WARNING: SEE THE DOCUMENTARY FIRST. THEN YOU WON'T NEED THIS SPECIFIC BOOK, OR WANT TO SPEND MONEY ON IT.
REASON: Amy Winehouse was such a beautiful soul with a magical voice, and a one in a million talent. I thought I knew how heartbreaking her story was, but to see the movie and watch her go from a bubbly teenager to a tortured, lost soul was almost unbearable. I can't complain about the book's grammar or the usual ways a book fails. But it was truly awful to realize that the two most important men in her life, whom she loved desperately but unwisely, were not only repugnantly self serving, but consistently let her down.
It was brutally, horrifyingly clear in the film that her father's disappearance in her early years, and his reappearance after his daughter's fame and fortune grew (some coincidence) were harmful to her in each case! Her need for a nurturing, perhaps even a bit more stern guidance from a parent, was unmet. Instead, she wound up with some narcissistic, trash of a husband and another self serving leech: her father. It becomes unavoidably clear that daddy's "love" centered around her career, but not her health and well-being. In fact, Mitch Winehouse probably had as much right to be a parent as a snake does: he was the first one to scorn the idea of early substance abuse programs (you know this from the "Rehab" song). Any other intelligent parent would have dragged her straight to rehab and kicked her boyfriend to the curb.
Of course she had a support net of great friends and other family members. But with young, susceptible celebrities like Amy Winehouse, it's invariably the soul stealers who have the more powerful effect on them. As a similarly unfortunate singer (Janis Joplin) voiced it best in one of her songs, very ironically, "...Take another little piece of my heart now...."
I can't imagine this lousy excuse of a dad as a legitimate author, so I'm guessing someone "helped" him pen this unfortunate biography anyhow. I'm going to actually return this book, on principle. For anyone who really wants to know about this gifted singer's tragically short life, just watch the movie, because what it reveals is the heart wrenching story of the death of innocence. And you'll never get the truth from her father.
I hope her soul is at peace, but I'd hate for the people who brought her down to benefit posthumously in any way! Unfortunately, I bought the book before seeing the film, and now regret that. Even the thought of one cent coming his way via this book is repugnant. But what I really hope for is that Amy Winehouse is at peace, and that the beautiful, engaging young woman who gave so many people joy in her beautiful music, is the one that people continue to remember most of all.
- Hardcover
- Publisher: It Books (June 26, 2012)
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00B2RPMF8
- Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 232 customer reviews
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,405,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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