The Woman In Me

I preordered this book the moment it was available. The Woman In Me is a great book that is full of raw and honest accounts. Over the years I have started to appreciate Britney even more. Britney needed this book to heal. Even if the book may be ghost-written, I felt her voice is present. This is the book that so many wanted to read after she had been silenced for so long. As a child and teenager, I had no idea how vilified Britney was. A childhood star that had been used and abused in every single way. The people who should have taken care of her exploited her.

I don’t normally review books that have already had lots of reviews and feedback because I would parrot what the others are saying, but I felt obliged to share my thoughts on this book. Britney’s memoir puts all the pieces in the puzzle that people have been trying to put together for years. reading this, I understood the pain and the mistakes that Britney made. She put her faith in the wrong people, but she should not have been treated the way she was.

My favourite parts of the book is where she talks about her passion for singing and dancing. It kept me through the book even though I wanted to stop when things got heavy. The accounts of her mental breakdown read fresh as if it was happening right now.

The Woman in Me taught me that Hollywood Pop Culture is built upon misogyny. Britney admits to having a fling with Wade Robson, but Justin had cheated first and with multiple times and tried to paint Britney as a harlot. I was disgusted with Justin Timberlake’s behaviour, and it’s frustrating that I really like some of Justin’s song, but his attitude towards Britney and also Janet Jackson makes me skin crawl.

Justin is getting a taste of his own medicine and people are enjoying it. I still think Cry Me A River and What Goes Around Comes Around are brilliantly produced tracks and Justin’s vocals shine on them. The part of the book where Britney describes Justin pressuring her to have an abortion of home made me want to smash his CDs.

Before this book, we all assumed that the ballad Everytime was written about Justin but now a lot of people believe it was written about the pregnancy she terminated and how it was the most agonising experiance of her life. Justin may have been young at the time, but he’s an adult! He is old enough and mature enough now to own up to his own mistakes.

I’ve watched some of the documentaries and followed the #freebritney movement on social media. Reading the book, I expected some things. Some of it still made me angry and the book was hard to read at times despite the easy writing style.

Britney tried so hard to please everyone especially her family and her boys and the ones she loved had betrayed her. She was set up in interviews. They would ask why she was a slut and a bad mom and then ask about her sex life and private parts.

A raging alcoholic should never have been put in control in her life. Britney should never have been made to take medication against her will. Britney should have been allowed to see her children more often. It was a great thing that her conservatorship was terminated. It went on for far too long. Britney was scrutinised for things women and men did all the time.

One review I saw on Youtube described Britney as the modern day Monroe. They both have Jean as a middle name, both blonde and both had turbulent personal lifes admist being a culture icon and sex symbol. Very poignant that her friendship with Elton John was what got her back to music whilst Elton dedicated a song for Monroe with Candle in the Wind.

The book ends on a happy note. The connection with the lying on the warm rocks on her neighbour’s garden symbolises her desire to have a loving family. Britney was so many things but all she wanted to be was a normal and loving mother. She had been forced into an abortion, had her sons taken from her and used as blackmail, then she miscarried with her third husband. Even though she is no longer with Sam, he is still painted in a good light unlike her other exes.