Imagine sitting next to Steven Segal at the 2005 GRAMMY Awards dressed in a $20,000 Jennifer Nicholson dress flowing in hues of pink, green and orange.

Then, as if being there wasn’t enough, imagine being nominated for “Best Rock Gospel Album.”

This dream became a reality for Sarah Kelly with the success of her debut project, "Take Me Away" (Gotee). Kelly reflects on that night with so much excitement that you barely catch all the words, “I was like a Disney princess for a day … I mean I can’t even explain to you what a day that was! It was like a big dream for me.”

Most would consider Kelly’s career, thus far, quite the dream. In addition to the GRAMMY nod, 50,000 copies of "Take Me Away" sold, two hit singles and touring stints opening for Jars of Clay, a life-size portrait of her appears in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Photo Exhibit” seen in 140 Guitar Center stores nationwide.

But don’t be fooled. Take one listen to the honesty found on Kelly’s new disc, "Where the Past Meets Today," and you begin to sense that her life has been far from that of royalty. In fact, it’s just been in the past year that Kelly has been able to come to terms with a lifelong battle with abusive relationships that began when she was 12 years old.

“To be honest, it’s an addiction,” she says. “That’s why women stay. [The men] are so nice to you for four or five days after that. …You go through what you need to [in order to] get through to the make-up period.” Kelly speaks from experience, having had tables and chairs thrown at her and, even, having been locked in a closet for days. “I was hiding this room in my heart from God for the longest time, so I was literally disqualifying myself from peace until just last year when I finally drew the line,” she admits.

Incredibly, Kelly’s Top 10 single, “Take Me Away” was written while she was still in a violent relationship. She quips, “I mean what do people think I’m talking about [when I sing] ‘Take Me Away’?” On a further sobering note, Kelly adds, “One out of four women have dealt with physical abuse; and if we think that’s different in the churches, we’re just fooling ourselves.”

Kelly’s sophomore album, which released this past summer, has proven to be a source of healing for her; and she hopes that it will also impact others in a similar way. “I watched God, through the making of the songs on this album, bring me full circle to honesty and, finally, acknowledging my role in it – my sin in it – in enabling these people to do this,” she continues. “[This album] is like the end of my rope meets the beginning of my life.”