit approach to new sobriety; Polly was the first in her industry to offer a new sober living model with life coaching, body work and a team of the best that Austin has to offer in the way of counseling. Her curriculum is geared towards fostering the true potential and the person as a whole being, while still treating the addiction through the 12 Step process. She believes this concept is paramount to long-term success.
In a city that thrives on hard-working creative types, Polly thought there should be a safe place for people from all crafts, including musicians and artists, to live. She envisioned a place that is current in its approach, would enlighten the minds of its residents, and thrive as a community. Thus, Hickory Wind Ranch was born.
Today, three years after opening Hickory Wind Ranch, Polly Parsons is looked to as a leader and innovator in Austin's sober community. Her program now takes in clients from all over the country and is known nationally as a leader in providing sober living care. Early this year, Hickory Wind Ranch was contacted by the producers of A&E's Emmy Award winning show Intervention and asked to house a resident from the show. The episode, along with a nod from the Austin Chronicle’s "Best of Austin Award," has put her on a national stage to share her message with many families and loved ones in need of addiction care services.
In addition to running Hickory Wind Ranch, Polly operates Daddy Van Productions with her husband, artist Charlie Terrell. The concert video production company creates content for live concert tours and has worked with artists including Maroon 5, Rascal Flatts, Mötley Crüe, Dave Matthews Band and more.
Polly continues to give back to the Austin community through her work at Hickory Wind Ranch and has also further honored her father by developing the Gram Parsons Foundation, which supports musicians and artists from around the world with addiction and recovery services. GPF is currently working on several benefit concerts similar to the 2004 show she produced that included Keith Richards, Norah Jones and Steve Earle, among others. These events will pay tribute to Gram Parsons, while raising money for addiction and recovery services.
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To learn more Polly Parsons and her work, please visit Hickory Wind Ranch, Daddy Van and the Gram Parsons Foundation.