Editing Sarah McLachlan (section)

==Early and personal life==
McLachlan was born on January 28, 1968, in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]].<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=824}}</ref> The daughter of Judy James, McLachlan was raised by her [[adoption|adoptive]] parents, Jack, an [[United States|American]]-born [[marine biologist]], and Dorice McLachlan. The family also included two older adopted brothers, Stewart and Ian.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sarah McLachlan |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mclachlan-sarah#:~:text=The%20daughter%20of%20a%20woman,adopted%20brothers%2C%20Stewart%20and%20Ian. |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=25 February 2025}}</ref> As a child, she was a member of [[Girl Guides of Canada]], participating in Guiding programs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cambridgetimes.ca/opinion-story/6155448-celine-dion-margaret-atwood-among-long-list-of-girl-guides/|title=Opinion {{!}} Celine Dion, Margaret Atwood among long list of Girl Guides|date=December 2, 2015|website=[[Cambridge Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160229003854/http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/opinion-story/6155448-celine-dion-margaret-atwood-among-long-list-of-girl-guides/|archive-date=February 29, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=April 23, 2020}}</ref>

McLachlan played music from a very young age, beginning with the [[ukulele]] when she was four. She studied classical guitar, classical piano, and voice<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sarah-mclachlan-emc|title=Sarah McLachlan|encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115020627/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sarah-mclachlan-emc/|archive-date=January 15, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref> at the [[Maritime Conservatory of Music]]<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.solaced.info/about/bio/|title=Sarah's Biography/Discography|website=Solaced.info}}</ref> through the curriculum of [[The Royal Conservatory of Music]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/sarah-mclachlan-on-recording-her-third-album-in-1993|title=Sarah McLachlan on recording her third album in 1993|date=March 26, 1993|website=[[CBC.ca]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327095556/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/sarah-mclachlan-on-recording-her-third-album-in-1993|archive-date=March 27, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rcmusic.com/sites/default/files/files/MusicMatters-Spring2012.pdf|title=Mentor Memories with singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan|website=[[The Royal Conservatory of Music]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128135542/https://www.rcmusic.com/sites/default/files/files/MusicMatters-Spring2012.pdf|archive-date=January 28, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref> At 17, while she was still a student at [[Queen Elizabeth High School (Halifax, Nova Scotia)|Queen Elizabeth High School]], in Halifax, she fronted a short-lived rock band called the October Game, whose members also included drummer [[Creighton Doane]].<ref name=havenot>{{cite book|last1=Barclay|first1=Michael|last2=Jack|first2=Ian A.D.|last3=Schneider|first3=Jason|title=[[Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995]]|date=2011 |publisher=[[ECW Press]]|isbn=978-1-55022-992-9|page=464}}</ref> One of the band's songs, "Grind", credited as a group composition, can be found on the independent Flamingo Records release ''Out of the Fog'' and the CD ''Out of the Fog Too''.

Following the October Game's first concert at [[Dalhousie University]] opening for [[Moev]], McLachlan was offered a recording contract with Vancouver-based independent record label [[Nettwerk]] by Moev's [[Mark Jowett]]. McLachlan's parents insisted that she finish high school and complete one year of studies at the [[Nova Scotia College of Art and Design]] before moving to Vancouver and embarking on a new life as a recording artist. She finally signed to Nettwerk two years later before having written a single song.

In 1994, McLachlan was sued by Uwe Vandrei, an obsessed fan from [[Ottawa]], who alleged that his letters to her had been the basis of the single "[[Possession (Sarah McLachlan song)|Possession]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-09-ca-48144-story.html|title=POSSESSED: An Ottawa, Canada computer programmer has...|last=Hochman|first=Steve|date=October 9, 1994|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221111204608/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-09-ca-48144-story.html|archive-date=November 11, 2022|url-status=live|access-date=June 11, 2024}}</ref> The lawsuit was challenging for the Canadian legal system since Vandrei was an admitted [[stalking|stalker]] whose acknowledged goal in filing the lawsuit was to be near McLachlan. Precautions were taken to ensure McLachlan's safety if she had to be in the same location as Vandrei. Before the trial began, Vandrei was found dead in an apparent [[suicide]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/sarah-mclachlan-19980430|title=Interview: Sarah McLachlan|last=Mundy|first=Chris|date=April 30, 1998|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|page=6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118162934/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/sarah-mclachlan-19980430|archive-date=November 18, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=November 17, 2016}}</ref>

McLachlan married her drummer, [[Ashwin Sood]], in [[Jamaica]] in 1997. In December 2001, while McLachlan was pregnant with her first child, her mother died from [[cancer]]. McLachlan gave birth to her daughter, India, in Vancouver on April 6, 2002. Five years later, she gave birth to her second daughter Taja, also in Vancouver, on June 22. McLachlan announced her separation from Sood in September 2008,<ref name=billboard /> and they divorced the same year.<ref name="usma_Sara">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sarah-mclachlan-opens-up-about-devastating-divorce-2011275/|title=Sarah McLachlan Opens Up About "Devastating" Divorce|author=<!--Us Weekly staff writers; no by-line-->|date=May 27, 2011|magazine=[[Us Weekly]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920020207/https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/sarah-mclachlan-opens-up-about-devastating-divorce-2011275/|archive-date=September 20, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=December 10, 2017}}</ref>

In 2014, when asked what religion she practices, she answered, "I don't adhere to any particular religion. [[Pantheism|I view the concept of God as an energy that we all are part of and share]]. If I had any spiritual leanings, it would be towards [[buddhism]]. But again, I follow my own path most of my life."<ref>{{cite web |last1=McLachlan |first1=Sarah |title=Sarah McLachlan here on reddit. Ask me anything. Fire away! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/24v498/comment/chaz2ex/ |website=Reddit |access-date=20 December 2024 |date=6 May 2014}}</ref>