Reviews tagging 'Pandemic/Epidemic'

Nainen minussa by Britney Spears

27 reviews

rhi_'s review against another edition

dark informative fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, and Sexism

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

3.25

Title: The Woman in Me
Author: Britney Spears
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: October 24, 2023

T H R E E • W O R D S

Brave • Chaotic • Halfhearted

📖 S Y N O P S I S

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was a pre-teen when Britney's first album dropped in 1999 and I remember getting the album the following Christmas and listening to it on repeat. However, my interest was short lived and it ended up being the only one of her albums I owned. Despite not following her career closely, I still knew I wanted to read this memoir.

While I can empathize with Britney's story, The Woman in Me lacked depth. She has gone through her fair share of trauma and struggle, revealing some heavy truths within. Yet because she kept thing very surface level, these reveals felt like shock value additions more than a part of the healing process. I can imagine it took tremendous courage putting her story out into the world and I hope it was therapeutic for her. However as a reader, the writing was so chaotic, reading more like a diary than a well-crafted memoir.

With all of that said, what this book did offer me was insight into the behind-the-scenes world of music, as well as the enduring power of music in healing. I also greatly appreciated her devotion to her children, something the mainstream media has certainly left out.

At the end of the day, I am glad to have picked this up and listened to it. However, it was the deep emotional memoir I was so hoping for. I hope the writing process was a healing part of her journey to taking back control of her life. But when I got to the end, I got the sense she still has a long ways to go.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• die-hard Britney fans
• celebrity memoir enthusiasts

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Music stopped the noise, made me feel confident, and took me to a pure place of expressing myself exactly as I wanted to be seen and heard. Singing took me into the presence of the divine."

"If no one is used to you being assertive, they get very freaked out when you start speaking your mind." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Addiction, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Abortion, Miscarriage, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Bullying, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, and Infidelity

plumpeony's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Mental illness

Minor: Eating disorder, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, and Pregnancy

lennie_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I love Britney so my review will be biased anyway but I genuinely thought this was written very well. 

It reignited those feelings of fury and injustice for what she's been through and also made me want to give her a big hug. 

Also I 100% recommend listening to the audio version because Michelle Williams is a phenomenal narrator. I genuinely forgot (multiple times) that it wasn't actually Britney narrating the book. 

CW: conservatorship, mentions of underage sex, mentions of drug and alcohol use, forced institutionalisation, miscarriage, abortion, mental health issues, abusive family

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Confinement, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Sexism, Emotional abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

miranda_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

3.75

I’ve been a Britney fan since I was a child. It was easy to remember all the times she was referencing throughout the book. But, it was sad to realize how even though she was thriving to the outside world, she was hurting so much inside and being mistreated by so many adults and family members in her life. This was a good book. I would recommend it to all Britney fans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Minor: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Miscarriage, Death, Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pregnancy

ahopper7's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

The book itself is not well written, however, I do feel like listening to it on audio helps the book read better. With Michelle Williams, the conversational style of the book comes through more clearly. With that said, this was still a powerful book, because it’s what Britney chose to use to tell her story. It’s worth the read for anyone who was or is a fan of Spears, it reminds us there is a human behind the celebrity.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Self harm, Alcoholism, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Car accident

imstephtacular's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Abandonment, Pregnancy, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Infertility, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Car accident

veelaughtland's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

katelynnelawson's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

This memoir is heartfelt and disturbing. Britney finally tells her story and names names. Michelle Williams expertly and thoughtfully narrates the audiobook.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Car accident

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion and Death

bookworm247's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Bullying, Drug abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Stalking, Abortion, and Blood