Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

79 reviews

illy95's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I enjoyed Britney's perspective into her life. I listened to the audiobook and Michelle Williams did a great job of adding emotion back into the characterization of people around Britney. I'm saddened to learn everything she went through, even before her conservatorship. I read this right after reading Jennette McCurdy's "I'm Glad My Mom Died", and I think it just solidified for me how Hollywood hates women, these women's own families hate women, and that it's an uphill battle to become your own person, adult, in the eyes of millions. I think that if you do not care for Britney Spears or judge her anyway for drinking and partying when she was young, this is not the book for you. I think any celebrity (auto)/biography you would have to have some sort of empathy to begin with to read about them.

She describes her early exploration of alcohol and sex and while not explicit, I'm sure someone would change this into a "it's her fault anyway" narrative.  I don't think you should read it if that makes you uncomfortable either.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Cursing, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship

issyd23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

IT’S MOTHER FUCKING BRITNEY BITCH!!! 4👸🏼

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Cursing, Abortion, Car accident, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

allisonsmith120's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Misogyny

Moderate: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Car accident, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide, Miscarriage, and Blood

cosmicwillow's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abortion, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, and Child abuse

Minor: Miscarriage

ahoijules's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Stalking, Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Car accident, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse

sonjaswanson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

3.75

Kudos to the ghost writer and Michelle Williams for capturing Britney so well. It does feel like something she would write: not completely mature-sounding but when your childhood is stripped from you, you naturally want to have that childhood back as an adult. It makes sense.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Fatphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Pregnancy

pixelpigeon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

4.75

An important piece of feminist literature. I hope Britney's story helps other people in predatory conservatorships.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Abortion, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Moderate: Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

 

Everyone thought it was hilarious. Look how crazy she is! Even my parents acted embarrassed by me. But nobody seemed to understand that I was simply out of my mind with grief. My children had been taken away from me. With my head shaved, everyone was scared of me, even my mom. No one would talk to me anymore because I was too ugly. My long hair was a big part of what people liked – I knew that. I knew a lot of guys thought long hair was hot… shaving my head was a way of saying to the world: Fuck you. You want me to be pretty for you? Fuck you. You want me to be good for you? Fuck you. You want me to be your dream girl? Fuck you.

As usual, I do not feel quite right giving a rating to such a touching, painful and (what felt like) incredibly honest memoir. Britney has been through so much and it must have been tough to recall and relive all of the mistreatment and emotional abuse she was forced to handle. I would not say that the ghostwriter was particularly strong when it came to the prose or the novel structure, but that was not the point of this book. I thoroughly appreciated learning more about Britney's life, her dreams and her beliefs. If you are in a healthy state of mind and interested in learning more about her, I definitely recommend giving the book or the audiobook a go. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism and Abandonment

emkam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Abortion and Addiction

Minor: Fatphobia, Alcohol, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Child abuse

esjackson's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Infidelity, Stalking, Abortion, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Infertility

Moderate: Miscarriage, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Misogyny