A review by boldeststroke
Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song by Sara Bareilles

funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

So... if you happen to catch the next time someone gets that cheeky look on their face and says to me, "So is it true that you wrote Love Song for your record label when they told you to write them a love song?"

You will mostly likely see me smile and answer yes.

But you'll know better.

i have been listening to sara bareilles for as long as i can remember. one of my earliest and most formative memories is seeing her face displayed on the screen of every possible television set at the entrance of the sam's club in my hometown, the music video for king of anything playing on all of them. since then, i have been carrying her music with me, letting her soundtrack some of my most hectic years, so i am forever grateful to have her songs in the background of my life.

that makes sense the more that i think about it, considering the whirlwind of events that she details in this book. her music thrives and connects the best in chaos. no wonder her most recent record is named that. even though this is about a world i am not entirely familiar with, it is insightful as hell. this is a side of sara that you can encounter easily in her discography, but you will never really know it until you have seen it put down on the page. she speaks openly about her experiences in the music industry and earnestly about her slow but steady progress into feeling accomplished, fulfilled, and loved. it is exactly the kind of story that speaks outside the bounds of anything standard.

the day that what's inside was released, i instantly fell in love with every song, their sweet simplicity a perfect accompaniment for the musical that waitress would soon be. it is interesting to revisit it all these years later, reading her thoughts before she would ever go on to play the woman she was writing for. to echo her, full circle indeed.

i highly recommend listening to the audiobook while reading a physical copy! she sings every song that each chapter is named after, so hearing it in combination with reading her handwritten lyrics makes the read feel much more personal. i have to say, though, the song i loved hearing her sing most isn't the title of any of the essays. also, the photos of her! everything about this memoir is so lived in, something absent from others i have read. i can't wait to see what she does now. (i wish it was more girls5eva!)
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