About the Book
New York Times bestselling poet and multiplatinum singer-songwriter Jewel explores her unconventional upbringing and extraordinary life in an inspirational memoir that covers her childhood to fame, marriage, and motherhood.
When Jewel's first album, Pieces of You, topped the charts in 1995, her emotional voice and vulnerable performance were groundbreaking. In the tradition of Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell (she has been compared to both), a singer-songwriter of her kind had not emerged in decades. Now, with over thirty million albums sold worldwide, Jewel tells the story of her life and the lessons learned from her experience and her music.
Living on a homestead in Alaska, Jewel learned to yodel at age three and joined her parents' act, working in hotels, honkytonks, and biker bars. Behind a strong-willed and independent family life, with an emphasis on music and artistic talent, was also instability, abuse, and trauma. At age fifteen Jewel was accepted to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, where she began writing her own songs as a means of expression. She was eighteen, homeless, and living out of her car in San Diego when a radio DJ aired a bootleg version of her song, and it was requested into the top-ten countdown, something unheard of for an unsigned artist. By age twenty-one, her debut album went multiplatinum.
There is so much more to Jewel's story, one complicated by family and financial woes, by crippling fear and insecurity, by parents who forced a child to grow up far too quickly, and by the extraordinary circumstances in which she become a world-famous singer and songwriter. Here Jewel reflects on how she survived and how writing songs, poetry, and prose has saved her life many times over. She writes beautifully about the natural wonders of Alaska, about pain and childhood trauma, and about discovering her own identity years after the entire world had discovered the beauty of her songs.
About the Author :
Jewel is an American singer, songwriter, poet, actress, philanthropist, and mother. She has received four Grammy nominations and has sold over thirty million albums worldwide. She is the founder of Higher Ground for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that works in education, research, program development, and building alliances with charities. Raised in Homer, Alaska, she currently lives in Tennessee and Colorado with her son.
Jewel is an American singer, songwriter, poet, actress, philanthropist, and mother. She has received four Grammy nominations and has sold over thirty million albums worldwide. She is the founder of Higher Ground for Humanity, a nonprofit organization that works in education, research, program development, and building alliances with charities. Raised in Homer, Alaska, she currently lives in Tennessee and Colorado with her son.
Review :
"Alaskan homesteader, singer, and poet Jewel has lived a famous rags-to-riches story and now tells all the painful details of her turbulent life in this appealing memoir...Her determination to carve out a happy life in the midst of so much conflict is admirable, and her honesty is both bracing and appreciated...Her story is sure to inspire."
-- "Booklist (starred review)"
"Evocative and captivating...Jewel's writing is conversational poetry, filled with rich details, as she explores her heritage or explains what she taught herself about music, art, and the music business...Jewel's lyrics, generously included throughout, reflect her authenticity and generosity. This is a solidly good read."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Jewel is a truth teller. Never Broken occupies that sacred space of soulful storytelling, hard-earned wisdom, and beautiful writing. I couldn't put it down and I can't stop thinking about it. This is a book that lingers in your heart."
-- "Brené Brown, PhD, #1 New York Times bestselling author"
"Jewel's life in Never Broken reminded me so much of my own. But if we hadn't of come from hardship and nothing, we wouldn't have made something out of ourselves...In her stories about her childhood I can't help but see so much of my own. The good, the bad, the love, the heartbreak. It's all there and it's all Jewel."
-- "Loretta Lynn"
"Lushly descriptive, chronicling the author's earliest days on the old 'homestead, ' singing in saloons, busking in Mexico, and later living out of broken-down automobiles while trying to make a living in the music business. The author mines her psyche for the benefit of both herself and anyone else embroiled in profound emotional crisis...A moving musical essay that should strike all the right notes with a wide selection of readers."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
