From the outside looking in, I felt that Britney Spears had everything – fame, fortune, boyfriends and people who cared about her. But after reading, “Britney Spears Little Lost Girl,” by Christopher Heard, I learned that life for Britney was harder than it looked.
I was interested in reading this book because my daughter had all of her albums and was engrossed with everything that she did. Britney Spears had a scavenger hunt in New York City and my daughter got to the first location first thing in the morning. (It took her an hour to get into New York City from our Long Island home.)
My staff also love Britney. Every concert, I hear them talking about buying tickets, which also piqued my interest in the book. Who is Britney Spears and how did she get to where she is today?
Christopher Heard delves into her life at the time when Britney was just a child growing up in Kentwood, Louisiana. She was born to childhood sweethearts, Jamie and Lynn Spears. She had an older brother and years later a younger sister.
Britney always loved to perform. She took singing and dancing lessons and eventually landed a part on the new Mickey Mouse Club, along with Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera.
The new Mickey Mouse Club only lasted two years and young Britney was out of work. She returned to Kentwood to have a “normal” life. Following a short stint, Britney was asked to be in an all-girls band called, “Innosense.” The band was supposed to be the “girl version” of ‘N Sync. However, Britney turned it down. Soon after, she was asked to perform alone and that’s when her career took off as a singer/dancer/performer. Soon thereafter, her first hit single, “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” was released and was #1 on the billboard charts.
After a brief relationship with Justin Timberlake, Britney moved on to be with boys who she grew up with from Kentwood.
After a series of albums, Britney Spears was put in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest performing artist to have so many albums get up to number one in the charts.
Britney had everything she wanted but felt alone. She met Kevin Federline and they became an instant item. She was in love with Kevin, they got married and the couple had their first child. Britney was in her early 20’s. Soon thereafter, the couple had their second child but only months later, Britney filed for a divorce.
As much as Britney partied, hung out with friends, Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, she was very much alone. She was unhappy with her life and herself and the only thing that mattered to her were her children.
After battling alcohol and drug addictions, Britney was put into a rehabilitation facility. Thereafter it took several different times with the rehabilitation facility and with various hospitals before she was diagnosed with mental illness.
Meanwhile, Kevin Federline had custody of her two sons and she had visitation rights. After one episode where she locked herself in the bathroom in her home with her youngest son, the children were temporarily taken from her and put into sole custody of her ex-husband.
During this time, Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, took control of her finances and put her on an allowance. He helped straighten her out and eventually she had visitation rights with her children.
Throughout the book, the reader feels pity for Britney Spears. The paparazzi never leave her alone and fans constantly bombard her. And yet, she felt alone.
As the book comes to a close, she meets a friend of her older brother Bryan’s who is an agent of many top performers including Hillary Duff and Taylor Swift. His name was Jason Trawick. Jason and Britney fell in love. Jason, 10 years her senior, was able to help her straighten out.
Britney Spears Little Lost Girl just gives you a taste of the highs and lows of stardom. Author, Christopher Heard, takes you on an incredible journey of glamour, parties and a fantasy life but also shows you the harsh realities of making it big.
The book is well written and definitely kept my interest from the first chapter onward. I couldn’t put the book down. Through the past few years, I heard about Britney shaving her head, going “crazy,” and her controversial MTV appearance. However, the book made me realize that it was the situation that was Britney’s reality and because of her stardom and her charisma, she would always be in the public eye. One realizes that that is a huge challenge – having fame and fortune in exchange for no privacy.
In the epilogue, the author suggests that Britney has no more rights or privileges now at 28 than she did when she was a little girl. However, he feels that she made a strong comeback with her new album, getting help for her illness and her abuse and meeting someone who can help point her in a new direction. He wrote that he is hopeful for her future and as she becomes more focused, her music and dancing will get stronger.
That’s something that we all want to see.
Article first published as https://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-britney-spears-little-lost/ on Blogcritics.org
