Broken Horses

A Memoir

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Broken Horses

Written by: Brandi Carlile

Narrated by: Brandi Carlile

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About this listen

Number-one New York Times best seller

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, producer, and six-time Grammy winner opens up about a life shaped by music in this candid, heartfelt, and intimate story.

“One of the great memoirs of our time...a gift from Brandi’s soul.” (Glennon Doyle)

“Brandi’s story is about perseverance, humor, forgiveness, and manifestation. I absolutely loved it.” (Elton John)

“Broken Horses led me right into Brandi’s heart, and my own.” (Brené Brown)

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, 14 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 listeners 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 15 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.

Carlile recorded new stripped-down, solo renditions of more than 30 of the songs featured in the book, including her own and songs from artists who’ve inspired her, from Dolly Parton to Elton John, Leonard Cohen and more, available exclusively on the audiobook:

“I Don’t Hurt Anymore” by Hank Snow
“Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton
“Ride on Out” by Brandi Carlile
“Honky Cat” by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
“Philadelphia” by Neil Young
“Happy” by Brandi Carlile
“That Year” by Brandi Carlile
“Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen
“Eye of the Needle” by Brandi Carlile
“Turpentine” by Brandi Carlile
“Wasted” by Brandi Carlile
“The Story” by Brandi Carlile
“Closer to You” by Brandi Carlile
“Caroline” by Brandi Carlile
“Josephine” by Brandi Carlile
“Sugartooth” by Brandi Carlile
“Looking Out” by Brandi Carlile
“Beginning to Feel the Years” by Brandi Carlile
“Love Songs” by Brandi Carlile
“I Will” by Brandi Carlile
“I Belong to You” by Brandi Carlile

Entertainment & Celebrities

Music

Women

Celebrity

Memoir

Heartfelt

Witty

What the critics say

“A vulnerable document.... The resilience of her sense of self, through poverty and fame, is transcendent. One of her great strengths as an artist is a willingness to stare herself straight in the face and not flinch.” (Amanda Hess, The New York Times)

“[Carlile is] perceptive, vulnerable, humble, funny and above all else, a good storyteller. She’d already proven her storytelling chops as a lyricist and she proves them once again in these pages. She knows how to use a few words to make a big impact.... Readers walk away feeling like they know the real Carlile.” (Associated Press)

“Intimate...Carlile's story is too big to fit in a song..... The memoir covers it all with conversational ease.... This pulls the veil back in a way [Carlile] hadn’t done before.” (Vulture)

Most relevant

I love the memoir genre; however, finding a true memoir is rare. So often we, the writers, whether it be a social media bio or in a post, we focus on the shiny parts of ourselves and we don’t linger in certain spaces long enough to have the shadows show.

Brandi is a game changer to the memoir genre. I only found her music in the past 6 months. I love Stone,Jeff, Mike, Eddie & Matt (& Boom of course) and the through their social media presence, they introduced me to Brandi’s music which led me to loving her unique sense of self. Of course I preordered her book.

Recently, I read a caption where someone interviewed Alexander Ludwig on the debut of his own debut, self titled country album. The article highlighted his “Radical Authenticity.”

It is Brandi’s radical authenticity that allowed us to see ourselves in her short comings & long strides. I respect her for many reasons, and one of the mIn reasons is because in her book, not only does she acknowledge the shadows of her life, she takes the threader but he hand and gives you a personal tour of them. She explains how they got their, what they taught her and why she appreciates them. No. One. Does. That… Brandi does that.

There is a comfort when someone shares the beauty & broken in the same sentence because we are all a bit of both, at all times.

Bonus- she sings throughout the book. Listening to this book is literally like sitting around a campfire with Brandy & listening to her tell her stories and every so often she’ll pull out her guitar.

Broken Horses is an experience, not a audio book.