Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Woman in Me

5.00/5.00

Britney Spears is a living legend. We are so lucky she is still here and was willing to be so vulnerable with the public, who has historically treated her so wrong, and tell her story. I highly recommend to anyone and everyone with any interest in Britney, pop culture/music, mental health, feminism, or conservatorships taking the time to read this book. So many quotes have stuck with me since reading this memoir, and regardless of how well you think it was written or not, it does what it was meant to: tell the unabashed truth about what happened to Britney Spears and the poor treatment she received from the vast majority of people close to her as well as the public eye throughout her life, particularly at the height of her stardom and career, and give a glimpse into one of many unnecessary conservatorships used to strip people of their personal, professional, and financial freedoms, all from the point of view of Britney herself.

What an absolute icon.

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weelasswithabook's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

5.0

CW: alcoholism, DV, suicide, mentiom of child loss, mention of car accident, CSA, mention of PPH, cheating, abortion, PPD, depression, anxiety, child removal by other parent, familial abuse, financial abuse, body shaming, diet control, mental health crisis, forced institutionalisation, gaslighting, manipulation, miscarriage

🌟 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.

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haleybre's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

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juliannaferroni's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

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kmk95's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.0

with like a serious check on the content warnings of the book (particularly depression, manipulative/controlling/toxic family dynamics, forced institutionalization, emotional abuse) — well worth the read. especially for those who have lived with her in the public eye. just a reminder that there's so much we don't know that goes on for people we think we know. a thoughtful reflection on her own life and also just bringing to light the horrors of our conservatorship and institutionalizing system. what a relief for this book to end the way it does. may we all find a way to bring joy back into our lives in the face of our past.

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chinomi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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kelisabeth's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.25

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