Customer Reviews

Coming Home to Myself

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just read Wynona Judds Memior Coming Home to myself. The scary thing is..I read the whole book in less than 24 hours. For a book to captivate me like that is in itself, something...

I found it to be powerful. This book hit on so many supjects...healthy relationships, anxiety and depression, parenting, entertainment, health and wellness, childrens health and development but mostly,personal growth.....

She talks about so many of these things-and powerfully so-its a story of her journey to self acceptance-written in a way I could have never expected from a "star"-even if it was one I was already a fan of. It reads like a conversation with an older, wiser woman you respect. I found myself open to learning from her and yet in awe of how much we had in common. We-Wynona and I (ha!) made so many of the same mistakes..and for the same reasons..her longings for acceptance from her mother and her father, and others, her need to please, lack of boundaries, shopping for emotional reasons, emotional eating, the many "distractions" we allow ourselves so we don't have to deal with real problems and more. She was abandoned, betrayed, hurt, taken advantage of, etc..just like me...(and you?)...wow...it was just a great book...I feel like it validated me ...and yet offered challenges for me..how to be a better communicator, better parent, but most of all, it reminds me I need to be good to myself first. To "put myself on the list" as she puts it.

I really liked that it doesn't have a perfect ending (which you would know if you have seen her on any number of talk shows recently) she isn't wearing a size 8 jeans-and isn't trying too. She has lost some weight and is trying to develop healthy eating patterns but she is mostly figuring out who she is and learning to embrace herself....and isn't that something we all need to do?

She says in one line that she was going to allow herself to be the person she was and celebrate all that she is and not concentrate on all that she wasn't (not an exact quote). Can you imagine if all women did this? For ourselves? For our daughters? If we truly taught them to just be who they are, and truly celebrated them for who they are?

Control issues are huge in this book. She has really given up control with her kids to stop the pattern and her thoughts on this and her ways of parenting are incredible-I am really inspired to rethink the way I do a few things with my own children.

I think this book would resonate with any woman, mother (single Mothers (she was one-just like me!!!) parent, daughter, business person, artist, wife, sister and anyone interested in having healthy relationships.

I thought it powerful, inspiring and validating..check it out! Thanks Wy! Sincerely, Sonya

I had the pleasure and honor of personally meeting Wynonna when she spoke for a conference benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital where my son Frankie was successfully treated for leukemia. Even though the room was filled with media and important people, she zeroed in on my nine-year-old and gave him her full attention. She rewarded Frankie with her honest emotion and made him important. In our brief meeting, I could tell she was real and genuine. Then, as now, her honesty and insight on life is a refreshing departure from the sanitized spin-doctors and approved messages for public consumption.

In "Coming Home to Myself," Wynonna Judd is still genuine in her story of rising above obstacles, hardships, difficulties and adversity to discover new opportunities and hidden blessings. Sometimes uncomfortable, yet boldly truthful -- her self-candor is as refreshing as it is riveting. This is an intimate and sincere view of a woman who has experienced the peaks of success but has also been humbled by failure. She proves that life is not necessarily in what life gives us, but in what we make out of what life gives us. I applaud her for the courage to write and share this exceptional book.

Frank F. Lunn, (Frankie's dad)

Author of "Blessings In Adversity"- Convert Challenges, Difficulties and Hardships into Blessings and New Opportunities.

www.BlessingsInAdversity.com

I've long been a fan of the Judds and Wynonna, but this book makes me love Wynonna Judd even more, as a person, a professional, and a survivor!

I read this book in a day (and I'm a slow reader). The story flows and the words are powerful. I cried and I laughed as I read, but I realized I am NOT alone. Through her story of love, loss, betrayal, and moving on, Wynonna carries us along the ride of her life and lets us see that we too can overcome!

If you've ever had a moment of self-doubt, READ THIS BOOK!

This was a great book. I have never really listened to Wynonna's music but would hear it on the radio occasionally. I did see her on Oprah and also on Larry King Live and I liked what I saw so I picked up her book. Well, like the other reviewers before me - I could not put it down. The reader really gets a clear idea of who Wynonna really is - unlike some biographies. She really tells it like it is, but with a lot of compassion for others & whole lot of spirit. A must for all women on a personal journey. I am giving it to my 25-yr old daughter next because it is so empowering.

I have long been a fan of The Judds and Wynonna, having first listened to their music when I was in middle school. I have every album, been to concerts, met Wynonna in person once--pretty much a long-time, devoted collector.

Several years ago, I had read Naomi's Love Can Build a Bridge book, but had always wondered about Wynonna's perspective. When I heard her book was coming out, I immediately ordered it.

All in all, I found it a so-so read. I've read plenty of biographies and autobiographies, and understand that not all celebrities are writers, so I give liberties with the writing style. I admit that, even though I'm a big fan, I got bored about 1/2 through the book. She wrote a number of pages on the therapy plan she attended with Roach, her husband. While I applaud her for getting help, I didn't find it interesting to read about. And if you're looking for a complete family history of the Judds, you won't find it here. The majority of the book focuses on her solo years.

I admire Wy's personality and strong-willed nature, but reading it in book form just didn't appeal to me. I would recommend this book for die-hard fans, collectors, or completists only.

