A bold, compelling memoir from pop superstar Britney. She has had a turbulent life, of which the titles of her earlier songs were strangely prophetic. Surrounded by ‘Toxic’ people who bullied, controlled and ‘Overprotected’ her. ‘Born to Make You Money (rather than Happy)’ as her family, particularly her father, got very rich from her hard work and literally driving her ‘Crazy’ by their abuse and having her locked up when she wouldn’t obey. A significant portion of the book focuses on the conservatorship which ruled her life for thirteen years and sounds like something from a Victorian novel. It was really sad to read about how she was denied access to her children and then they were used as bargaining chips in return for her staying quiet and docile. These experiences were awful to read about, but Britney has emerged ‘Stronger’ from them. She also makes valid points about how female celebrities are treated by the media and the double standards.

I liked the writing style, which was simple to read and sounded very like her, so this was a good effort by her ghostwriter and editor to make the book authentic. As always with hyped books, I deliberately read nothing about this one before diving into it, so perhaps the content was more surprising to me than for people who like spoilers. I haven’t really followed Britney’s music since the late 90s and early 2000s, but I enjoyed the book despite this, so I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in her story behind the headlines, whether they are into her music or not.

Published by Gallery Books, Simon and Schuster, 2023.