Falling Backwards, Jann Arden
Falling Backwards, Jann Arden
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Falling Backwards
A Memoir

Author: Jann Arden

Narrator: Jann Arden

Unabridged: 8 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Published: 10/27/2020


Synopsis

Jann Arden is funny. And sincere. She has legions of devoted fans. And a radio show. She is a darling of the music scene - always candid, always unplugged. You thought you knew Jann Arden, but there is more - to her readers' delight, in Falling Backwards Jann reveals her childhood, her bond with family, her struggle in the formative years and what keeps her so grounded in the whirlwind entertainment industry. Jann has always been true to herself, except for a minor lapse when she was young. Oh wait, wasn't that all of us?

From the tender and honest to the laugh-out-loud funny, Jann's stories from home and from the road during her pre-celebrity years will take you to unexpected places, including high school parties in farmer's fields, sleepovers under the stars, hard-to-believe summer jobs and the time she was stuck upside down in a brick barbecue. She reminds us of the inestimable value to a child of having teachers who believe in you and wide open spaces to play. But with the good times come the bad (and not just the bad perm). Jann opens up about the darker side of her so-called prairie perfect nuclear family and the first signs that her eldest brother was a uniquely troubled young man. In the days when Jann was experiencing a lot of firsts - first school play, first home perm, first kiss - how lucky for all of us that she stole away to her basement and taught herself her first song on her mother's guitar.

In addition to being an incredible musician and multi-award-winning lyricist, Jann is a natural writer and simply an inspiration. Jann will capture your heart - and keep you in stitches - with her powerful stories about coming of age as an artist and as a human being. Jann brings her wit and that infectious sparkle to everything she does. This book is no exception.

About The Author

JANN ARDEN is a singer, songwriter, broadcaster, actor, author and social media star. The celebrated multi-platinum, award-winning artist catapulted onto the music scene in 1993 with her debut album, Time for Mercy, featuring the hit single "I Would Die for You." A year later she had her international break-out hit, "Insensitive." She has written four books, the most recent being the Canadian bestseller Feeding My Mother: Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss. A multiple Juno Award-winner, Jann continues to record and tour; in 2020 she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. She is also the star of her own hit TV sitcom, Jann, which debuted in 2019, and will air a new season in 2020, and the host of the weekly Jann Arden Podcast.


Reviews

Goodreads review by C. (Comment, never msg). on June 23, 2023

* I consider comments a reward. Please only leave “like button” clicks if you are accompanying them with remarks. * Gosh, Jann Arden has been a staple since I was in university. She also appeared on the “Ellen” comedy. I have six of her albums. Some favourite songs are “Could I Be Your Girl”, “I Woul......more

Goodreads review by Meredith on July 18, 2017

While I don't know a lot of her songs, I think the only one I can name is "Insensitive", I love Jann Arden. She is someone I would love to sit down and have a great chat with. And that is what this book is. A chat with a cool person, learning about their lives. She is so witty and has a great dry hu......more

Goodreads review by Shauna on December 18, 2011

I have always loved Jann. It started the when I bought and listened to "Living Under June." over and over again at 12 years old. Her songs have always spoken to me in ways no other music has. Is it no surprise that the words she wrote on her life would be the same. So honest, so straight forward but......more

Goodreads review by Charyl on January 03, 2018

I loved this book from cover to cover. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all about what made Jann Arden into the wonderful singer/songwriter she is today. Her story is written with warmth and heart and I loved all of her reminiscing, good and bad. It took me right back to my childhood...such a si......more


Quotes

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“As talented, funny and engaging as Jann Arden can be, perhaps the most impressive thing about the eight-time Juno Award winner is her modesty.” —The Globe and Mail
 
“The type of free-spirited, brutally truthful woman who can stand toe to toe with any man or woman. Funny and not afraid to sprinkle an interview with helpings of words your mother would never allow in the house, Arden is two parts poet and one part your crazy aunt.” —The Toronto Sun
 
“[Jann Arden is] abundantly and humorously generous with herself in public. . . . No doubt Arden holds some secrets, some passions, some pain close to the vest, but, like the best gossip in the neighbourhood, she diverts our attention with titillating yarns.” —Toronto Star“
 
“If it were possible to distil the mirth in a person’s eyes onto the page, this memoir would be the result.... If readers aren’t already fans, they are going to be after taking in her nostalgic, at times even lyrical, and frequently belly-laugh-inducing accounts of growing up.” —Winnipeg Free Press
 
“A pretty great, easy, light read, and succeeds because it’s written entirely in Arden’s voice.” —The Gazette
 
“Incredibly rich...a universally relatable coming-of-age portrait pieced together from 30 years’ worth of sorrow, laughter and joy.” —Ottawa Citizen

“A compelling read, told in Arden’s conversational style.” —The Hamilton Spectator