Something Is Always on Fire

Opera sensation Measha Brueggergosman has moved audiences around the world with her unique gifts. Among her many triumphs, she has won Juno Awards, been nominated for a Grammy, sung to a telecast of over 3 billion viewers at the opening of the 2010 Olympic Games, and soloed in the great concert halls of Canada, the United States, Asia and Europe. But her success has been matched by personal hardship. As she explains, “I believe I can now look back on my life and understand its trajectory, both the painful parts and the joyful parts. I know I have been blessed on a scale which is almost ridiculous, but which is pretty much in balance with what I’ve experienced in heartache.”

In this searingly honest and insightful memoir, Brueggergosman shares her experiences with music, but also her ongoing struggle to balance her ambition for a life fully lived with the traditions and responsibilities she has committed herself to. She reflects on the ups and downs of marrying young and the tragedy of losing children, on the efforts to understand who she has become in contrast to how she was raised, on how her health problems have changed her, on the psychological push-and-pull of being a performer and the unavoidable effects of consistent audience approval. Through it all, Brueggergosman has weathered the storms, bolstered by her faith and her family, and revelling in her appetite for music, food, yoga and sex.