Sounds Like Me

By: Sara Bareilles

Narrated by: Sara Bareilles, Ben Folds, Jack Antonoff

Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Read—and sung—by Sara Bareilles!

With refreshing candor, Sounds Like Me reveals Sara Bareilles - the artist and the woman - and her take on songwriting, soul searching, and what's discovered along the way. She shares the joys and the struggles that come with creating great work, all while staying true to herself. Imbued with humor and marked by Sara's confessional writing style, this collection tells the inside story behind some of her most popular songs.

Most recently known for her chart-topper "Brave", Sara first broke through in 2007 with her multiplatinum single "Love Song". She has released five albums that have sold 2.5 million copies and spawned several hits. More than a privileged view inside the experience of a remarkable musical talent - this is a moving tribute to the universal search for growth, healing, and self-acceptance.

©2015 Sara Bareilles. All rights reserved. (P)2015 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sounds Like Me, too

I have read a lot of books in my life. Books are important to me, they’ve made me who I am. Words are that way too. In my mind, sometimes I like to pretend I’m a writer. In reality, I cling to words I didn’t write to try and express how I feel and find answers about who I am. In my mind, writers are people that feel a pull towards making their thoughts tangible, can weave intricate patterns of words to express themselves or make sense of whats going on in their heads. I’ve felt like that a few times in my life. I am not a writer, but I felt like one yesterday. Yesterday, a book came into my life that made me want to tell the world how much it meant to me, or at least send it out into the void. Hello, void.

Yesterday I drove from Charleston, South Carolina back to school in Elon, North Carolina after a long weekend trip with my parents. I’m 4 months into a 10 month masters program, living 10 hours from home for the first time, and feeling myself floundering more often than I’d like to admit. I am a self-professed enthusiastic car singer but I signed up for audible.com just so I could listen to this book. I would like to officially go back in time and congratulate past me on making such a great decision. My trip home was like sitting down to chat with a guardian angel disguised as an older sister figure who was sent to tell me everything I needed to hear right when I needed to hear it.

Let’s just get it out there: I cried a lot. They should put a warning on this audiobook not to listen to it while you’re driving because the tears will obstruct your view. But I laughed a lot too. I felt moved and inspired, and like I might not be as lost as I feel like I am sometimes – or at least I’m lost in the right direction. I wanted to plaster my walls with whole paragraphs so I could read them everyday. I felt a pull to find a way to write down everything that I felt, every reaction I had, every time I thought “thank God” for feeling like I wasn’t the only one who felt like a messy shell of who I want to be sometimes. I’ve read other collections of essays from people I admire, but none that felt like they were speaking directly to me like this one did. This book is special. Sara is a writer, in the very best sense of the word. Sara is the kind of writer I dream about being. She is witty, she is smart, she is honest, and she is inspiring. Her words were like a beacon of light, like a map to a place I haven’t reached yet, but might someday because she told me I can. I just needed to write that down, to thank her in some way for making me cry and making me laugh and being there when I needed her. I needed to send this out into the void.

Dear Sara,
Thank you for sending this piece of yourself out into the world for me to find. Thank you for saying all the things I needed to hear, without even knowing I needed to hear them. Thank you for writing a book that sounded just like you, but sounded a little bit like me too.
Love, Keara

18 people found this helpful

I'm Not Going to Write You a Review

Terrific person.
Terrific artist.
The writing isn't always incredible, but it's still very heartfelt. (And I personally loved getting to know her better!)

(P.S. Stick around for the outtakes at the very end. Totally worth it!)

10 people found this helpful

Absolutely delightful

Hearing Sara read this book is like hearing a good old friend opening up about some personal backstory that you never heard before. That probably makes more sense in my head but what you need to know is that this book is awesome, Sara's delivery is superb (not to say hilarious at times) and overall a whole journey through the backstory of some of her best songs she chose for this book.

I thought I couldn't love and respect miss Sara B. any more, well I was completely WRONG.

Sara's music and persona is a gift for everyone and I seriously hope she continues to do this great in the future!

6 people found this helpful

A Wonderful Surprise!

Any additional comments?

I'll be honest - I bought this book under the 2 for 1 promotion and prior to purchasing it, I knew of Sara, but only in a very limited sense. I'm SO glad I decided to buy this book. It was so beautiful and listening to Sara talk about her experiences in relation to her music was really something special.

I like how she addressed certain key moments in her adolescence that helped mold her into the person she is today. It was those type of moments that I found myself identifying with the most. Like Sara, I was also picked on a lot as a child for being overweight, and now as an adult, I mostly laugh off those experiences when I think back to them....but I can't deny the fact that it really did affect me and helped shape me into the person I am now.

Throughout the whole book, Sara was incredibly grounded. I really felt like I got to know her. I also REALLY enjoyed her singing bits. So gorgeous and emotional! Overall, this book was heartfelt and honest. It was also inspiring and had a lot of life lessons that one could take with them.

