Broken horses : a memoir

Broken horses : a memoir / Brandi Carlile

“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. An evocative and piercingly honest examination of faith through the eyes of a person rejected by the church’s basic tenets, this is 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.”

More Staff Picks

Uncomfortable conversations with a black man

“In Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, Acho takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask–yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever. With the same open-hearted generosity that has made his video series a phenomenon,

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

Mouse Guard by David Petersen (Series) Beautiful artwork and great story! Dispatched to find a missing mouse, three members of the Mouse Guard make a shocking discovery – one that involves a treacherous betrayal, a stolen secret, and a rising power with just one goal – to bring down the

Mac Barnett: Why a good book is a secret door

Childhood is surreal. Why shouldn’t children’s books be? In this whimsical talk, award-winning author Mac Barnett speaks about writing that escapes the page, art as a doorway to wonder — and what real kids say to a fictional whale.