The Woman in Me (memoir)
The Woman in Me is a memoir by American singer Britney Spears. It was published on October 24, 2023, by Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. The title is a reference to a lyric in her song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (2001), where she sings "I'm just trying to find the woman in me".[1]
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Author | Britney Spears |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Memoir |
Publisher | Gallery Books |
Publication date | October 24, 2023 |
Media type | Print (paperback) |
Pages | 288 |
ISBN | 1668009048 |
The memoir was released in audiobook format simultaneously with the other editions.[2] Spears confirmed she would not fully narrate the audiobook due to its "heart-wrenching and emotional" content, enlisting actress Michelle Williams to record the main bulk of the audiobook, while Spears would participate by reading its introduction.[2][3]
Spears promoted the memoir in People magazine by providing insights into its content, accompanied by a cover photoshoot.[4]
Background
On February 21, 2022, it was reported that Spears signed a $15 million book deal for her then-upcoming memoir,[5] one of the biggest book deals of all time.[6] On July 11, 2023, Spears announced that the book would be titled The Woman in Me, and would be released on October 24, 2023.[7] It was reportedly ghostwritten by journalist Sam Lansky.[8]
Synopsis
The Woman in Me chronicles Spears's journey to stardom, the publicized challenges she faced, and her endeavors to break free from a longstanding conservatorship that once controlled her life.[9]
In the beginning of the memoir, Spears writes that her paternal grandmother, Jean, was sent to an asylum by Spears’s paternal grandfather. Their three-day-old baby had died and Jean was overwhelmed by grief. While at the asylum Jean was put on lithium; later she shot herself over the child’s grave. Spears writes, “Tragedy runs in my family”.[10]
Spears also writes that she was marketed as innocent, even though she had been a regular smoker since the age of 14 and lost her virginity around the same time.[11] In 2002, her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake dumped her by text on the set of a music video.[11] When she gets pregnant by Timberlake, she writes that he persuades her to undergo an abortion.[12] Spears writes that Timberlake continuously cheated on her, writing: "Photographers caught Justin with one of the girls from All Saints in a car."[8] After the break up, her public image suffers, she starts to burn out, and begins abusing the prescription drug Adderall.[8] She also admitted that she cheated on Timberlake with dancer Wade Robson.
She described her two-week sexual fling with actor Colin Farrell in the memoir. Spears wrote that the reason for her 55-hour marriage to Jason Alexander was, that she was "drunk and very bored." She wrote that her family got angry after finding out about her marriage. Spears wrote: "They made way too big a deal out of innocent fun. Everybody has a different perspective on it, but I didn't take it that seriously. I thought a goof-around Vegas wedding was something people might do as a joke. Then my family came and acted like I'd started World War III. I cried the whole rest of the time I was in Las Vegas."[13]
She meets backup dancer Kevin Federline and they have two children together. She suffers from postpartum depression, shaves her head and attacks a paparazzo's car with an umbrella.
Critical reception
The book received widespread acclaim from The New York Times,[14] Time,[15] and The Los Angeles Times.[16]
In a BBC review, Mark Savage called the book "an angry, cautionary tale,"[11] while The Independent called it "raw, unfiltered and breathtaking in its rage."[8] Writing for Forbes, Toni Fitzgerald stated that the memoir "changes the conversation on mental health" and child stardom.[17]
Publication history
- Gallery Books (2023): ISBN 1668009048
References
- Allaire, Christian (July 11, 2023). "Britney Spears's Memoir, 'The Woman in Me,' Has a Release Date". Vogue. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
- Leonard, Elizabeth (October 13, 2023). "Michelle Williams to Narrate Britney Spears Memoir The Woman in Me: 'I Stand with Britney' (Exclusive)". People.
- Kaufman, Gil (October 13, 2023). "Britney Spears 'The Woman In Me' Memoir Audiobook to Be Narrated By Actress Michelle Williams". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- Leonard, Elizabeth (October 17, 2023). "Britney Spears Opens Up: Why She 'Finally' Feels 'Free' to Share Her Story in Bombshell Memoir, New Interview — 'No More Lies' (Exclusive)". People (magazine). Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- Evans, Greg; Patten, Dominic (February 21, 2022). "Britney Spears Lands Multimillion-Dollar Book Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
- Voytko, Lisette (February 22, 2022). "Britney Spears' $15 Million Book Deal Shows Why Success Is The Best Revenge". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 14, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- Leonard, Elizabeth (July 12, 2023). "Britney Spears Sets Fall Date for 'Brave' Memoir 'The Woman in Me' — See the Book Cover Reveal (Exclusive)". People. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- "The Britney memoir is raw, unfiltered and breathtaking in its rage – review". The Independent. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- Jacobs, Julia; Coscarelli, Joe (October 19, 2023). "'I Had Been Exploited:' Takeaways From Britney Spears's Memoir". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
- Thomas, Holly (October 27, 2023). "Opinion: Britney Spears' howl of rage is one we all need to hear". CNN.
- "Britney Spears' book: The Woman In Me is an angry, cautionary tale". BBC News. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- Snapes, Laura (October 23, 2023). "The Woman in Me by Britney Spears review – a pop star's stinging rebuke". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- "Britney Spears Details Her 55-Hour Marriage to Jason Alexander". TIME. October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
- Greenblatt, Leah (October 19, 2023). "In Britney Spears's Memoir, She's Stronger Than Ever". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- "Britney Spears Is Suspended Between Girlhood and Womanhood in Memoir". TIME. October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- Shepherd, Julianne Escobedo (October 20, 2023). "Review: Britney Spears' memoir is a Gothic horror story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
- Fitzgerald, Toni (October 23, 2023). "Britney Spears' New Memoir Changes The Conversation On Mental Health". Forbes. Retrieved October 25, 2023.