Jesse Butterworth - Six String Rocketeer. Holding Life Together When Your Parents Split Apart

Heartbreaking one moment, laugh-out-loud funny the next, Six String Rocketeer is a valuable book for anyone whose parents are going through a divorce. Without preaching, Jesse Butterworth invites readers into his own story of how he coped with his parents breakupand brings much-needed encouragement along the way.

L EE S TROBEL , author of The Case for Christ
and The Case for Faith

Jesses transparency in communicating his story is refreshing, authentic, and powerful. Such bold honesty is missing from many of todays publications on the subject but was very present in the ministry of our Lord Jesus.

G REGG G ARNER , president/CEO, Global Outreach
Developments International

Anguish and pain and hope are all here. Jesse gives voice to the all-too-often silent children of divorce with biting wit and balanced wisdom.

J OHN O RTBERG , teaching pastor, Menlo Park
Presbyterian Church

There is no easy way to weave a story of survival during the two most devastating things that can happen to a personyour parents divorce and junior high. Butterworth pulls it off beautifully. The hope found here is tangible: hope for healing family relationships; hope for love that springs up through the cracks of the blacktop of pain; and hope for a song of victory that will finally be sung, rising higher than the voices of an eighth-grade choir, louder than the deafening silence of separation, and more glorious than a Six String Rocketeer.

M IKE H OWERTON , author of Miles to Cross, coauthor
of The Relevant Church, Illuminate pastor

As a child of divorce, I have Jesses song Six String Rocketeer on the soundtrack of my life. Now with his book, Jesse has crafted a poignant memoir, introducing readers to the important first step of acknowledging that parental divorce has lasting effects. His gracious approach and discerning insights invite readers to visit his past and, in the process, better understand their own.

J EN A BBAS , author of Generation Ex: Adult Children
of Divorce and the Healing of Our Pain

Jesse Butterworth is a passionate, real, and genuinely kind person. Ive toured with him in the USA and in Europe and have seen him connect with people. Hes interested in their stories and uses his own to bring understanding and healing. Ive always loved the song Six String Rocketeer, and after reading the book, I feel that I better understand his world and the world of those who have traveled a similar journey. Success for Jesse is using his life to touch others. I pray it touches millions.

P AUL C OLMAN , singer and songwriter

S IX S TRING R OCKETEER

P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS

12265 Oracle Blvd., Suite 200

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

A division of Random House, Inc.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Copyright 2005 by Jesse Butterworth

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer design logo are registered trademarks of WaterBrook Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Butterworth, Jesse.

Six string rocketeer : holding life together when your parents split apart / Jesse Butterworth. 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

eISBN: 978-0-307-55112-2

1. Christian youthReligious life. 2. Children of divorced parentsReligious life. 3. Butterworth, Jesse. I. Title.

BV4531.3.B89 2005

248.83dc22

2005007775

v3.1_r1

To WaterBrook:

Thanks for taking a chance on this book.

To my family,

the most beautiful ball of dysfunction Ive ever laid eyes on.

I love our times together. Thanks for letting me tell this story.

I couldnt have done it without you.

I love you all more today than I ever have.

To my wife,

the most beautiful creature Ive ever laid eyes on.

You are my heart and soul. Thanks for your patience, your trust,

your support, and for saying I do. I love you.

You and I

Brick and vine

Our spirits mesh

And intertwine.

To my God,

the most beautiful source of life one could ever experience.

Thanks for the Beatles, Elton John, Paul Simon,

James Taylor, Billy Joel, and the countless other musicians

who have touched my life so deeply.

Thanks for music. Thanks for family. And thanks for Jesus.

I love You with everything Ive got,

and I hope Ive made You proud.

The first time I heard the song Six String Rocketeer I cried. Each time I have heard it subsequently, I have made every attempt to hold back the tears. Sometimes I succeed; sometimes I dont.

Today when I hear the song, my mind travels to two destinations. The first stop is a recording studio just outside of Nashville in early 2002. I was fortunate enough to hear the song recorded by the band named Daily Planet in their debut album for Reunion Records entitled Hero. Actually, I was there for the session in which they laid down the string section over the already-recorded drums, bass, guitar, and vocal tracks. I especially remember the cellos playing an uncanny recreation of the Beatles hit Eleanor Rigby. I recall the juxtaposition of feelings at that moment feelings of pride in the songwriters ability to communicate the message of empathy in pain and hope in healing, but also a feeling of overwhelming sadness.

And that feeling takes me to the second destinationthe home in northern California where my kids grew up. For you see, Six String Rocketeer was written by Jesse Butterworth to convey the pain he encountered when his mother and father divorced.

And I am Jesses father.

The most difficult days in our familys existence occurred in those months surrounding that divorce. At the time I thought no one could hurt as much as I did. But Ive since come to realize there was plenty of pain to go around. I hurt. Jesses brothers and sister hurt. His mom hurt. And Jesse hurt.

But his hurt led to his healing, and the crowning achievement of his young life was to write the words and music to Six String Rocketeer. The song has touched thousands of young listeners, mostly sons and daughters whose mom and dad have divorced. The impact of this powerful ballad led to Jesses being approached to expand his thoughts into book form.

And this is the book you hold in your hands. It is a gutwrenchingly honest look at divorce through the eyes of one of its children. Jesse pulls no punches. There is no sugarcoating. Its not a fairy tale. It is not a cold, sterile, academic view of how young people cope with family breakdown. Rather, it is a young mans journey through the minefield of his own parents divorce.

Granted, the book has moments that will make you laugh out loud. Jesse is a funny guy, and those of you who know me will read this book and quickly conclude Jesse was not adopted. His humor is contagious and comes at just the right times in the story.