Broken Horses

In this honest, touching, and personal account, the highly regarded singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time Grammy winner talks about how music has influenced her life.

Born in a poor, musically-talented family on the outskirts of Seattle, Brandi Carlile had her childhood in continual flux, moving 14 times in as many years from house to house and trailer to trailer. Her chaotic childhood was both lovely and bizarre, caring and challenging, despite being flawed in every aspect. Brandi nearly lost her life at the age of five due to bacterial meningitis, an illness that profoundly affected her early years and changed the course of her early adulthood.

When her pastor publicly declined to baptize her on the day of the ceremony, Brandi, an out gay adolescent, struggled with the conflict between her sexual orientation and her religious beliefs. Surprisingly, Brandi's small community came together to support her and put her on the same route to redemption that the rest of the misfits and rejects take—via twisted, happy, strange, and amazing music.

In Broken Horses, Brandi Carlile walks readers through the life experiences that shaped her incredibly raw art. These experiences range from her first break opening for Dave Matthews Band at a local singing competition to numerous sleepless tours over a 15-year period and six studio albums—all while raising two children with her wife, Catherine Shepherd. Her hard-earned success eventually brought her to the Grammy stage, where she won over millions of viewers into instant fans. Along the way, she collaborated with personal heroes like Elton John, Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Pearl Jam, Tanya Tucker, and Joni Mitchell.

Evocative and piercingly honest, Broken Horses is a meditation on the events and lyrics that have shaped the life of a creative mind, brilliant artist, and true empath on a mission to give back, as well as an examination of faith through the eyes of someone rejected by the fundamental tenets of the church.