Alright, y'all, let's just get right into it. I'm not a big memoir girl and more than one person in my real life was surprised by how anxious I was to read Britney Spears' buzzy new tell-all.
I grew up in a household that loved music. There weren't too many rules about what we could and couldn't listen to. But on the flip-side of that, my parents shielded us from a lot of pop-culture. I feel like their approach of not making anything a huge deal and keeping the TV to a minimum in our home gave me a really healthy perspective on celebrities. I never idolized them. I didn't have posters plastering the walls of my bedroom. I really never had celebrity crushes because, what's the point? I'll probably never meet those people in real life, right? So I can't really call myself a Britney Spears superfan or anything. Sure, I own Crossroads on DVD, and if you turned back the clock you could definitely catch my little middle school self dancing around to her songs. My friends and I would choreograph our dances and practice them like it was our actual job. (We weren't just dancing to Britney: pretty much anything with a fun beat—the Beach Boys, Steven Curtis Chapman, *nsync—got airtime too. It was a total free-for-all. The nineties/early aughts were a wild time.)
Growing up in the time that I did, I couldn't have missed the headlines even if I'd tried: Britney's 55-hour Marriage! Britney's Custody Battle with K-Fed! Britney Shaves Her Own Head! And how can an adult woman who makes such a ludicrous amount of money be stuck in this heinous conservatorship for over 13 years?? If I had been on social media during the #FreeBritney movement, you can bet that hashtag would have popped up on my profile here and there.
So when the news dropped that after finally getting out of the conservatorship, Britney would be publishing a memoir: I was all ears. As soon as the release date was announced, I requested that my library preorder it. (Actually, The Woman in Me is what finally motivated me to get my own library card.) And even though my librarian snickered at my overeager request, I ain't sorry because there are over 300 holds on it right now, and your girl was first in line. (Who's laughing now, Lisa?)
But to get to the actual content of the book: I knew it wasn't going to be some sunny-day picnic, and boy, was I right on that. Britney Spears has always seemed like such a genuinely sweet person to me which is such a strange dichotomy from her hypersexualized star persona. As someone who was thrown into the industry at such a young age, I don't think she was equipped to deal with how quickly she rose to fame or how massive that fame was when she got there. (I don't think anyone would be equipped to deal with that.) By the time she was 20 years old, she had paid off all her family's debts and was financially supporting them. But somehow at 26 years of age, her father was able to take over her life as conservator of her person and conservator of her estate. Every single person in this girl's life exploited her, and her own upbringing and naiveté did not prepare her to handle any of it. Britney is a few years older than me, but honestly as I was reading her memoir, I wished I could turn back time and just adopt her. She is literally begging one person, any person in her life to love her unconditionally and that breaks my heart.
As for the information she shares in The Woman in Me, Britney comes across as incredibly honest, but also exceedingly immature. (Like, her maturity may have been stunted as a result of being kept in an abusive conservatorship her entire adult life? Who would have thought?) I'm not gullible enough to believe that this memoir paints a completely accurate portrait of her life, and she does not delve very deeply into her mental health or if the conservatorship was necessary. It's very likely that she did need help (and maybe still does—have you seen her Instagram? it's a little unhinged), but I'm fairly confident her dirtbag father was the last person on earth who should have been in that role. Ultimately, I'm still left with a lot of questions about how the legal system could have failed her so egregiously. And unfortunately, I have to chalk that up to corrupt people with access to an ungodly amount of money.
Concerning the memoir itself, I'll be honest: The Woman in Me is not great. I think her ghostwriter did a great job of capturing her voice. But even so, can I get an editor in the house? It was rough going at times. It definitely reads like a teenager's very angsty, very disjointed diary.
Ultimately, The Woman in Me left me feeling so very sad for Britney. I hate seeing humans be so horrible to other humans and that has been her entire experience in life. She still seems like the most honest-to-goodness sweet person, and I sincerely hope she finds real Love and full healing. She has announced Volume 2 of her memoir coming next year. I'm not sure I'll be as eager to read that one, although I do think the more space she gets from the conservatorship can only help.
count me as one who was shocked to hear about your deep investment in this book. we've spoken ad nauseam about Ms Spears offline, so suffice to say: great recap and refreshing observation. you are exactly the kind of person who should be reading memoirs like this, as opposed to the majority who are only here for the entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI know. You, Mom, Dad, my book club, Caroline—everyone in real life that I talked to about it had a "Wait, seriously?!" reaction. 🤣
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