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megelizabeth's review against another edition
4.5
I knew this was going to be a tough read, but my god did my heart absolutely break for Britney throughout. She tells her story in such a raw, vulnerable way and it was just so surreal finding out everything that was going on with her that I either only knew about vaguely before or wasn't aware of at all.
It's such an intensely moving and powerful read and, whilst I did find some parts lacking in detail, I can also see that going over everything would have been so traumatic for her and that she probably had to limit certain parts for her own sake. She also weaves in some great commentary on celebrity culture and the music industry and just does such a great job of holding multiple powers and abusers to account and really getting her own story and feelings and self across.
Thank god she's free.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Infidelity
Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Death of parent
aromarunwayexpress's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming and Domestic abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Death of parent
hayleyvem's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
srgreen's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
nialiversuch's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Alcohol
tashtasher's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
hayleyw's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
chasingpages1's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Car accident, and Death of parent
smalljoys's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol
david_slack110507's review against another edition
3.75
Before reading this, I had previously known very little about Britney's life other than being one of the most successful artists in the past few decades as well as being in an abusive conservatorship that was eventually exposed to the mass media through the #FreeBritney movement (which Britney acknowledges in this book as being one of the things that kept her going in the fight for full control over her life) so this memoir was very insightful into the tumultuous life of Spears and how it all started from a very young age. Ranging from her family life being unsafe and toxic to using music, dancing, and acting to escape that home life only for those escapes to be poisoned with issues too.
The early and later years in Spears' music career and spotlight in the media really showed how cruel the media can be to those in the spotlight and how this can take various methods from asking deeply personal questions, to sexualising Britney, to harassing her when she was obviously not in the mental space and state to actually deal with everything and much more. Memoirs in particular are very good at exposing how much the media got away with (and continues to do so in some instances) in their treatment of celebrities, particularly women and other minorities, in the earlier years of modern media and I hope that like many other memoirs that spotlight and criticise these issues, Britney's story will help lessen the likelihood for more stories like hers for future stars.
My main issue with this memoir is how it was structured, some parts felt fully explained and in detail while others were less detailed and so there was often a sporadic movement between years that threw me off slightly and made me a little confused as to when a certain event was happening or what family member Spears was referring to due to having only mentioned them at the beginning of the book or a brief description in the midst of a big and important event in her life.
Overall, I'm so glad that Britney is free of her conservatorship and can actually live her life rather than having her life dictated for her like how it was for so long and I wish her all the best when it comes to rebuilding herself slowly from the insurmountable damage caused by her family's control over her. This was such an important story to tell and one that deserved to be told and so I'm glad that Britney finally felt ready to share her story.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic