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ninamitu's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, and Abortion
nadia_not_there's review against another edition
5.0
Coincidentally I read this book in the same week I watched episode 4 of The Penguin, which tells the story of Sofia Falcone’s gaslighting, forced institutionalisation, imprisonment and torture.
We’re not supposed to feel bad for rich powerful privileged women right?
Well, dammit, men will find a way regardless. To control, to silence, to gaslight, to abuse.
Britney is certainly not the first woman celeb in history to go through this, and indeed many women have experienced this and worse, but this story matters so much. For these themes to come through in a bestseller by someone who the tabloids (i.e. abusers of the precious right to free speech, which others in the world are denied and die for) and streaming services love to exploit could be a good way to get these issues on the table in a big way, which is difficult for the “little guy” to achieve. Britney got the chance to publish a guaranteed bestseller and used her platform to highlight lifelong patterns of these issues.
I will admit that I am not a very critical reader: I find something to like in almost everything I read, I can read almost any genre, and I tend to be especially forgiving of autobiographies/memoirs, because public figures are seldom the best writers!
Britney is not a writer. But she tells her story authentically, with much reflection and what feels like a difficult honesty. The pacing is not slow and she doesn’t really belabour any points. Where she does refer to certain chapters of her life a lot, such as her relationships with Justin & Kevin, or her father’s many flaws, it’s clearly because those affected her profoundly, and she had a lot to say that could not be said before. Tbh I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. She describes the awful things that happened to her while admitting to her own faults and apologising.
After the forced mental “treatment” and rehab, violation of privacy, denial of basic rights, after all the content made without her consent, after having no control of her life for so long, after her creativity and passion were repeatedly stifled, after tabloids provoking then exploiting her merely to keep media shareholders rich, it’s great to hear her own voice.
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, and Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Cultural appropriation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
spl2d's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide
tguccione's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Eating disorder
cmlalonde's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
zesha's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Sexual assault
weelasswithabook's review against another edition
5.0
🌟 Memoir
God this was a difficult read. Right from the get-go it's just a heartbreaking perspective on Britney's life. Right from the beginning of her life she was exposed to suicide, death, and abuse. Just the content warning list above should give you an idea of just how sad this poor woman's life has been.
Britney Spears was a staple of the majority of us elder Millennials childhoods and there's a sense of guilt there (at least how I feel) that we all just took her persona at face value and assumed her life was glitter and dreams. Obviously we weren't to know what was going on behind the curtain, but I don't think I'll ever hear certain songs of hers the same after reading this, now I see where some of the lyrics may have stemmed from.
From a technical aspect, I've seen reviews complaining about the actual writing of the book, and I do agree it felt very juvenile, HOWEVER, this woman was basically trapped as a late teen for the majority of her life and had her voice stifled. It's only very recently that she's had her own life back and I don't think we should be too hard on her for the technicality of her writing. I think it's pretty unfair.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Abortion, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
catherineisa's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Pandemic/Epidemic
laurakfinnegan's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident
jourdanicus's review against another edition
4.5
Britney was a central figure of girlhood for me, like most kids growing up in the 90s and aughts. I'm fascinated (and saddened) by her story. I really appreciate that she could tell it for herself finally (though, I'm assuming, with a ghost writer).
There was a lot I found relatable in this book, as someone who also grew up affected by generational trauma. I can only begin to imagine the mental toll that being a global celebrity at a time when the media was so incredibly hard on celebrities (especially girls and women) has taken on Britney. She might not even understand the full gravity of it yet...
Not to say the book lacked depth; there was definitely vulnerability there. But I think it could have been longer, maybe a little more detailed. I'd love to read more by her someday, if she has more to tell!
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Car accident