A review by happiestwhenreading
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
4.0
Of course I was gonna jump on this bandwagon as soon as possible! I’m not a total crazy superfan of Britney Spears, but I have followed the #freebritney movement and felt incredibly sad for her and her situation. I felt like I really wanted to hear her side of the story.
While I’m so happy she’s finally broken out of her conservatorship and I hope she finds the happiness that was denied her for so long, I feel like this book was too soon. Much like my critique of Matthew Perry’s book, it felt like she hasn’t been distanced enough from the situation, hasn’t grown enough to actually reflect on it, and hasn’t overcome so much of the trauma. This also may be do to how poorly it was ghostwritten, but it felt very forced and unattached. I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but it’s how it came across for me.
I also found it extremely odd that she talked about being totally in love with and married to Sam. Since they’ve announced their divorce, things are coming out about Sam’s role in Britney’s abuse, so this left me confused. They should have taken it back to the editors, or at the very least, added an author’s note at the end. But, more importantly, this adds to Britney’s lack of credibility throughout the book. I can’t put a finger on it, but something just felt very off throughout my reading experience.
It’s absolutely not my place to say, but I’m not 100% buying into this one. It feels like this story is going to be told completely different in a few years when Britney’s had more time to reflect, heal, and grow.
On a nitpicky side note: Britney really needed - and deserved - a better ghostwriter. This one played into her childishness as opposed to the grown woman she is. The tone felt very young and immature, lacking any real depth and I found that really disappointing. And last, I don’t know what I’m missing, but proclaiming Michelle Williams won an Oscar with this performance!? She did fine. It wasn’t exceptional. It was fine. Everyone really needs to chill on this one.
While I’m so happy she’s finally broken out of her conservatorship and I hope she finds the happiness that was denied her for so long, I feel like this book was too soon. Much like my critique of Matthew Perry’s book, it felt like she hasn’t been distanced enough from the situation, hasn’t grown enough to actually reflect on it, and hasn’t overcome so much of the trauma. This also may be do to how poorly it was ghostwritten, but it felt very forced and unattached. I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but it’s how it came across for me.
I also found it extremely odd that she talked about being totally in love with and married to Sam. Since they’ve announced their divorce, things are coming out about Sam’s role in Britney’s abuse, so this left me confused. They should have taken it back to the editors, or at the very least, added an author’s note at the end. But, more importantly, this adds to Britney’s lack of credibility throughout the book. I can’t put a finger on it, but something just felt very off throughout my reading experience.
It’s absolutely not my place to say, but I’m not 100% buying into this one. It feels like this story is going to be told completely different in a few years when Britney’s had more time to reflect, heal, and grow.
On a nitpicky side note: Britney really needed - and deserved - a better ghostwriter. This one played into her childishness as opposed to the grown woman she is. The tone felt very young and immature, lacking any real depth and I found that really disappointing. And last, I don’t know what I’m missing, but proclaiming Michelle Williams won an Oscar with this performance!? She did fine. It wasn’t exceptional. It was fine. Everyone really needs to chill on this one.