Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World

Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World | Lynne Spears, Lorilee Craker | 'Cause that girl is in the strongest storm of her life.

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Through the Storm:...

	Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World Lynne Spears, Lorilee Craker Thomas Nelson, 2008 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 50 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

We all want our children to succeed. What happens when they do?

Britney Spears wanted to sing ever since she was a little girl. But the years of sacrifices, auditions, performances, albums, fame, and paparazzi left the little Louisiana family swept up and spun around, and nothing turned out the way anyone ever imagined or wanted. Now Lynne shares the inside story of the Spears family as only a mother can.

Through the Storm takes readers outside the narrow orbit of the Hollywood glitterati. Lynne shares how fame forever changed their family; her regrets letting managers, agents, and record companies direct the lives of her children; the challenges that shaped Lynne and Jamie's failed marriage and how they affected Bryan, Britney, and Jamie Lynn; the startling events that led to Britney's breakdown; the aftermath of Jamie Lynn's pregnancy; and how the family has tried pulling together to recapture a sense of hope and purpose.

Through the Storm, says Lynne, is "the story of one simple Southern woman whose family got caught in a tornado called fame, and who is still trying to sort through the debris scattered all over her life in the aftermath. It's who I am, warts and all, with some true confessions that took a long time to get up the nerve to discuss."

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A surprising excellent read

As with most other reviews on this book, I certainly am not a fan of Britney Spears or the uber-sexed teen pop culture going on. I picked up this book on a whim at my library, and was pleasantly surprised. It was a fascinating read, and I found myself becoming ashamed for believing almost everything I had ever heard about Lynne Spears (i.e. that she was a stage mom, divorced her husband to move onto fame, etc.). In truth, almost NOTHING I previously thought about this family was true and instead the truth was a very normal American family with problems just like many other people, whose lives were absolutely and totally thrown off balance by Britney's very sudden fame. The book gave me a compassionate heart for everyone in the family and reminded me that fame is not all it's cracked up to be.

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'Cause that girl is in the strongest storm of her life.

Now, I can guess what you're thinking: why in the world would I want to read a book written by a woman most widely known as Britney Spears' mom? My answer may surprise you: I wanted to read this book since, at least in my mind, Britney and I are in the same line of work.

You see, a major part of my job is working to create culture that influences girls' lives. Whether you've recognized it before or not, that's a big part of Britney's job as well. I, through Starlite's mentoring programs in public schools, attempt to tell girls what should be important to them. Britney does the same, simply sending her message through a different medium and to a much larger audience. We certainly don't send the same message out, but it's undeniable that we're both in the same field.

I have a vested interest in what Britney does and says since she's attempting to reach the same girls I am, after all. In my personal and professional opinion, there is no other solitary musician that has had a greater impact on pre-teen and teenage girls' lives over the last decade than Britney. Like her or not, there's no avoiding the influence she carries.

Naturally, I was curious about her mama.

I expected the book to be filled with excuses from Lynne about the choices that members of her family have made (remember, father Jamie has been widely reported -- as well as confirmed in this book -- as having an alcohol problem that has spanned decades as well as daughter Jamie Lynn's recent experience as a very young unwed mother). In my opinion, Lynne didn't do that. She owned up to the wrong decisions she had made while wisely realizing that she can't take the blame for other grown adults' decisions.

While a lot of her experiences might not apply to the general public (I mean, how many of you have a daughter who has paparazzi waiting outside your house right now? Anyone?), there were several sections of the book that parents can learn from even though the book was never meant to be a parenting book. Unfortunately, most of those lessons are of the hindsight variety -- I'm sure Lynne, like most parents, has quite the list of things she wishes she had done differently.

