Sounds Like Me

Utterly delightful. I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook. It was amazing to listen to her sing parts of her songs before each chapter. And the end bloopers made me laugh. My only two complaints are that she added a section where she wrote letters to her younger self. I found them hard to listen to. They were too personal and too specific for me to find myself in them. As such, I felt like an outsider listening in and it made me uncomfortable–not the intended effect. My other problem was that she spent the whole of the book humanizing herself and discussing her flaws really driving home that we are all unique people with flaws, yet she never extended this life lesson to anyone else she mentions in the book–or hardly ever. She spoke of everyone in her life as amazing, wonderful people. She spent paragraphs praising them and building them up on a pedestal but constantly putting herself in her place. It had the effect of making her life lessons about herself feel like put downs rather than personal growth because everyone around her was amazing and she was constantly in the wrong. I often wished I could just hug her. Of course, this is all an over simplification of my thoughts on the book. There are exceptions to both gripes. But all this to say that it took a little away from the positive vibe she was trying to uphold.
Well worth a read, though. Sara is a brilliant song writer and singer. She's soulful, introspective, and humble. It was a wonderful insight into a her world.

Anyone who knows me knows I love Sara Bareilles is one of my favorite singers and the song Gravity speaks to me. So when I saw this book in the library I was like thank you library card! The book is really a bit of a memoir filled with stories of her growing up to what she has learned up to this point in her life and career. It is a collection of eight essays all based around the story behind the song. Once Upon Another Time, Gravity, Love Song, Beautiful Girl, Red, Many the Miles, Brave, and She Used to Be Mine.

If those songs weren't already moving enough, you will listen to them with a newfound appreciation and respect after finishing this book. Sara is clearly someone who has learned that facing her fears and moving forward anyways is the true definition of courage. Countless stories she tells are beautiful illustrations of what happens in this sweet place of surrender. That and a genuine gratitude for all she has been given and for the people who have taught her along the way.

What I love most about the book is that it is ultimately a recollection of her finding her own voice. And as she has shared glimpses of that in her music, it has helped others do the same. And isn't that what life is ultimately about? That as we share our truth, we give permission for others to do the same. And that it's never a one way streak. Somehow we end up inspiring each other to dive even deeper into revealing ourselves for who we really are. No doubt she has done just that in the writing of this book.

Her honesty about a whole range of topics from body image to a sound malfunction performing with Taylor Swift are all consistent with the kind of candor that her fans have come to know and love. I had to fight back tears in a restaurant as I finished her book today. The stories she shares from her own life as well as those of some of her fans are a reminder that we are all so uniquely different, yet also so much the same.

Many thanks to you, Sara, for continuing to share your voice. In your greatest moments of self-doubt to your highest moments of exhilaration, may you receive back the Love that you continue to pour out to this world.