Quick answer: Sara Bareilles says Meg Wolitzer’s 2013 novel The Interestings sparked the creative language that led her to write the score for a new stage musical based on that book, and the novel’s themes also informed her album Good Grief and her reflections on loss, presence, and mental health.
What happens when a pop songwriter with Broadway chops finds a novel that reframes both her artistic voice and personal life? This piece tracks how The Interestings opened a new musical vocabulary for Bareilles, how grief and fertility struggles shaped her recent work, and what practical steps she describes for artists balancing survival with art.
Watch or listen
Full conversation (video): https://youtu.be/Bt9ryhNSXLw. For the uncut interview archive, visit the Books That Changed My Life YouTube Channel.
What the book is and why it matters
About the novel: Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings (2013) follows six friends who meet at an arts summer camp in the 1970s and traces their lives over decades. The story focuses on Jules Jacobson—an outsider who longs to be remarkable—and examines ambition, class, luck, and the uneven outcome of talent and persistence.
How the book became a musical project
Bareilles had spent a decade in musical theatre since Waitress, but she says she was waiting for the right narrative to ignite her next project. After being sent many potential sources, The Interestings was the one that immediately opened a new door for her writing—eliciting musical ideas she’d never composed before. She is composing the score for the official stage adaptation alongside Meg Wolitzer and a theatre director.
Where to find the original book
Buy Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings (paperback) here: Walmart listing.
Grief, presence, and mental health in Bareilles’s account
Bareilles links The Interestings’ exploration of longing and mortality to her own life. She has long experienced anxiety and intense empathy; at 46 she began taking Lexapro, which she describes as a turning point for managing those symptoms. That medical step, together with confronting loss and fertility struggles, informed how she learned to stay present rather than live in future anxieties.
Key personal details to note
- Sara Bareilles connected the novel’s themes to her experience with anxiety and grief.
- She began taking Lexapro at age 46 and cites it as a meaningful change in her mental-health toolkit.
- Her album Good Grief channels experiences of loss and was recorded at Dreamland Studios in upstate New York.
Characters and identification
Bareilles identifies most with Jules Jacobson—whose awkwardness, envy, and desire to be interesting echo the artist’s own internal questions. Rather than seeing Jules’s life choices as failures, Bareilles interprets them as steps toward accepting that being present and ordinary can itself be enough.
Infertility, surrender, and the making of Good Grief
Bareilles spoke about fertility treatments and the uncertain emotional terrain they create. Those experiences—coping with hopes that may not materialize—fed the thematic core of the album Good Grief. The record uses sorrow and transformation as creative fuel rather than as endpoints.
Practical takeaways for creators
- Prioritize presence: Accepting limits and mortality can free attention for the work at hand.
- Keep practical footing: Bareilles advises using day-to-day jobs to pay bills while continuing to pursue art, rather than abandoning creativity when money gets tight.
- Use grief as material: Loss and love interweave; processing them honestly can deepen artistic output.
Quoted by Bareilles in the conversation: “Great love and great loss are just… they’re braided together. But they are. They are one.”
- Full archive and episodes: Books That Changed My Life main website
- Listen on Spotify: Podcast on Spotify
- Official podcast directory: YouTube Music playlist
About Sara Bareilles (brief)
Sara Bareilles is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, and actor known for hits such as “Love Song” and “Brave.” She received Tony and Grammy nominations for composing the Broadway musical Waitress and appeared in the series Girls5eva.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Which book inspired Sara Bareilles’s upcoming stage musical?
A: The source is Meg Wolitzer’s novel The Interestings (2013); Bareilles says it set the musical direction for her new stage adaptation.
Q: Which character in The Interestings does Sara Bareilles feel closest to?
A: She identifies most strongly with Jules Jacobson, relating to Jules’s mix of insecurity, odd humor, and the yearning to be notable.
Q: What is the name of the album where Bareilles explores personal loss?
A: The album is titled Good Grief. Bareilles recorded it primarily at Dreamland Studios in upstate New York, and its themes reflect mourning, acceptance, and transformation.
Q: What practical advice does Bareilles offer to artists worried about money?
A: Her recommendation is pragmatic: keep work that covers expenses—odd jobs or steady gigs—so you can continue creating without abandoning your art out of financial pressure.
Closing reflection
Sara Bareilles’s conversation about The Interestings shows how a single novel can reframe an artist’s creative approach and personal priorities. By attending to grief, presence, and practical realities, she models a route where honest life experience becomes the seed of new art.
Related discussion on creative pressure and performance: Michael Blaustein on Inner Excellence.
Promotional link (original site): I AM LEADER Presentation Book Set.
Related reading on techieclouds.com: Why Did You Ever Give Away Your Agency and Power of Choice?; Jailbreak Your Mind: Rewrite Your Mental Code.
