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

When given the opportunity by Thomas Nelson Publishing Company (through Michael Hyatt’s blog) to review the book written by Britney Spear’s mother I jumped at the chance. I knew that Thomas Nelson wouldn’t be publishing an exploitative “tell all” book of a mother using her daughter’s fame and misfortune for financial gain… so what would it be that Lynne was trying to achieve in the telling of her story? I was intrigued.

Not Disappointed – Disappointed – Humbled

I wasn’t disappointed. Indeed this was not an attempt at benefiting at the expense of another, of simply cashing in on the “fame” wagon.

But, by the same token, I was immensely disappointed initially at Lynne’s seeming reticence to delve deeper into certain things that had happened in her own past. An example would be when she knocked a boy off his bike. This must have an an immense impact on her, but is given almost as a throw away line as part of another narrative.

I was also somewhat disappointed that although she stated on many occasions that she would not try to defend herself from the cries of “stage mother” it was as if she doth protest too much…

But as I read further, I came to realise that this is really a book about grace. I came to realise that Lynne is simply an ordinary human being like you or me who has, along with her daughters, found herself in extra-ordinary circumstances.

Without a doubt, this book is a warning, not of parenting (as one might initially expect), but of a public so obsessed with celebrity that even the most level headed of us either deify those in the public eye, or want to bring them down.

This book is a good, easy read if you want to read it that way. But if you read it with an open heart, being ready to be critical of your own thoughts and feelings, then be ready for a more humbling experience.

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