“I was not okay, not at all. And the fact that my friends and my fans sensed what was happening and did all that for me, that’s a debt I can never repay. If you stood up for me when I couldn’t stand up for myself: from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
The Woman in Me, written by Britney Spears, arrived in stores on Tuesday, October 24. The 41-year-old artist settles his scores and gives a detailed account of his thirteen years of instruction, particularly from his father, in this much-awaited testimony.
In her memoir, Britney Spears speaks back to those who silenced her.
Cash without ever being believed, the book hides nothing, from the rise of the interpreter of Toxic to her descent into hell in 2007 and this long guardianship, which deprived her of all freedom.
Silenced for thirteen years by her family, who had placed her under guardianship, Britney Spears, at the age of 41, takes the floor again from all those who had confiscated it from her, in uncompromising memoirs with feminist tones.
The book of nearly 300 pages is already at the top of sales on Amazon. She recounts how this guardianship dictated by her father with the support of her mother and her sister broke the woman in her.
The story opens with his childhood. She describes the stigma of growing up poor with an alcoholic father, who terrorized the household. “Disagreement was not tolerated,” she wrote. “The tragedy is my family.”
She also evokes the fate of her paternal grandmother Jean, whom her husband had interned and who committed suicide on her infant’s grave, after eight years of unbearable mourning.
The singer feels close to this woman whom she has never met but who she is told looks like her. She feels it even more when she is forcibly interned and, too, force-fed lithium.
Benjamin Button” syndrome
For years, the singer battled to preserve the youthful image that had endeared her to millions of fans when she skyrocketed to stardom with her hit “Baby One More Time.” Simultaneously, she openly acknowledges struggling with what she refers to as a “Benjamin Button” syndrome, drawing a parallel to the film starring Brad Pitt, where the protagonist ages in reverse.
This phenomenon became evident during significant life events, such as her breakup with Justin Timberlake, a period during which she retreated to her home and remained in bed, resembling a child, for days on end. She also experienced it during the birth of her children, feeling as though she was regressing into a state of infancy. In a broader sense, being under guardianship significantly stripped her of her independence, to the extent that she grappled with understanding how to navigate the complexities of adulthood and womanhood.
Justin Timberlake was her great love. However, the pop star, who confides in the book to have had an abortion him, has never given the public the details of their separation. This is now done in the book where she explains that she was “devastated” when Justin Timberlake broke up “by text” with her. Her pregnancy and her reluctance for an abortion were unknown to us.
Guardianship, Justin Timberlake, family violence… In “The Woman in Me”, Britney Spears, whose voice has long been confiscated, reveals her truths.
Exhausted, she agrees to be interned. She accepts it so that she can find her sons one day. But she continues to perform concerts. “I came into this world to fund their bank account,” she says of her family. In 2019, she was forcibly interned again. But this time, helped by her fans, she revolts. And in 2021, the judges break the guardianship.
Her real life begins. Her desire? “Getting my spiritual life in order and paying attention to the little things,” she writes. His musical career will wait.
Britney Spears made her debut in the entertainment industry as a child actress on the television show “The Mickey Mouse Club.” However, her breakthrough came with her debut single “Baby One More Time” in 1998, which became a massive hit and established her as a pop sensation. She continued to release successful albums, including “Oops!… I Did It Again” and “Britney,” solidifying her status as a pop superstar.
