Britney Spears’ new memoir, “The Woman in Me,” is a compelling and devastating read. The book is not a tabloid tale or a Justin Timberlake takedown, but instead focuses on Spears’ account of the horrific treatment she faced under the 13-year conservatorship led by her father.
Spears adeptly lays out the compounding trauma of that experience and previous years of cruelty and manipulation at the hands of men and media. She writes with acute self-awareness, describing how the conservatorship stole her joy and creativity as a performer.
Even if you’ve watched the documentaries, read the articles and heard Spears’ court testimony about the conservatorship, the book will surprise you with horrors about her father’s control and her family’s complicity. Spears conveys the humiliation of being told what to eat, where to go, what to do with her body, when to see her children.
One of the most chilling parts of the book is her account of a forced stay at a psychiatric facility in 2019, where she was put on lithium. Those harrowing details dismantle the long-held perception that Spears was an unfit mother whose life was saved by the conservatorship. It’s clear why she has shown such hostility toward her family.
Despite those dark chronicles, the book is not all doom and gloom. At times, Spears writes with humor, poking a little fun at herself and others. She also talks about still struggling with whether she should perform again.
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By the time you reach the end of the book, you better understand Spears’ antics on Instagram — and, frankly, don’t care to criticize given what she has endured. The endless modeling of clothes follows 13 years of being told how to dress. The repeated dancing follows 13 years of being told when and how to perform. The wielding of fake knives follows 13 years of being confined or medicated after the slightest attempt to rebel.
“It’s been a while since I felt truly present in my own life, in my own power, in my womanhood,” Spears writes at the end of the book. “But I’m here now.”
By the end of the book, you actually do believe her.
I must say, this memoir is so easy to read. The way it's written—the words, sentences and how things are described—flows so effortlessly.
It's a must have, for sure. 📖🤓🤩#BritneySpears #TheWomanInMe pic.twitter.com/E7F4at1ZS7— sammy🎙️ (@Sammy_Varte) October 28, 2023
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