Artist Recovery Podcast

Artist Recovery Podcast is Bringing Light to the Darkside of Art. I’m Rich Wright, your host — and here we're redefining recovery as Renewal, Resilience and Creative Transformation. Because for artists, it’s more than survival… it’s Remembering.
This show is about the real journey of being a working creative — the highs, the lows, the pivots, and the reinventions that shape who we are. Together we’ll explore how setbacks can spark transformation, how loss can open new paths, and how resilience fuels the heart of every artist’s story.
If you’ve ever faced doubt, setback, or the call to reinvent yourself, you’re in the right place. Let’s recover — and create — together.”

Want to be a guest on Artist Recovery Podcast? Send Rich Wright a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/artistrecovery

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Artist Recovery Podcast

Artist Recovery Podcast S2 Ep. 9 | Ray Hartjen on Multiple Myeloma, Music, Storytelling and Living

February 27, 2026 • Rich Wright • Season 2 • Episode 9

0:00 | 1:45:11

What happens when a lifelong storyteller is forced to confront his own mortality?
In this powerful episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, Rich Wright sits down with musician, author, and cancer advocate Ray Hartjen — a man whose life has been shaped by movement, reinvention, and one life-altering diagnosis: multiple myeloma.
Born into a military family in 1964, Ray’s childhood was marked by constant relocation — Texas, Kansas, North Dakota, Indiana, Kentucky. Each move meant new schools, new identities, new stories. Books became anchors. Libraries became sanctuaries. Storytelling became survival.
From investment banking to organizational development, from marketing to corporate communications, Ray eventually realized something profound: every role he stepped into was rooted in one essential skill — telling stories that connect, heal, and move people forward.
Then came the diagnosis.
Multiple myeloma — a rare, incurable but treatable blood cancer — forced Ray to ask the question many creatives avoid:
"If not now, when?"

That question reshaped everything.
He began writing more boldly. Performing music more intentionally. Creating with urgency instead of hesitation. His memoir, Me, Myself & My Multiple Myeloma, shares his candid journey through illness. His novel Flank expands his storytelling lens. His acoustic duo, The Chronic Padres, channels resilience through song. And his passion project book chronicling the Indianapolis 500 became a testament to creative endurance.

In this conversation, we explore:
• Growing up in a military family and how mobility shapes identity
• The power of books and libraries in forming a storyteller
• The moment creativity became a conscious priority• How cancer reframes time, risk, and artistic courage
• Music as healing and performance as reclamation
• Why storytelling is the connective tissue of business, art, and survival
• The mantra “If Not Now, When” and living with urgency

This episode is about endurance. About reinvention. About refusing to wait.
It’s about what happens when life strips away illusion and leaves you with one simple truth:
Your story matters — especially now.
If you’re an artist navigating uncertainty…If you’ve faced illness or personal upheaval…If you’re waiting for permission to create…
This conversation will meet you where you are.

Connect with Ray:
Website: https://rayhartjen.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rayhartjen
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rayhartjen
Youtube: @RayHartjen

#RayHartjen @RayHartjen #MultipleMyeloma #IncurableBloodCancer #artistrecoverypodcast #CancerAndCreativity #IfNotNowWhen #richwrightartist #richwrightunlimited #richwrightunltd #creativeresilience #podmatchguest

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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