Jay Allen doesn’t mind wearing his heart on his sleeve, or in his music. The singer-songwriter just released a powerful new song, “No Prayer Like Mama’s,” inspired by the unexpected journey his family embarked on, when his mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, when she was just 51 years old.

“I’ve basically become a philanthropist, because my mother passed away from Alzheimer’s,” Allen tells Everything Nash. “So for the last four years, I’ve been raising money and shining light on that disease, which is a very terrible thing. But even though I was helping others find community and healing in a safe place to talk about those things, I was struggling internally. I finally got to a place last year where I just felt really good in my head and my heart.”

Allen wrestled with the loss of his mother, even as he helped others, ultimately finding peace in what he believes about life after death.

“I’ve always said I believed in something, but I finally believed that even though I lost my mother, I believe that she went to her forever home,” Allen says. “And once I finally decided I truly, fully, with every fiber in my being believed that, everything started to make sense.”

Allen still vividly remembers his father calling to tell him the devastating news, and then the first time he saw his mother after her diagnosis, when his parents drove from their hometown of Iowa to see Allen before the disease progressed further.

“She raised me to feel like I was untouchable,” Allen shares. “I was so loved, like a mother should love a son. … So I was expecting that when she walked in the door. But when she walked in the door, I did not get that. I got someone looking at a stranger. She looked right through me. It not only made me sad, it really pissed me off. That moment, it was like an out-of-body experience. Like this can’t be us. This can’t be my mom.”

It was Allen’s realization of his own beliefs, and his ability to move forward amid his own grief, which come out in “No Prayer Like Mama’s.”

“I can just feel her presence, except that she’s guiding me from Heaven,” Allen explains. “That’s what ‘No Prayer Like Mama’s” is. It’s kind of a bookend for me, where I’m now allowed to be happy. It’s also a reminder for children. You only get one mother or one parent or one grandparent. When they call you, you better pick up. You better love the heck out of them. You only get one.”

Allen has since raised more than $100 million for the Alzheimer’s Asociation. A video for “No Prayer Like Mama’s” will be out soon. Find all of Allen’s music and upcoming shows at JayAllenOfficial.com.