Title: The Woman in Me
Author: Britney Spears
Rating Out of 5: (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Celebrity, Mental health
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2023
Sometimes I read biographies to feel good about life, sometimes I read them to learn something new. And then there are times when I read them because I’m very familiar with the person and I’m absolutely fascinated about the nonsense in their lives. I knew that this wasn’t going to be one of those biographies that was ultimately feel good and made me have faith in humanity. But, I also wasn’t wrong when I thought that this was going to be seriously fascinating. There were moments throughout that were kind of hard to read, but overall, I had a lot of joy in learning more about Britney Spears’ viewpoint of her life and rise to fame. But, more importantly, there is so much hope there for the future too.
One of the parts of The Woman in Me that I found most difficult was Britney’s recollection of the early days of her career. She is adamant that many of the highly sexualised aspects of her career were her own choices. That she always wanted to dance and sing in that way. And even though this is probably true to a degree, I found it horrifying that her parents decided to, at the very least, passively stand by and let her be sexualised in such a way when she was a fifteen year old child. There was something horrifying and icky about it before (when I found out just how old she was), but now, as an adult, and reading about it. Yeah, it just becomes a hell of a lot more Nope.
Something I seriously loved about The Woman in Me is how honest Spears is about not only her depression, but also her many challenges and mental health issues. Her love for her children just jumps off the page. And honestly, all things aside, if I was threatened with never seeing my children again on a frequent basis, I would’ve done a whole lot worse than shaving my damn head. Throughout all of the battles that she faces, it’s really heartwarming to see that she places her love of her children above all else. I know that the use of children against a spouse is not an unknown story, but it’s still absolutely heart wrenching to read about children being used as pawns. No matter what the circumstances, it’s just unfathomable to me. But I guess when there is untold amounts of money to be made or had…
I’m not going to lie, when I heard bits in the media about #FreeBritney and the conservatorships, I really didn’t think much of it. I tend to find the media and all of the nonsense that surrounds celebrities to be a bit much at times. And I tend to ignore it. But, this is one of those few instances that I wish I had been more aware and alert. All I can hope is that in telling her story, Spears is able to not only set the record straight, but also that the legalities of conservatorships will be seriously overhauled. In telling such a disgusting narrative, hopefully there will be some positives and joy for others in the future.
Earth and Skye 