Jewel has spoken openly about her childhood trauma and her mother’s abusive behavior that continued well into her adult years.
In an interview on the Verywell Mind podcast with licensed therapist Amy Morin, the 48-year-old singer – whose tour bus caught fire in August – spoke about her journey to better mental health.
The artist was born Jewel Kilcher in 1974 in Payson, Utah.
Her parents, Atz, 75, who is a star of reality show Alaska: The Last Frontier, and Lenedra Carroll, 67, moved Jewel and her older brother Shane to Alaska shortly after she was born, where they lived on a large farmstead with no electricity or plumbing.
“My parents divorced when I was eight and we moved in with my dad,” she explained. “Nobody told me it was because my mother didn’t want to be a mother. She left us and my father took over the upbringing. I didn’t know that at the time.’
Traumatic childhood: Jewel, 48, opened up on the Verywell Mind podcast with licensed therapist Amy Morin (pictured in New York in February 2023) about her traumatic childhood and her mother’s abusive behavior that continued well into her adult years.
“My father was this fugitive alcoholic who hit me, very easily identifiable ‘bad guy.’ My mother seemed to be the opposite. She was calm, she was gentle, she never yelled, obviously never hit me. And I didn’t realize at the time that I was being abused in other ways,” she said.
Jewel said that if she went to her mother for support, she would find ways to ignore Jewel without the girl knowing.
“Let’s say when I showed up on her doorstep, she said, ‘Your mind is so powerful. Our mind is just tap, we use about 10% of our brain power. Our minds are so powerful, and I think you, Jewel, are so powerful, I think you could sit here and stare at this lightbulb, and maybe you could turn it off with your mind.
Looking back at the time, the Who Will Save Your Soul singer said those interactions made her “feel loved.” It was much later that she discovered: “Actually, my mother didn’t want to stay there and be with me, and she took care of me by letting me look at lightbulbs. So sometimes the appearance of an attached character isn’t what it seems.’
The “You Were Meant For Me” singer started performing at a young age. She and her father yodelled and sang in rest stops and taverns to earn money.
“I sang in a bar when I was eight. I’ve been around predators, I’ve had a very scary life. I’ve had a very horrible life. And I’ve had a life where adults weren’t safe people, it wasn’t safe to be around people.
It was Jewel’s talent that allowed her to get out of the bars. She received a partial scholarship to study opera singing at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. Her hometown of Homer gathered here and held an auction to raise the rest of the money.
Abuse: The singer said her father Atz was “that runaway alcoholic who hit me”. She said her mother Lenedra left the family when she was eight “because my mother didn’t want to be a mother” (pictured in New York in May 2003).
Embezzled: Jewel was in touch with her mother following the success of her debut 12x platinum album Pieces of You and subsequent works. “I didn’t really understand what my mother was until I was about 30. I woke up and realized she had embezzled all my money, over $100 million.
She learned to play guitar while attending music school and moved to San Diego after graduating.
There she lived in a van while writing songs and performing. She paid the bills by working in a coffee shop and as a telephone operator at a computer company until she was discovered.
Her debut album, Pieces of You, skyrocketed and became a 12x platinum record.
The artist’s second collection of songs, Spirit, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, but didn’t have the same success as Pieces of Me.
Jewel’s mother was close enough to have access to the singer’s finances.
“I didn’t really know what my mother was until I was about 30. I woke up and realized she embezzled all my money, over $100 million,” she admitted.
Helping others: Jewel helped found the nonprofit organization Inspiring Children, which owns the singer’s free in-person and online mental health program, Jewel Never Broken, in the early 2000s (pictured in Salt Lake City in February 2023)
Survival Techniques: Through the Jewel Never Broken program, the artist shares survival techniques she taught herself to overcome anxiety and depression
“34 years old, realize I’m $3 million in debt, realize my mother stole it, realize everything I thought my mother was, isn’t what she was, a very difficult one psychological thing to deal with.”
To help at-risk children and youth, Jewel helped found the non-profit organization Inspiring Children in the early 2000s, which includes the singer’s free in-person and online mental health program, Jewel Never Broken.
The program includes survival techniques the artist taught herself to overcome anxiety and depression.
Jewel often speaks about the importance of good mental health on her personal social media account and on the Inspiring Children and Never Broken accounts.
The MTV Music Award winner recently launched a new mental health app, Innerworld.
Mental Health: Jewel often speaks about the importance of mental health on her personal social media accounts and on her Inspiring Children and Never Broken pages.
New App: The MTV Music Award winner recently released a new free mental health app, Innerworld. Jewel will lead a series of events including how to use fear as an ally and teach a course on emotional dyslexia
Helpful: The hitmaker said the Innerworld app is helpful for anyone struggling, regardless of their background. “That doesn’t mean they’re broken either. There are so many tools and things we can do to help ourselves with a little guidance.
The free platform offers peer-to-peer support groups in the virtual world, where users can interact as avatars, and 100 weekly events.
Jewel will lead a series of events including how to use fear as an ally and will teach a course on emotional dyslexia and how she personally overcomes emotional challenges.
“I wasn’t in a secure shape[growing up],” she explained. “But that’s also why I started our youth foundation, because there’s real hope for kids like that.”
The hitmaker said the app is helpful for anyone struggling, regardless of their background.
“That doesn’t mean they’re broken either. There are so many tools and things we can do to help ourselves with a little guidance.”