Car brakes grind and car veers to one side.?

Today I noticed my car started making a horrible grinding sound when I brake. It happened twice and each time it happened it felt like the brakes weren't working and the car pulls to one side. It doesn't sound like metal on metal and I can really feel it in the brake pedal. Needless to say I took the car right home and it is parked in the driveway. The brake pads and rotors are fairly new. I will definitley be taking it in but would like to have an idea of what is going on before I take it in and get duped into something it may not be. Unfortunately, being a female has its problems when taking a car into a shop. Any ideas I can take to the mechanic as to what it might be would be helpful.