Broken Horses: A Memoir
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time Grammy winner opens up about faith, sexuality, parenthood, and a life shaped by music in “one of the great memoirs of our time” (Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed).
“If anyone ever has a doubt in their mind that the wildest of dreams can be realized from complicated circumstances, they should read Brandi’s story. I absolutely loved it.”—Elton John
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND AUTOSTRADDLE
Brandi Carlile was born into a musically gifted, impoverished family on the outskirts of Seattle and grew up in a constant state of change, moving from house to house, trailer to trailer, fourteen times in as many years. Though imperfect in every way, her dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. At the age of five, Brandi contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life, leaving an indelible mark on her formative years and altering her journey into young adulthood.
As an openly gay teenager, Brandi grappled with the tension between her sexuality and her faith when her pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony. Shockingly, her small town rallied around Brandi in support and set her on a path to salvation where the rest of the misfits and rejects find it: through twisted, joyful, weird, and wonderful music.
In Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile takes readers through the events of her life that shaped her very raw art—from her start at a local singing competition where she performed Elton John’s “Honky Cat” in a bedazzled white polyester suit, to her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band, to many sleepless tours over fifteen years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd. This hard-won success led her to collaborations with personal heroes like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Pearl Jam, Tanya Tucker, and Joni Mitchell, as well as her peers in the supergroup The Highwomen, and ultimately to the Grammy stage, where she converted millions of viewers into instant fans.
Evocative and piercingly honest, Broken Horses is at once an examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church’s basic tenets and a meditation on the moments and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, a brilliant artist, and a genuine empath on a mission to give back.
“If anyone ever has a doubt in their mind that the wildest of dreams can be realized from complicated circumstances, they should read Brandi’s story. I absolutely loved it.”—Elton John
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND AUTOSTRADDLE
Brandi Carlile was born into a musically gifted, impoverished family on the outskirts of Seattle and grew up in a constant state of change, moving from house to house, trailer to trailer, fourteen times in as many years. Though imperfect in every way, her dysfunctional childhood was as beautiful as it was strange, and as nurturing as it was difficult. At the age of five, Brandi contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life, leaving an indelible mark on her formative years and altering her journey into young adulthood.
As an openly gay teenager, Brandi grappled with the tension between her sexuality and her faith when her pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony. Shockingly, her small town rallied around Brandi in support and set her on a path to salvation where the rest of the misfits and rejects find it: through twisted, joyful, weird, and wonderful music.
In Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile takes readers through the events of her life that shaped her very raw art—from her start at a local singing competition where she performed Elton John’s “Honky Cat” in a bedazzled white polyester suit, to her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band, to many sleepless tours over fifteen years and six studio albums, all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd. This hard-won success led her to collaborations with personal heroes like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Pearl Jam, Tanya Tucker, and Joni Mitchell, as well as her peers in the supergroup The Highwomen, and ultimately to the Grammy stage, where she converted millions of viewers into instant fans.
Evocative and piercingly honest, Broken Horses is at once an examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church’s basic tenets and a meditation on the moments and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, a brilliant artist, and a genuine empath on a mission to give back.
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Community Reviews
I just loved this audio book. I loved the songs sprinkled at the end of the chapters. This is the story of Brandi’s life written and narrated by her. I saw her on TV preform at Naomi Judd’s celebration of life ceremony. Afterwards clips of her would show up on my YouTube feed. I’m glad I checked out this book. It was so cool to hear about her connections with Elton John and Joni Mitchell. She has had so many cool synchronicity’s happen in her life.
This is possibly one of my favorite memoirs to date. She finds a way to tell the truth and the big moments without losing us, the readers, in the minutiae. You know she has kept some details to herself. But let us all in just enough. I've always been a fan of her music, but hearing how the albums were made and what was behind a lot of the big songs, makes them so much more special. We're the same age, and I see a lot of the same reckonings in myself. And of course, we have a shared loved of Joni Mitchell. Which should be reason enough to love this book. But there's so much more.
AUDIOBOOK! AUDIOBOOK! AUDIOBOOK! Following Brandi Carlisle through the experiences of her life in this blunt honest retelling is like sitting with a friend over drinks and listening to their day. The story telling ended by her folk voice singing into her category was glorious. Even towards the end; listening to her growth; I found myself drifting to her voice. I can't emphasize AUDIOBOOK enough! Her accompanying music is the way the chapter burst out so much more.
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