To Be Confirmed

Britney Spears

The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope. In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice--her truth--was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey--and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history. Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears's groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love--and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.

The Woman in Me

Lea Hi

I was a little girl with big dreams. I wanted to be a star like Madonna, Dolly Parton, or Whitney Houston. I had simpler dreams, too, dreams that seemed even harder to achieve and that felt too ambitious to say out loud: I want my dad to stop drinking. I want my mom to stop yelling. I want everyone to be okay. With my family, anything could go wrong at any time. I had no power there. Only while performing was I truly invincible. 

sina (she/her) 

That's probably the moment in my life when I had the most passion for music. I was unknown, and I had nothing to lose if I messed up. There is so much freedom in being anonymous. I could look out at a crowd who'd never seen me before and think, You don't know who I am yet. 

All I can say is it's a good thing Lucy was a sweet girl writing poems about how she was "not a girl, not yet a woman," and not a serial kiler.

I worked so hard on my music and on my stage shows. But all some reporters could think of to ask me was whether or not my breasts were real (they were, actually) and whether or not my hymen was intact.

At what point did I promise to stay seventeen for the rest of my life?

What I can see now but couldn't see then is that every part of normal life had been stripped from me - going out in public without becoming a headline, making normal mistakes as a new mother of two babies, feeling like I could trust the people around me. I had no freedom and yet also no security. 

I went to Vegas the way everyone goes to Vegas - hoping to win.

People might laugh because things I post are innocent or strange, or because I can get mean when I'm talking about people who've hurt me. Maybe this has been a feminist awakening. I guess what I'm saying is that the mystery of who the real me is, is to my advantage - because nobody knows!

Lindsay

There is so much freedom in being anonymous.

I wish back then I'd known the Dolly Parton joke: "I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb. And I also know that I'm not blonde."

The Woman in Me quotes

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