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It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since the release of Born to Fly, multiplatinum country star Sara Evans’ career-defining album that spawned a No. 1 hit song of the same name. Now, the singer behind hits including “Suds In the Bucket” and “A Little Bit Stronger” is telling her own story in a memoir, aptly titled Born to Fly, out Sept. 8.
Drawing on experiences from childhood to present day, Evans opens up about the joys and heartbreak she’s faced and offers up some advice along the way. From an accident that almost took her life at the age of eight to surviving divorce—both her parents’ and her own—a harrowing almost-plane crash and her career in an often-cruel music business, the book offers up more twists and turns than a country song.
Evans grew up on a farm in New Franklin, Missouri, the third of five children, all of whom were taught a dutiful work ethic from an early age. Evans’ mother made sure her kids had a lot of love and a lot of responsibility. Both have impacted the way Evans lives her life today, putting a point on cooking for her family and being present despite a busy schedule.
“I am my mom made over,” she says. “When my nieces and nephews come here and watch me cook, they’re like, ‘You’re Granny Pat!’”
She says the biggest takeaway from her mother was her passion for hard work.
“She definitely taught us that work ethic” she says. “My mom used to always brag on me, and I think this is one of my most proud things. She would always say, ‘Sara is tougher than the boys and she works harder than the boys. She’s the toughest one in the family.’”
That strength was put to the test when Evans was eight years old. Ever the strong-willed child, she defied her parents’ wishes by going to get the mail. Seems safe enough, but on the Evans’ farm the mailbox was down a long gravel driveway and across a county highway.
“I knew I’d get in trouble for going down there alone if I got caught, but once I got something in my mind there was no stopping me,” she says in the book.
In trying to cross the highway, Evans was struck by a speeding car. The accident left her in the hospital for six weeks. To say it was a lifechanging experience would be an understatement. In the book she describes how the event brought her family even closer and changed her relationship with God. It also changed her outlook on life.
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“It taught me from a young age to deal with what life throws your way,” she says. “It also made me an optimist. I’m always telling my children to trust God and you can make it through anything. It’s always going to get better. There’s a reason for this. I really do believe that.”
Later in the book, Evans dives into her career, including her earliest musical memories in a family filled with talent, especially playing alongside her two older brothers at fairs, honky-tonks, and festivals from a young age. As her career evolves, the book follows Evans to Nashville and recounts the series of hits and misses that made her a star. She also takes the current industry to task for its sexist tendencies. Nowhere is Evans more vulnerable than while addressing her parents’ divorce. The event had a huge impact on the singer’s future relationships and family dynamics. It also impacted the way she interacts with her own stepchildren, and she offers up advice often overlooked in parenting guides.
“I’m so often shocked at how awful people act in second marriages, especially in regard to their stepchildren’s other parents,” she says. “It’s not OK to bash the other parent or bash your ex in front of your kids. People need to remember that if they didn’t go through it as a child, they have no idea what the kids are going through. It’s devastating to them. It can change who they are and cause so much tension and sadness.”
Evans is clear as she chronicles her life today and in her past that one thing has remained a constant. And for her, it’s the most important message in the book.
"There’s nothing more important than family.”