When Jewel first jumped into the public eye back in 1995 she surprised everyone with her talent. Her first album Pieces of You which was critically claimed and one of the best selling albums of all time. When I first heard that book was coming out I knew I had to check it out. I love Jewel’s music and her album This Way is one of the first album’s I remember buying with my own money. She always stood out to me as a unique singer as her music was so different from the Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera-esque  on the radio at the time. Her music sounds simple yet complex; soulful yet innocent.

This book included everything you could want in book about Jewel written by Jewel. She includes a great deal of detail of her childhood in Alaska which was very interesting. In particular, I learned that Jewel is from a rather famous family in Alaska; The Kilchers. Her father Atz Kilcher stared in a Discovery Channel show Alaska: The Last Frontier which documents the family’s history and their achievements in pioneer time Alaska.  Needless to say Jewel did not have a typical American childhood. She had a shaky relationship with most of her family, but in particular with her mother Lenedra. Her relationship with her mother eventually proves to not get easier with age and eventually completely dissolves.

Jewel also talks about her various gigs in bars and her adventures hitch hiking. It really was surprising to read that Jewel who seems rather sensitive (music joke intended) and sweet is rather rough and tough. She is certainly not your average modern day singer. I guess it shows you really cannot judge a book by its cover (though this books’s cover is beautiful so you can in this case). She is also a great writer who paces her story very well. Unlike many other memoirs, she does not deter away from any detail due to it being uncomfortable. Whether its her relationship with her mom, the criticism of her pop album or her divorce. I found this incredibly refreshing and it makes me respect her even more. She defends her decisions if she felt it was right and regrets them if they were wrong.

In the end, I really can’t stress enough how enjoyable this book was. I have read many other celebrity memoirs and many of them fall flat. The main difference between those books and this memoir is that Jewel actually has had an interesting life full of trials and errors.  Most people would never want to read about a pampered kid with a silver spoon in her mouth who had everything handed to her. Jewel has worked hard for everything she has and it is very inspiring. Overall it was great read and I would recommend this book to anyway interested in hearing Jewel’s story.

Overall Rating for Never Broken By Jewel: 5/5

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