I didn’t plan to read the new Britney Spears memoir. I’m a GenX’er, for one thing, and Britney is something of a millennial icon. But when I saw “The Woman In Me” for a decent price at our local big box store, I picked it up. Like the opening riffs of “Toxic” or “Oops!... I Did It Again,” I found it irresistible.
In the realm of spill-the-tea celebrity memoirs, this ranks pretty high. At 41, Spears is just starting to emerge from what the New York Times so accurately describes as “the black hole of a bizarrely visible captivity” — 13 years under a strict conservatorship overseen by her father. During that time, the pop star continued to record albums and perform for millions of people, but she couldn’t see her two sons or drink or even leave the house without permission. She made millions but was limited to an allowance of $2,000 a week.
You’d think this book might qualify as a guilty-pleasure read, as so many celebrity memoirs do. It includes plenty of behind-the-scenes revelations about everything from the star’s battles with paparazzi to her tumultuous relationship with her younger sister, Jamie Lynn. She even relates her thought process behind the all-denim outfits she and Timberlake wore to the American Music Awards in 2001.
But there’s nothing happy or pleasurable about this story. In Britney’s own voice, though reportedly told through a ghost writer, we hear about her upbringing in Louisiana, her time on “The Mickey Mouse Club,” and her relationships with Justin Timberlake, Colin Farrell, Kevin Federline and others. It’s a tragic story with her parents very clearly — and deservedly — as the central villains.
“The Woman In Me” is not a great piece of literature, but I did come away with a new respect and empathy for what Spears went through. For what it's worth, several friends have told me the audiobook is a better format here, with narration by Academy Award-nominee Michelle Williams. If you're interested in Britney, I don't think you can go wrong with either format.