My favorite part of the book was some advice that didn't even come from Lynne, if you want to know the truth. She wrote about how their family had been going to counseling with a local pastor:

"We only went a few times -- nobody except me really appreciated what the pastor was saying -- but he did point out something profound. 'If this young lady [Britney] and her daddy don't resolve their issues, and he doesn't try harder to establish a good, strong relationship with her, she will end up clinging to the first real romance in her life. That man will be of extreme importance in her life, and that relationship will determine the course of all her relationships with men from then on.'"

If only they had known how true that pastor's words would be in the future.

Reading this book only deepened my burden to pray for Britney. I've got a couple of good friends who could tell you that I was nearly physically ill when I watched the live footage of Britney shaving her head as well as her subsequent hospitalizations. I'm academically and professionally trained to know when behaviors are getting to the point where someone's life is in danger and I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a broken little girl crying out for help. I was truly afraid that I would wake up one morning to find out that Britney had taken her own life, accidental or not.

I can't help but wonder what would happen in Britney's life if there were people on their knees for her each and every day? What if we took the time we currently spend talking about what a mess we think her life is and instead use that time to beg God to draw her heart to His?

Surely if He came to find that one lost sheep, He's still waiting for Britney.

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A Mother's Heartfelt Story

How many times have I thought when seeing the latest report of a Britney Spears disaster, "Where is that girl's mother?" Or even, "How does someone so talented get so crazy?" Reading this book answered the first question thoroughly and the second question briefly.

For readers looking for a tell-all about Britney the pop princess, look elsewhere. For readers expecting advice from a mother of three, buy another book. But for readers intrigued by a family whose lives were drastically changed, repeatedly, by circumstances and by choices, this might be the book for you.

Lynne Spears wrote this book, I believe, to get her side of the Spears Family Story into the mainstream press. After watching her daughters, her husband and herself be torn to pieces in ink, Lynne has spoken up about who the Spears family truly is - where they came from, what they've dealt with, and in many ways, how they came to the point we see today in the tabloids.

I thought this book was interesting, showing how a child from a small town could rise to stardom, despite her parents' humble beginnings and very human frailties. And showing how, incredible as it is, a person could completely shut out her own parents, despite needing them more than ever.

Is Lynne Spears a little defensive in this book? Sure, but I can't blame her if she goes a little overboard describing both the great parts of her life and the hard parts. Was Lynne Spears naive? Absolutely, but she's the first to admit it. Does this book humanize each member of the Spears family? Yes, it does that, too. And maybe THAT is what Lynne was after all along.

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Interesting Book

I would not have normally read a book like this - don't get me wrong I do like biographical pieces but I have never been that interested in Britney Spears. Am I a fan? No but I have watched her over the years and remember when she had her first single and I remember the famous Rolling Stone magazine cover. Recently I have wondered about how she could let go of her two babies. Being a mom of two young boys myself makes me wonder - what could be going on to lose custody of them?? Lynne Spears's book is not a tell-all about Britney but is a peak into the entire Spears family history. What struck me is that they were the typical dysfunctional small town, hard working family - similar to the kind of family most of us come from. I must admit that I have been judgmental of Lynne as a mother between Britney's highly sexual celebrity persona and Jamie Lynn's teenage pregnancy - what kind of mother would allow this? After reading this book I realized that I should never do that because the media can portray things anyway they want - they can put a spin on everything. This book is more about Lynne as a mother, wife, friend, sister and a woman with her own dreams. I found the book to be interesting but there were a few things I found disappointing. The book was a fast read and events in time were glossed over. I would have liked more insight into her feelings and emotions and family events. The book didn't flow well - was a bit choppy which lead me to be confused a time or two. I did appreciate how Lynne shared her regrets and thoughts about how she mothered her family. Her love for God is evident and I respect how she has handled her relationship with her husband since their divorce. Lynne is like just about every woman - desiring to have the love of your life by your side, raising a loving family, finding fulfillment and accomplishing personal dreams, being surrounded by love and trustworthy people, feeling spiritually fulfilled and at peace, in the end knowing you've down the best you knew how - the difference - most of us don't have famous children.

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