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, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Abortion, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Confinement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Bullying
Minor: Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Drug use, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
5.0
This poor girl. After reading this, I hate parts of our legal system even more than I already did!
Also, if you love pop culture, especially the music industry in the early 2000s, you’ll be as fascinated by the first half of the book as I was!
This book is just proof that most men suck. Especially rich ones.
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Abortion, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Confinement, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Torture
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Medical content
shannonvonpesach's review against another edition
4.5
The book was a good read, but sometimes it felt like telling facts.
Graphic: Body shaming, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
imstephtacular's review against another edition
4.0
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
verito2805's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
reallyitsrudi's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Abortion, Medical trauma, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Miscarriage
jneverland's review against another edition
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Abandonment, Body shaming, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
mdwsn27's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Abortion, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Pregnancy, Sexism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Grief, and Body shaming
thanhnguyen99's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Abortion
Moderate: Abandonment and Sexual harassment
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, and Body shaming