Chrissy Steele — the stage name of Christina Southern — grew up in the Comox Valley before her music career took her far beyond it. Her 1992 hard rock album earned a Juno nomination, and she spent years touring with major acts at the height of that scene.

Then she stepped away. Decades passed, filled with graphic design work and nonprofit involvement, before she found her way back to writing and releasing music on her own terms. Scott Stanfield’s piece for the Comox Valley Record catches her mid-return: older, independent, and making music again because she wants to, not because a label needs her to.

A second-act story about walking away from something and finding your way back to it anyway.