Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

45 reviews

0pal_'s review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

Finished reading: September 8th 2024

"There have been so many times when I was scared to speak up because I was afraid somebody would think I was crazy. But I’ve learned that lesson now, the hard way. You have to speak the thing that you’re feeling, even if it scares you. You have to tell your story. You have to raise your voice."

It's true that I don't usually read celebrity memoirs, but there has been such a hype around The Woman In Me and in the end I couldn't resist. Especially since I already had some knowledge of the things that happened to her, and I was curious to see just how far things really did go. Boy, this memoir was no picnic! Britney Spears tells her story as it is without any filter, and it is shocking just how much she has had to endure ever since she was little. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be SO betrayed by the very same people who are supposed to protect you... And how it was even possible for it to take that long for her to be able to do something about it. While I would have liked more dept in certain parts, I can't deny I liked the way this was written. Simple, but very effective and there are many trigger warning worthy topics incorporated along the way. She isn't afraid to name names either, and I applaud her for finally being able to truly speak up for herself. I remember certain events from when I was a teenager, and this memoir has definitely put things in perspective. It's truly a miracle she was even able to perform and create new content while being in such an impossible situation! I listened to her music when she first became popular, and while I wasn't a true fan or anything I'm still glad I finally read this memoir. It shows some of her music career, but the main focus is on her personal situation over the years. If you like reading celebrity memoirs and don't mind things getting dark, I can definitely recommend The Woman In Me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

smacey's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

theabee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

dkamada's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage

juliannaferroni's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

eliya's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

“…maybe that’s because of the power of your thoughts. Whatever you think you are, you become…”

“…People seemed to experience my body like it was public property. Something they could complete, control, criticize, or use as a weapon.”

4.75⭐️ bc I feel guilty putting anything else reading a memoir, honestly. 

What stuck out to me the most while reading this was her talk about age regression and how that influences how she expresses her freedom now and even how she reflects on her past and how she writes about it. It also had me thinking a lot about humanity as a whole and good vs bad natured people. I don’t want to go into more detail. Definitely cried. God. Love u Britney ❤️‍🩹

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

kimberlina82's review against another edition

inspiring sad fast-paced

3.0

I really liked the idea of this book, and have been a big Britney fan since high school. However, this was a tough read for me as it seemed like something someone in middle school wrote. There were some inconsistencies in her stories as well.  All that said, I truly believe it is caused by years of confinement and probably being medicated when she didn’t need it.  I’m so glad she was finally able to get out from under the thumb of her family.  I hope she truly loves how she wants to now, and is happy for the rest of her days. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

_ren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.5

I have read some of the reviews, and understand that people who usually read memoirs have their educated opinions about Britney's memoir feeling like a girl's dairy or just generally unpolished. I, as someone who does not often read memoirs, thought that the writing style had some pros and some cons. The pros being the casual conversation feel of the whole book that made me feel that this was truly Britney speaking to us (some say her social medias are still highly controlled, I personally do not believe that), and the cons being the numerous jumps and time skips that were not warned about or acknowledged while I was reading. The time-skips were quite an annoyance at times because as someone who has kept up with the Free Britney Movement since summer of 2022, I felt that some details we uncovered that were crucial to the movement were not mentioned from Britney's perspective. I would have loved to seen more of Britney's version/feelings toward specific things we had uncovered about her case. In the end, this is definitely her way of saying FU to everyone who had wronged her through books, interviews, and documentaries. I am proud of her for just that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fatphobia and Pregnancy

Minor: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship