Tis Me Michelle

First things first, welcome to my latest phase… Reading! I usually have a couple months in a year where I’m on a reading roll, and we’re in the midst of it now. So get ready for some book reviews!

Now to the main event… It’s Britney Bitch! Where to even begin… Britney Spears was my real introduction to the love of music. I honestly don’t remember listening or loving music before her. ‘Oops, I Did it Again’ was my first CD, I don’t think I know any album as well as that one, I wore it out. Growing up rather sheltered, even my immigrant parents came to know who she was. I even remember that we were all obsessed with her and then somewhere in middle school it stopped being ‘cool’ to like her, but of course I still did and just didn’t publicize it. She really is an icon.

It was hard watching all the things she went through. Looking back now, I can’t believe how easily the media turned on her, but even worse, how easily I believed so much of it. I didn’t even really know about or understand the conservatorship until much later after it happened. One of my friends had mentioned it to me when I had brought up her Instagram videos being so weird. Soon after, I heard more and more about it and eventually the #FreeBritney movement. I’m so glad her fans never gave up on her. Listening to the audio of her in court was amazing, she sounded fierce and fully capable, and I wish nothing but the best for her.

I opted for the audiobook version of The Woman in Me, which I recommend, if not only for the now infamous Justin Timberlake re-enactment by Michelle Williams. That is the Michelle Williams of Dawson’s Creek fame, not to be confused with the Destiny’s Child Michelle Williams. Based on the Instagram posts and conspiracies, I go back and forth on accepting that Britney is actually okay and doing well. This book didn’t quite put me at full ease, but I would hope that Michelle Williams would only accept this offer if she knew for certain this was Britney’s work and she was doing okay.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. My favorite part of the book was the very beginning with her family history, especially her Grandmother. Honestly, that could have been its own book. I want a “Who Do You Think You Are” level deep dive into her family history because there is some stuff there. And of course, I loved hearing about her comeupance and when she really was the It Girl. Call it the millennial nostalgia in full effect, but I was here for the behind-the-scenes scoop we didn’t know about from that time. She spilled some tea, but also kept it super respectful. I am Team Britney all the way. As much as I want that *NSYNC reunion tour, that is also the only form of Justin Timberlake I’m interested in.

The portion after this where she talks about her relationship with Kevin Federline was heartbreaking. That man had no business to be in her presence. From what I gathered about her relationships, she wanted to make things work and really just wanted happiness, people just kept taking her for granted. As an often too ‘nice’ person, it is so easy to be taken for granted or taken advantage of. And truly she just kept being exploited in relationships and eventually by her family.

Now the second half of the book is when she gets into the conservatorship. It was very surface-level. There has been so much speculation about this book and her well-being. The vagueness of this section did make me question if it really was her. I’ve seen some people mention a lot of the book was a copy & paste of her older Instagram posts, which I did feel was true in this section. I’ve also seen people say she’s really still too close to the conservatorship, that it’s not as simple to be open about it. I didn’t really feel like I learned anything new about that time. It just felt much less put together, and again, not a whole lot of details.

We’ve already seen that she’s planning another book. I would have rather this book be a deep dive into that first half. And then at some point, hopefully when this conservatorship is well behind her, all the legal stuff is done and she’s in a better place, she could do a deep dive into that time. I’ve heard a bunch of reviews that the book was confusing, that the chapters were too short and it didn’t flow. I don’t think that was the case with the audiobook version. It was a really quick and easy listen and I thought it flowed well. There were some things that jumped around, and definitely things I wanted to hear more about. But I knocked it out in 2 days and I was invested even through the end.

Britney, you are and will always be an icon. I wish you real freedom, true peace, happiness, and love.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ✨