Sounds Like Me: My Life (so far) In Song by Sara Bareilles + Song of the Week | Review Revolution

Hello, my lovely Nurds!!


If it isn't already apparent from the title, I'm reviewing Sounds Like Me: My Life (so far) in Song. I had anticipated on reading this since I heard that it came out back in 2015.

A little back story, last summer (while on hiatus from this blog), when I was starting college apps, my second wave of depression was arising and lurking around a corner. I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do, but couldn't do anything. The feeling of being held back by some strong forces (e.g. family, school, etc.) is not a good feeling, and while I have yet to overcome this depression, I'm glad I had Sara Bareilles along with me. In a musical sense, of course. And there's no better way I would have preferred that. 

Let me explain. 

I was starting college apps and was pretty uncertain. I knew Sara Bareilles' more mainstream songs, namely "Love Song", "King of Anything", and "Brave", but that's basically it. As the school year started, I really acquainted myself with Waitress the Musical, which, if you don't know, is the musical adaptation of Adrienne Shelly's movie of the same title.

I had definitely been around when the movie came out around 2007 and had seen parts of it, but my eldest sister claimed that it was "too inappropriate" for 9-year-old me, so I wasn't exactly familiar with the plot until I really researched it, coming to find that Bareilles' most recent album What's Inside: Songs from Waitress wasn't just her singing songs from the musical, but also her singing the songs because, well, she wrote them. She discusses how this came about near the end of the book. 

With that said, I acquainted myself with Jenna, the protagonist of both the musical and movie, and found myself gravitating toward her and the powerhouse song "She Used To Be Mine" (of course written and performed by Bareilles, and provided below to the right) because Jenna and I had been in the same situation more or less. Sure I had not been pregnant or in an affair and abusive relationship, but I was lost, which I would've found myself hard to admit at the time.

After discovering all of this, I'd clicked songs that were recommended on Youtube and immersed myself in as many songs I could hear from Bareilles. Of course, there are a few I'm not a fan of, but for the most part, I love the majority. 

So, eventually, I got the book (because I felt that I deserved to buy something for myself after saving my money frugally for the past four years) and I wasn't too disappointed. Yeah, scratch that. I got a fucking paper cut opening up the fucking package, so besides that, everything was pretty damn good.

I'm going to start this article with the cons and finish off with the pros, so that you all end on a light note, but as you can see below, I'm giving this book a 4.5/5 hearts. Let me explain why.

Con #1: The book was incredibly short (under 200 pages)

Considering that she is a beloved singer with a lovely history and music like no other, I would have wanted more. I do appreciate, however, that she did open herself as she did; it must not have been an easy thing, as she admits within the first few pages. Her writing does justify a lot of her struggles and experiences, but I would have hoped for a bit more for someone who's written several albums and who is a five-time Grammy nominee.

Con #2: The grammatical and syntactical errors

When I'm reading, I want to know that I don't need to annotate my book when it's not obligatory. Apparently, the lack of quotation marks around song names completely passed by the editor throughout the entire novel. As a novelist myself, I intuitively feel like adjusting novels when I think my creative processes and ideas get the best of me and when I see fit. However, this book was hardly a novel and there's not much I can change when it comes to someone else's life (a.k.a. nonfiction), so I thought I was going to read pen-free. I guess I was wrong. Sure, I didn't have to make corrections, but it's really irritating when I'm reading and find grammatical and syntactical errors, so that was kind of blah.

Pro #1: She has an incredibly unique story to tell. But also, I like that it wasn't a narrative. 

Reading comments on Goodreads, I have found that a lot of people prefer books with a chronological order of events, but I liked that each chapter wasn´t in that order. However, that's not to say that it wasn't organized. Okay, upon first sight, you might wonder What does "My Life (so far) in Song" even mean? I had an idea myself before I read it, but was astounded to find that it was structured such that the chapters were names of several of the songs that have influenced her the most, namely: 

Each chapter is crafted with a spectacularly witty and life-altering experience that has shaped her in some way, whether that be coping with her parents' divorce, experiencing rejection after rejection from shitty people from her record company, or even a breakup (cue any Taylor Swift song here). She does not shy away from discussing her struggle with her weight, image, and self-esteem, which, she admits, still linger today, even as she is a grown woman. Yet, her

She includes the struggle of starting a new path, being lost, and being the odd one out in a seemingly singular and narrow-minded industry.

