This piece is the personal, riveting reflection of a seventeen year old mother of two who has been incarcerated. While the story is about a teen mother, it defies all stereotypes and judgments; the narrator’s voice and delivery strips the piece down to its element; a journey of emotions, from joy, regret, pain, love and longing.
Hearing the innocent voices of the narrator’s children immediately pulls the listener into the story. The snippet from the children’s father is touching, and provides a more complete picture of the yearning created by a distance between parents and their children.
The music is pleasant and suits the mood of the piece, though the repetition of the same few chords becomes a little old. The organization of the piece is a little fragmented, with some word endings dropped and some early cutaways.
However, this piece certainly deserves to be broadcast and heard; whether you are a mother, a father, a son or daughter, the narrator’s honesty is fresh and most certainly speaks to the heart.

Parent hood is hard no matter how old you are. Some teen parents go young as 12 years old. Many teenagers think it's hard in the city, but out on a reservation it is hard because there is no place to take your child to a baby sitter. Nicci takes you to a timetable of when she had here first child at 14 and her second at 17, then being incarcerated. Nicci adds her boy and girls voices to her piece and the music grabs onto the listener with emotions. The emotions that grab you are sorrow, anger, happiness, and other types that you would feel torwards what she is talking about. She does a good narration with live recordings. She keeps a steady pace with her narration, doesn?t stutter, and keeps a strong, steady, gentle, voice so listeners will be grab by her emotions. As A would-have-been father I feel the same way as the kids' father. You would always want to be there with your kids. Now Nicci is going get a new start after getting out of prison. Take a listen and YOU might think differently about having a child.

Being separated from your parents can be a devastating experience, unfortunately some children experience this at a young age. In the piece "Speaking to My Heart", a young mother of two, shares her experience of being separated from her kids. She has a little boy who is 3 yrs old and a girl who is 1 yr old. Both her and their father is incarcerated. She tells her story about how hard it is for her to not be able to see all the new things they learn. For example her daughter's first step was not towards her. She feels like she has screwed up their lives. When they get out of prison, they want to be two stable, consistent parents, but she worries about the time past that cannot be relived. The transitioning in this piece definitely captured my attention because, apart from using music to go into each part, the voice and laughter of a child's voice was used. The mood was very poignant, it made me want to cry; this was reflected in the narrator's voice, and the sad music. The narration also helped by, using a time line format. The listener was able to understand each step of their journey, from her having her first child at 14, to having her second at 17 to being locked up, and finally trying to make a change for her children's sake. The conclusion left the listener with a melancholy feeling. Overall really good piece, filled with emotion, and wonderfully placed elements.