Once upon a time, when Kelly was a little girl, she dreamed of being a singer. When she was in the first grade, in fact, she had a few free minutes one day when sitting at her school desk. And so, she wrote up an imaginary record contract for herself. And then she signed it. (Talk about a one-woman show right there.) Today - in addition to being an award-winning broadcaster, inspirational speaker, healthy living advocate, writer and author - Kelly Ann Monahan is a soulful singer/songwriter and therapeutic musician who shares her inspirational music. She not only has an instantly identifiable voice, though; she has a pretty unique story to share as well. Monahan was diagnosed with a connective tissue disease in recent years, only after having undergone almost 20 years of physical therapy and a lifetime of medical treatment, unnecessary procedures and going in circles. The painful medical condition not only impacts her spine, but her joints and ligaments as well. Once she was finally given the correct diagnosis, her entire physical therapy protocol was changed. During the course of those grueling decades of misdiagnosis, Kelly acquired a great deal of perseverance on her faith journey. And, as she pioneered through setback after setback, many songs of faith and hope were born. Monahan, who hails from suburban Philadelphia, had musical aspirations from an early age. One of her first inspirations was seeing a Broadway performance of the musical Annie. Sitting on the edge of her seat watching the show, mouth wide open in awe (as her father would later describe), Kelly announced exuberantly there in the theater to her parents, "I can do that!" Shortly thereafter, at the age of eight, she began to play the piano and take vocal lessons. Monahan grew up with a wide range of musical influences; she'd listen to her mother singing along to everyone from The Temptations to Elvis to Patsy Cline on the radio. She was a Music Major in high school, and performed at church weddings, in theater, and in the Pennsylvania All-State Chorus. While she had written songs since she was 11, but it was her mother's sudden death when Kelly was 17 that really fostered her writing. During her college radio days and while interning at Philly's country station WXTU, Monahan was a show opener for Vince Gill and Shania Twain at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, and also performed at high-profile venues such as Philadelphia's Tin Angel. She wrote and recorded the ballad "Sleep My Child,” promoted two years in a row on radio to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Kelly’s soulful voice was even named "Suggested Artist" in the VH1 Song of the Year contest. Following her move to Nashville, Monahan performed all over Music City for well over a decade - from the famed The Bluebird Cafe to a regular spot at the Nashville International Airport. Kelly also became a mainstay as an air personality on Nashville radio. Having originally gotten her start reporting and writing for print and radio in Philadelphia, she went on to report for radio and television in Music City including at WKRN-TV. Kelly also reported the news as part of the morning show on Star 97, later entertaining listeners as the midday air personality on WSM-FM. From there, her voice was heard on radio stations around the country reporting (and writing) daily, country music news features. Having worked as a Nashville correspondent for a daily, radio show prep service at the time, Monahan attended award shows and interviewed music artists including: Vince Gill, Little Big Town, Chris Young, Ronnie Milsap, Jack Ingram, Craig Morgan and Hootie & the Blowfish frontman-turned-country-star Darius Rucker. Speaking of country music, Monahan spent over 7 years in Nashville on the legendary home of the Grand Ole Opry, 650 WSM: the most famed country music station in all the world. She carved her own unique path here, and went on to serve as creator and host of a new radio show featuring hit songwriters. In addition, she wrote many Grand Ole Opry star biographies that were voiced to air on the radio station. Beyond radio, Kelly's writings have appeared in various publications including American Songwriter and MusicRow Magazine. And, beyond music, Monahan - who also is a healthy living advocate - was inspired to write a clean-eating recipe book, Sweet Healthy Living. These days, you can catch her from time to time sharing her healthy recipes on Nashville television station News Channel 5. Meantime, she has been the health correspondent for World Christian Broadcasting for over 15 years now. As for the music, Monahan has never strayed far from it. For over 10 years, she has been a musical volunteer with the Nashville chapter of Musicians On Call - bringing the healing power of music to the bedsides of patients. With her husband accompanying her on guitar, Kelly has sung for patients in the cardiac unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as well as at Alive Hospice. Vanderbilt also has used Monahan's inspirational music to benefit its Trauma Survivor's Network. Kelly's late father, Joseph, was operated on by trauma surgeons at Vanderbilt at the onset of his illness. Later on, the hospital asked if she would sing and write a song for their annual Trauma Survivor's Network Memorial - and for all those who also lost their loved ones through traumatic injury. Vanderbilt then chose Kelly's song, "Your Spirit Lives On" - which she wrote in memory of her dad - as the musical landscape for its hospital video about the Trauma Survivor's Network.