The entire layout of the chapter "Beautiful Girl" is written as letters to herself--the younger, formative, and current versions of herself. They are letters reminding herself that she is imperfect and has insecurities, assuring herself (and the reader) that everything will be okay as she accounts the experiences she had growing up at different stages of her life, kind of in the style of telling her childhood and formative and current self all of her adult wisdom.

Pro #2: She includes guest writers and pictures.

I'm not sure if this is because the struggle of writing a book eventually became real and she needed to fill pages because she ran out of content and words and laziness set in store or if she genuinely felt that her book needed guest writers to make her book seem more authentic, but I'm glad that she chose to include photos from throughout her life and the guest writers.

Guest writers include Jessica Vicker, a personal fan and friend of Bareilles; musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer Jack Antonoff; and bandmate and musical director Chris Morrisey.

These offered a personal touch to the book that couldn't be tangible otherwise. For example, Bareilles accounts her personal connection with her fans on several occasions.

For instance, Vicker mentions that no one experiences music the same way. Music is personal to the musician and the listen, who have different backgrounds, but nevertheless, the same message is felt.

Bareilles responded to this in her book about performing her song "Satellite Call" in concert:
"It took my breath away when I opened my eyes to see the entire audience had held up the flashlights on their phones, creating a blanket of thousands of tiny, twinkling, swirling lights, surrounding us. . . . it felt like a symbolic exchange. Of being heard and seen. Each little light represented somebody out there who was listening, and collectively, they created a sea of stars. A sea of souls, rather, and I was honored to be among them."

Pro #3: She leaves out all of the bs about her success and instead focuses on the meaning and story behind each of the songs she has entailed in the book.

She's unapologetic about her accomplishments and doesn't brag either, which I appreciate. She weaves her achievements into her stories but definitely does not spend too much time to discuss the minuteness of how or why these achievements came about when the whole experience is about development as a musician, public figure, and human being. She's humbled by the experiences, especially those moments of failure, which comprise most of her experiences.

However, there was a moment, which I will account here:
"[Brave] got released in April 2014, and I braced myself for the inevitable frenzy that would come when it shot to number one on every chart in the world. I was sure this song was going to connect with the masses with the same kind of explosive energy. I had felt when we wrote it. I wrote . . .  about how difficult it was going to be to handle the amount of attention the song would get. I tried to emotionally prepare myself for rising to a new level of fame and what would come with that. I finally understood how Oprah must feel. 

Cue humble pie. The song didn't 'shoot' in any direction . . . although Brave was warmly received and definitely supported on the radio, there was no fanfare. Not even a parade in my honor. It was just another song . . . It's embarrassing that I let my ego have so much real estate, but again I was reminded there is always room for more humility."

Pro #4: Her songs connect with people in many ways, and her stories, in much more.

In "Gravity", for example, Bareilles accounts in the chapter of the same name:
"Over the years, people have shared incredible stories of heartbreak, yes, but also of addiction, loss, death, and moving away from stagnancy in their lives. Those stories are moving and healing for me too. I am grateful to be a part of that exchange. I continue to see that the more I am willing to share the deepest and darkest parts of myself, the closer I feel to my life's work. Maybe that's why I don't tire of being requested to sing 'Gravity'. I t gave a lot back to me." (40)

I know how she writes as a songwriter, but I wasn't quite sure how she'd write a book, let alone eight essays in that book, so I was hardly disappointed when I found her poetic and metaphoric style in touch. Hopefully, with the song lyrics provided throughout the blog post, you can experience a bit of what I'm talking about. She really does have a way with words that make her such a unique artist! However, don't expect her to make another book anytime soon.

Her conversational, witty, and charming voice in the book is just as resounding as she addresses the reader with self-help through her own struggles, something she still finds herself dealing with as an adult.

Throughout the article, I have provided each song Bareilles included in her book, which I suggest you listen to before, during, and after your reading session. You can catch the meaning and references she alludes to while enjoying the strong, poetic nature of her music.

I've also compiled my favorite lyrics from each of the songs Bareilles contains in her book. If you read the book, you'll find that at least have the lyrics are provided for each song already, apparently handwritten.

In summary, I did give this book a 4.5/5, which says a lot. I was only slightly disappointed--more inspired, if anything, to venture on my own songwriting again. I've taken a hiatus from songwriting as I had from blogging, and now I'm adamant that I'm back. Bareilles seems to have that effect--of comfort and inspiration, even if she's not aware of it herself. Quite frankly, even as Bareilles admits herself, I think that this book was enough, even if I think that this book could have been better in several ways. After reading this, I'm an even bigger fan than before!

With all love,

The Funky Nurd