I have read about Wynonna's life and have been shocked at the instability she suffered as a young child, but just reading the "facts" as she portrayed them really made my heart go out to her. Born to a very young person not ready to be a Mom, shuffled from California and back to Kentucky, made to be responsible for her sister when there should have been an adult responsible for HER, in and out of school, not sure at times if the rent would be paid or if food would be on the table...no wonder Wynonna had some issues to work on as an adult! Then to discover the lie of her paternity (and I really think Naomi gets off very easy for all of this) and never get to meet her biological father or have any closure...I felt a lot of outrage about all that Wy had been exposed to. In spite of this, it is not a "Mommy Dearest" and she shows remarkable empathy and generosity of spirit toward her mother (wasn't it pretty chilling--Naomi shooting a bullet 4 inches above her lover's head? Again, appalling!). You pull for Wynonna and feel thrilled that she is breaking the cycle of addictions. The chapter "Peace in This House" is beautiful. I think this is a great book for anyone raised in turmoil who wants a better life, or anyone who takes a good look at their family and its patterns and says, "I want a better life!"

As the mother of two toddlers I don't get much time for leisure reading, but I could not put this book down, I read it in 3 nights (after the kids were in bed). I have been a fan of Wynonna's music for many years and have followed her heart-felt struggle with her weight and her relationship with her mother. As you might suspect, there is a very honest, caring and intelligent women behind the superstar's beautiful face. I recommend this book to any women, especially Mothers, who struggle daily trying to balance it all. Her story is a true inspiration to us all.

They say that if you learn one thing from a book it is worth what you paid for it. I learned several things from this book. They were mostly life lessons. To me...this book is priceless.

You may be fooled by the many positive reviews about this book, which I believe are mainly by Winona's hard-core fans. For fans, anything from their idol is interesting. However, if you are not a fan, you should skip this one.

We live in a time when ghost writers are available for any rich or famous personality to tell their stories. With their communication power, these books are sure to get a good audience. This is unfortunate, because now one doesn't need to know how to write, nor to have a good story to tell before publishing. I wonder how many great authors are still unknown for lack of opportunity to publish, while books about "stars" abound.

Wynonna's book has basically three parts:

1) Her crazy, gold digging mother destroys her childhood and adolescence by using her as a child singer in a country music career. Wynonna is basically a prop in her mother's show, what a doll is to a ventriloquist. She grows up without developing any maturity, insecure and codependent.

2) Wynonna as an adult is wildly successful. Because of her mother issues, she has weight problems, spends millions in an irresponsible lifestyle, and doesn't manage her life, her career nor anything else. She is a 30 year-old teenager. Monster mommy still stays in backstage, pulling her strings and manipulating her.

3) Wynonna is almost 40 (yawnnnn...) and finds a psychology clinic which helps her to have some very basic ideas about how to control her life. She marries a guy who is sane and helps her to have some (just a little) independence from monster mommy. Now she is free to enjoy her millions of dollars and millions of adoring fans.

It is very hard to empathize with Wynonna. She basically never had a problem in her life besides her mother. After 10 pages, the reader wants to scream: "get rid of the witch of mother ! It is all her fault !" But Wynonna can't see that.

Her mother is a calculating, super ambitious, manipulative witch who would sell her soul for some success. She absolutely controlled her daughter and destroyed her psychological development. However, Wynonna is so timid that she just refuses to deal with the subject for 40 years. Even in this book, which is supposed to be the tale of her liberation from mom, she just can't face the very clear fact that her mother is a bad person. I know it is hard to say that about your mother, but then, if you can't face it, why write the book after all ? It is just so hypocritical.

The other problem is that Wynonna's life is not inspiring. I like memoirs because we usually find there tales of courage, of exceptional trials or unusual situations. Wynonna's life, however, apart from the singing career which she doesn't detail nor analyze at all, is just boring. How can anyone sympathize with her problems, like not being able to control her spending millions of dollars in useless junk ? Or having people to do just anything for her? I wish I had those problems.

The psychological solutions she presents are also extremely basic, with techniques like "mirroring", where you just repeat back to them what the other people say, in order to improve communication. It sounds silly and artificial, the way Wynonna does. One would better buy psychologist Erick Erickson's books about these techniques.

Wynonna still lives the life of a teenager. She is one of those new age Christians (she even goes to Hindu ashram) who sees a super special meaning in everything that happens to her, regards her life as a "journey", sees her songs as "life altering works of art", her casual feelings as "elevated encounters with her inner self" (I am paraphrasing). She thinks too highly of herself and her experience. She really needs a reality check.

If you want a good biography of a female singer, buy one from Janis Joplin or Edith Piaf, that is the real thing.

First off, this is finally one book where I liked so many of the photos. There were several that I just kept returning to look at. One is of Wynonna and her husband on their wedding day with their three children. Honest, it's just perfect. Wynonna has bared a lot of her soul in this book. She's much more open about her relationship with her mother than I thought she'd be, and I so appreciate that! One thing, I almost wanted to give this review 4 stars, because she explains a bit about her biological father, but I was hoping for more details about her mother's relationship with him. Yet after completing the book, I had to admit to myself it deserves 5 stars and I forgive that one little infraction! I read Naomi Judd's book "Love Can Build a Bridge" which was one of my all time favorite autobiographies, but when news came out that Michael Ciminella wasn't the father of Wynonna, I felt a bit cheated that she hadn't come clean in her book about the matter and it made me wonder what other of her stories she stretched the truth on. Anyway, back to Wynonna, she's very open about her marriages and her finances. She also raves about Onsite, which is a place she went for therapy, so much so that I had to wonder if she's a paid spokesperson for them, but even at that, I still give her great credit to put it all out there. I only wish that I'd grown up with her! This was really a good read.