Book Review: Through the Storm

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

By Lynne Spears and Lorilee Craker

Lynne says early in the book: “I’m not terribly exciting, truth be told. But my family has had an exceptional journey—really, a wild ride—and people think they know us from what they read. But they really don’t know us at all.” This is part of the reason why I read this book, it was an attempt to gain an insider’s view on how things evolved from an enviable quick rise to fame followed by a heartbreaking, well publicized fall. I always wondered what are the pressures? What is it really like?

If you are looking for more dirt on Britney and the nitty gritty details, you aren’t going to get it here. This is very much her mother’s memoir. The memoir, at times very organic in terms of storytelling, shows how Lynne and Britney walked through each door opportunity presented until all at once the family had run smack up against fame. At times, the writers build the story on the assumption that the reader is well acquainted with the Spears family and the tabloid news that surrounds them. If you aren’t familiar with the history and the timeline of how Britney rose to fame, it can be frustrating trying to keep up as it jumps around. If I were to pick a favourite scene, it would by far be the scene when Lynne shot up her alcoholic husband’s cooler of beer and wine.