Another thing that I really appreciated is that Sara didn't seem to "try" too hard. She was just herself and that shined through. Sometimes writers are SO funny or SO witty or SO deep.....although this can be inspiring, sometimes it comes off as inauthentic or unrelatable. Throughout the book, I could feel that Sara was unapologetically herself, and I loved that about her. It encouraged me to love myself more and stop trying to mold myself into this "perfect" stereotype of what I think I "should" be.

This was a lovely book and I know it's one I'll listen to again!

5 people found this helpful

LOVE

oh my heavens did this come at the right time in my life. great songs. even greater stories. I'd like to share that literally as I finished this book, and made a very tough decision in my life because of it, the great city of Oklahoma city proceeded to SHOOT OFF FIREWORKS OUTSIDE MY WINDOW!
thank you to Sara and team for this great work. thank you to whatever is up there for the flaming rockets.

A++ don't hesitate to purchase.

♡♡♡Brian

5 people found this helpful

what a treat!

i liked Sara's music but didn't consider myself much of a fan before listening to this book. I bought it because it was a "buy 2 for 1 token deal" but WOW am I glad I did. She opens up for a sincere look inside her life.
My favorite parts were the singing. It felt like being in a living room and she just decided to perform just for you and a small group of friends with her beautiful voice. Evey song just felt like such a treat.

5 people found this helpful

She is soo amazing

This is one of the best audio books I have ever read. The interwoven music and reading is really special. It's short but meaningful. Enjoy!!

3 people found this helpful

Wholesome, honest and adorable

This book made me laugh, cry and ultimately feel an even deeper connection to an artist I already loved more than most. In it Sara is never pretentious and incredibly self-reflective in a way that feels wonderfully genuine. Her voice is a delight to listen to, as always, and the guest narrators / essays were really fun and touching.

1 person found this helpful

A Truly Beautiful Adventure

The word beautiful gets thrown around a lot these days, and while I appreciate the beauty and support we give, I find myself lacking the vocabulary to describe something as beautiful as the stories shared in this book. My best guesses would be 'truly honest,' 'unabashedly authentic,' 'from the heart' and 'inspriational,' but even that seems insufficient. Her music helped me find the strength in myself when I needed it the most, and so I suppose I'm a little biased; but the genuine love she puts into her art, can be readily found in the silly, heartwarming, and uplifting tales she describes in this book. I find that to be truly beautiful.

1 person found this helpful

Loved this!

Hearing Sara tell her stories was such a gift! Her ability to paint such an honest, emotional, and sometimes sarcastic picture with words is so incredible and enjoyable to listen to. I read her book years ago, but listening to it was even more impactful. I laughed out loud and cried and related in ways that surprised me. If you love Sara Bareilles, you should have this book in your library!

Recipe to her truth: Sugar, butter, flour.

Absolutely adore Sara and her candour. She is so generous with what she shares here, and the sheer honesty, I feel would bring comfort to a lot of artists who listen to this.

Really enjoyed it.

It was open, very human, fun and insightful and a really worthwhile endeavour. I really enjoyed it.

Any aspiring musician or songwriter read this!

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book, what an incredible truthful account of the highs and lows of an artist. So inspiring and definitely will be listening to it again!

Heartwarmingly funny and genuine

A perfectly imperfect account of Sara's Life so far... the highs and the lows of a seemingly normal life, showing how this musical genius who wears her heart on her sleeve came to be in the spotlight for her beautiful talent.

This audible version has the added bonus if a song at the beginning of each chapter sang by Sara herself as she recounts her story in her own words too... A must for her fans who love her voice and her humour... or even for those who have never heard her before and just want to feel a little less alone in the world x

A lot of heart for a Little Voice

A witty, insightful, playful telling of a talented yet humble and introspective artist, Sara Bareilles.
I loved it.
But above all, my heart needed it.

Just awesome!

she is freaking awesome ! the book is very addictive. wish there was more chapters.

Perfect

I've been a fan of Sara's for many many years. this book is a great insight into her life and how she creates her music.

Took me a while to start...

... but I was so glad I did. The musical parts of the book are just an acoustic version of one of her songs at the start of each chapter, so

Charming and refreshing - a real treat!

As only Sara would this isn't a story of her life, or an explanation of her songs. But something that twists in between those things, opening up the innards of her self discovery throughout her life.
It moved me to tears many times as her story rang true with my own and made me laugh at the funny situations life throws at us.
A real treat!

Now with added singing

Would you listen to Sounds Like Me again? Why?

Most definitely. In fact its on my relisten list for over christmas, in conjunction with the book.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Not so much a scene, instead the chapter introduction to every chapter which comes in the form of a acapella version of a song relevant to the chapter. Though there were scenes that made me laugh out loud, and others that made me want to cry (not recommended whilst driving).

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This book kept me company driving 250 miles one night, and it certainly made the journey a lot more pleasant than usual.