It’s memoir time, bitch.
Britney Spears’s long-awaited tell-all book, The Woman in Me, is coming very soon. As we gear up for its release and all the revelations expected from the “Toxic” singer now that she’s #FreedBritney, we want to run though everything we know about the tome — including the newly announced audiobook narrator! — so we are all appropriately prepared.
But are the people the pop icon is writing about in the book prepared? From family members to exes (we’re looking at you, JT), we are guessing no.
When will The Woman in Me be released?
The book publishes on Oct. 24. You can preorder now. The list price is $32.99.
What’s it about?
According to the publisher, Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books imprint, Britney’s memoir tells “her own story, on her own terms, at last.” It covers fame, motherhood, survival, faith and freedom. The 288-page book, which was written with “remarkable candor and humor,” will reportedly go deep into her early life, career and the conservatorship, which stripped her of her rights in 2008 until she finally broke free from in 2021. Her father, Jamie Spears, oversaw the conservatorship, and the star continued releasing albums, performing and putting her name on products, from which he earned a percentage of profits, until she refused to perform and alleged conservator abuse in court.
What’s the significance of the title?
It’s seemingly a nod to her 2001 song “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman.” In that song, that appeared on the Crossroads soundtrack, she sings that’s she’s “just trying to find the woman in me.”
What do we know about the cover?
It’s a black-and-white throwback photo of the singer taken in 2001 by Herb Ritts.
Did she really write this book?
Most celebrities get help writing their memoirs — and it’s expected that Britney, 41, will be no different. It’s been rumored that Sam Lansky, author of Broken People and The Gilded Razor, is her ghostwriter. Lansky has profiled celebrities including Madonna, Nicki Minaj and Adele. This hasn’t been confirmed.
Will there be an audio book?
Yes. Fans will be able to hear Britney on it, but she won’t be the sole narrator. Britney recorded an intro to the book, but Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams is narrating the rest. She said that while “reliving everything” as she worked on the book “has been exciting,” it’s also been “heart-wrenching and emotional, to say the least.” So she will do the intro and Williams will tackle the rest. Williams said in a statement, “I stand with Britney.” TMZ reported that Reese Witherspoon was first approached, but she was unavailable.
What’s been the early buzz?
The book is under lock and key by the publisher so far with no advance copies being given to media outlets. That said, Us Weekly reported Britney’s ex Justin Timberlake is “not going to be happy” because she “goes after him hard.” (In 2021, he publicly apologized to her, as well as Janet Jackson, for being a louse when he was younger.) The same article says she gets into her relationship drama with her parents, Jamie and Lynne, and sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. (Her father reportedly won’t be reading it.) No doubt it will touch on her hurtful estrangement from her sons, Preston and Jayden, whom she shares with ex Kevin Federline.
Meanwhile, there was no big rewrite of the book after her divorce from third husband Sam Asghari was set in motion. According to TMZ, he wasn’t a major part of the story anyway. He said this week he’s excited for the book and is proud of her.
Another source told Page Six that “every huge sensationalized headline is all in there. There are a few bombshells, and you will have empathy for Britney. It’s Britney telling her story, without handlers, totally unfiltered — the good, the bad and the ugly.”
Is Britney doing interviews?
Her book will speak for itself because she is apparently not doing any interviews. That said, she has been in New York this week, so there’s been rumors she could be taping something.
How about a press tour?
She’s also sitting out a book tour. The publisher instead partnered with Painting With a Twist for Brit-themed “paint and sip” parties to get fans together to celebrate the launch. Attendees are encouraged to dress like the Grammy-winning songstress and they’ll paint art inspired by Britney while listening to some of her iconic tracks. Some prizes will be given out at events, which run Oct. 24 through Dec. 31.
How much is she being paid for her memoir?
The star inked a $15 million deal for her memoir, People reported.
What has Britney said about her memoir?
The singer wrote on Instagram, where she’s done most of her talking the last five years, that it’s been “healing and therapeutic” to reflect on her past while writing the book. She said she wrote three different versions in fact, with all the stories just spilling out. She wrote that she “worked my ass off for this book … so you guys better like it. And if you don’t like it, that’s fine too.” Meanwhile, she’s already planning for a sequel.
Is this really her first book?
It’s her first real tell-all memoir. In 2000, she partnered up with her mom, Lynne Spears, to write her road to fame story: Britney Spears’s Heart to Heart. She wasn’t yet 20 at the time and it was years before her life was derailed with the conservatorship. Mother and daughter also wrote a novel, A Mother’s Gift, in 2001. Lynne later capitalized on Britney’s struggles, releasing Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World in 2008. Britney was very publicly displeased about Jamie Lynn’s 2022 memoir, Things I Should Have Said, which included stories about her.
