By Donna Neil
Kingston, Ontario

One night last January, Mary-Lynn Neil couldn't sleep. The 12-year-old was worried about her dad, Master-Corporal Mike Neil, who was serving in Afghanistan at the time. Mary-Lynn wrote down her thoughts and feelings that night in her journal, and later brought it out to me, her mom, Donna Neil (nee Mitchell). I thought it would make a great song and contacted a family friend, Brian Dolph, to see if he could help out with the process of getting it recorded. That emotional journal entry has been turned into a heartfelt song called “A Daughter’s Prayer.”

A couple months later the song was recorded by Studio Musicians in Nashville and sent back to Kingston, Ontario, where Mary-Lynn recorded the main vocals.

Mary-Lynn is proud of her Newfoundland heritage. I was born and raised in Mobile on the Southern Shore and still have a large family there. Her dad, Michael, comes from Clarke’s Beach and was featured in Downhome article entitled “Project Michael.” (March 2009 "Letters")

Since its release to radio in October 2009, “A Daughter’s Prayer” has been used to help teach children about Remembrance Day, and has been performed by school choirs across Canada. Recently, the song was released to stations in the U.S., Northern Ireland, England, Australia and a number of other places around the world.

To hear Mary-Lynn's song, "A Daughter's Prayer," click here.