Piece of Me

American singer-songwriter Britney Spears, the 'Princess of Pop', is one of the best-selling music artists of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Throughout her career she has been recognised with a Grammy Award, American Music Award and eight Billboard Music Awards. For three decades she has had number one singles and studio albums, creating memorable singles like 'Oops!... I Did It Again', 'Toxic', 'Womaniser' and 'Me Against the Music'. 

Alongside her career, Britney was often in the tabloids for her personal life - her high profile romances, her ill-advised marriages, her alcohol abuse, her mental health concerns and her battles to free herself from the conservatorship that controlled her life. In her memoir The Woman in Me (2023), Britney explores all of these matters giving her side of the story. I read this book while listening to the audiobook version read by actor Michelle Williams. The story was brought to life by Williams' incredible performance, an empathetic and moving voice. I would regularly stop reading to play Britney's music, watch videos or look up photos of events she referred to - like the 'pyjama top' she wore on a date with actor Colin Farrell or the double-denim look she and Justin Timberlake wore to the 2001 American Music Awards.

Britney Jean Spears was born in 1981 and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, a rural town near the Mississippi state line. As a child she loved to perform, singing and dancing, and participating in her church choir. She won many talent shows and was destined to be in show business. At age eight her mother took her to Atlanta to auction for The Mickey Mouse Club, but she was turned down because she was too young. After a brief stint in New York, at age ten Britney joined Disney's 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club, performing alongside castmates Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Keri Russell. As seen in this clip from the show, she had a real presence, performing with Timberlake who would become her first boyfriend.

The show was cancelled in 1994 and Timberlake went off to join NSYNC. Spears was wooed for various girl groups but went out on her own to record her first album Baby One More Time (1999) which debuted at number one on the US charts and was the biggest-selling album by a teenager. In The Woman in Me Spears describes this period of her career and the making of the video, which changed her life. Suddenly she was in the spotlight, hounded by paparazzi. She also received a fair amount of criticism for her risqué attire and racy dancing. 

With Timberlake and Spears touring and achieving mega stardom, their relationship was in the spotlight. Spears writes about how she became pregnant and was persuaded by Timberlake to have an abortion as they were very young. He ended up breaking up with her via text message, and she was devastated at the media treatment of the pair. He portrayed her as a promiscuous heartbreaker, whereas the opposite was true. Shortly after the breakup her father forced her to do an interview with Diane Sawyer where she felt exploited and demeaned. 

Throughout the book Spears shows the sexism and misogyny in the music industry and the double standard applied to women. Those who should have protected her - her parents, siblings, husband - all sought to use her. Their lifestyles were fuelled by her success. 

Ultimately, Spears just wanted a simple life - a family and a home. She married Kevin Federline and had two boys in rapid succession - only to have custody of the children weaponised against her. She is forced into rehab as a tool to regain custody. 

Her father then embarks on a 13-year conservatorship in which all decisions about her life are taken out of her hands. Spears points out the contradictions of an adult woman so apparently unwell that she must be controlled by her parents, and yet well enough to tour relentlessly to keep the money rolling in. She is drugged against her will, told what to eat, surveilled and isolated from friends. Ultimately she is institutionalised. 

While in the facility a nurse tells her about the #FreeBritney movement led by her fans. This gave her the inner strength to go on, to get her own lawyer and challenge the conservatorship. When her father was removed, and the conservatorship ended, she was able to make decisions for herself, including the decision to remain estranged from her family. 

Spears is now free, to find herself and the life she wants. The book ends with her marriage to Sam Asghari, a man she has known since 2016 and who was a supporter of hers in the efforts to end the conservatorship. They married in 2022 and sadly miscarried the pregnancy she had been longing for. In August 2023 they announced their intention to divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. I had hoped that Britney would get the happy ending she deserves after such a shocking period of abuse and trauma.

The Woman in Me is a fascinating inside look on an industry that exploits young women, and the ways in which men and the media construct a narrative that is impossible to break. While it is not particularly well written, it is an important story that deserved to be told after so long being denied her own voice. You don't need to be a Britney Spears fan to appreciate this book, but it helps. I would also strongly recommend choosing the audiobook for this memoir. It is truly excellent.