Singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman, an early-1990s hitmaker who left the spotlight in 1993 when her husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, is back. She returns with a touching pop album, "Sand And Water," and has reached a point where she can joke about the magnitude of the changes in her life. "Even my Cheerios look different," Chapman says during an early-morning call from her Nashville home. "Nothing's the same. Everything in life has become more meaningful." The tragedy -- what else to call it? -- struck when Chapman's recording and songwriting career, launched in 1980 with the album "Hearing It First," was in full flight. Between 1990 and '93, her adult contemporary hits included "Walk My Way." "All I Have," "In The Time It Takes" and "The Moment You Were Mine." In addition, she has written No. 1 songs and other hits for Willie Nelson ("Nothin' I Can Do About It Now"), Tanya Tucker ("Strong Enough To Bend"), Alabama ("Here We Are"), Lorrie Morgan ("Five Minutes") and Trisha Yearwood ("Down On My Knees"). "It really capsulated the whole idea of not wasting any time in life," Chapman observes. Consequently, the songs do vary, with Chapman revealing her "joy, anger and grief." Now, she says, she has her son, her memories, her friends, her album and "a real sense of comfort and grace" achieved through her husband's death and her life since. "I don't have any fear about [dying] anymore," she says. "The Hank Williams Sr. line I love is, 'No one gets out of this world alive.' And it's the truth."
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