Carly Simon has revealed her Parkinson’s diagnosis to fans.
Carly Simon had been staying out of the public eye until recently, when she announced her first new album in 16 years, since 2009’s Never Been Gone.
Now, the legendary musician has let her fans know why.
“So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing.
The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon wrote in the heartfelt letter.
“It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly. Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable. Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.”
Simon also revealed that she has been treated for skin cancer on her face, saying it has “affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public.
I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine (check out the irony of having written “You’re So Vain.”), and this gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material.”
Simon shares that working on music has given her days structure,“ I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working.”
She explains that, in the lead up to her new album, Comes in Waves, out August 14th, “working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape.
It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.”
On the production process, Simon shared that “the album includes songs and fragments of songs that had been waiting for me, some for years.
There were melodies, verses, and ideas written down and tucked away for some unknown future when I would have the time and attention to finish them.
Apparently, that future is now.”
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