Broken Horses

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.

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

That Wasn’t Me by Brandi Carlile

The Mother by Brandi Carlile

The Stranger at My Door by Brandi Carlile

Heroes and Songs by Brandi Carlile

Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers

Party of One by Brandi Carlile

The Joke by Brandi Carlile

Hold You Dear by The Secret…