Everyone knows the iconic artist, Britney Spears, but does everyone know her true story? The Woman In Me, written by Spears, is an autobiography about her music, acting and personal life.
Spears is most known for her music. Her most popular songs, “Oops!…I Did It Again”, and “Gimme More”, were both produced in the 2000s, which were the prime years of her musical career. Most people don’t affiliate Spears with acting but it did have a big involvement in her career.
The book begins with Spears talking about her childhood. She describes the sports she played and how she first got involved in singing and acting. Spears had a rough childhood, living with her alcoholic dad and a controlling mother in Kentwood, Louisiana with her two other siblings. Her mother was more invested in Spears’s involvement with both acting and singing. Over the weekends, Spears and her mother would travel to different auditions, trying to get her name out into the world.
What I first noticed about the book was the way it was formatted. It was as if she wrote this in her diary, pasted it into a book and added chapters. It was honestly all over the place. In some chapters, she would be talking about something and then completely jump into something not related to what she was previously talking about.
As Spears became older and started to get more popular with her music, she fell in love with artist Justin Timberlake. Throughout the book, she refers to Timberlake a lot. Spears and Timberlake had an intimate relationship for about three years, but it ended fast after she had an abortion with his baby. I understand that she loved him, but she doesn’t have to mention him in every other chapter in which she correlates him to something or someone. It was unnecessary.
Spears had a lot of relationships but she did end up marrying artist and professional wrestler Kevin Federline and had two sons with him, Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline. Like most of her relationships, this one didn’t last very long and resulted in a divorce.
Throughout the book, Spears talks about the struggles that she has faced in her life. A major one was her father. He controlled a lot of her career and personal life, causing her freedom to become diminished. I like how she wasn’t afraid to hide anything in the book. It showed that she didn’t have the perfect life that celebrities are supposed to have. I will say, I was hoping to “feel” more of her emotions through her words but her dismissal of her life events seemed robotic.
Overall, I would give this book a 7/10. Spears’s story is very inspiring. It lets the reader know that they have a voice and should never be told to stay quiet or suppressed. Truly, the major thing I wish was different about the book was the format. Spears used ghostwriter and journalist Sam Lansky to relay her story into words. It’s possible this duo did not make the best team. I know Spears is not a writer, so that wasn’t a deal-breaker for me. She told her story the way she intended to.
