Veronica Glover

Senior Staff Writer

With a handful of new releases filled with juicy secrets and charismatic insights, 2023 appears to be the year of celebrity memoirs. Some noteworthy releases include Prince Harry’s controversial Spare, Pamela Anderson’s heart-wrenching Love, Pamela, and the remarkable Pageboy by Elliot Page. With so many advancements in technology and social trends, celebrities have been far more accessible compared to previous decades. While fame brought visibility, it also used to be alluring yet mysterious, with stars revealing what they wanted and going to great lengths to hide what they wanted to keep secret. Nowadays, depending on the level of stardom, public figures cannot always control their narratives. Memoirs allow them to share their perspectives, memories, and lives in unfiltered, mesmerizing accounts that go deeper than social media allows. 

On Oct. 4, Jada Pinkett Smith took the world by storm—again—with the release of her new memoir, Worthy, which takes readers across the globe on a journey of her life from the beginning. Smith is no stranger to blogs, press, and trends on social media. She and her family have been trending for decades, including several misconceptions about her marriage to Will Smith and the dynamics of their relationship, her everlasting bond with Tupac Shakur, and last but certainly not least, the slap at the 2022 Oscars ceremony. Smith was finally ready to tell her story in a 400-page revelation that set the record straight.

Pinkett Smith is no stranger to challenging discussions and heart-to-hearts. She frequently has candid conversations on her successful web series Red Table Talk, which she hosts with her mother, Adrienne Banfield Norris, and her daughter, rock sensation Willow Smith. However, even fans and devoted viewers have realized they never truly knew Pinkett Smith. In the personal narrative, she chronicles her life from her adolescence when she was involved in the notorious drug trade of the Baltimore streets through her career as a multifaceted artist spanning over 30 years. The 52-year-old has expressed pride and joy for her new memoir, providing context for the many layers of her life’s journey and filling in the gaps that her 45-minute talk show could not. 

In like manner, Britney Spears wrote an authentic book filled with transparency on a level that transcends the pressures of crowds or social media. Spears could speak freely and directly for once, escaping the confines of her relentless prison. The Woman in Me is a tale of betrayal, heartache, misfortune, and triumph. The memoir was edited and released before the trending news of her abrupt divorce from her third husband, Sam Asghari. Nevertheless, Spears emerged from her unmistakable captivity to produce an account of the familiar tale of a troubled Disney star turned cultural phenomenon. It is exhausting yet liberating to witness someone continuously prevail against the odds against them, especially if those odds happen to be from their own family.

Spears does not hold back, delving into her upbringing as a southern sweetheart, discussing the ‘90s, her time on The Mickey Mouse Club, and her struggles with alcohol and prescription drugs. Unsurprisingly, Spears introduces several profound villains in her memoir, detailing their cruelty and greed. She includes several anecdotes of distant memories and invasive media occurrences that are still available to watch. In particular, she describes her widely known on-air interview with Diane Sawyer, where she was publicly humiliated and berated during her very high-profile breakup with Justin Timberlake.

Spears writes, “It was completely humiliating. I wasn’t told what the questions would be ahead of time, and it turned out they were 100 percent embarrassing. I was too vulnerable then, too sensitive, to do this type of interview.” This incident is one of many instances where someone publicly degraded Spears while she was still just a teenager. The Woman in Me is an angsty confessional that gives the Princess of Pop a voice to express her outrage, discontent, loneliness, and emancipation. She is more than a blonde pop star or a dancer in low-quality videos. She is Britney. 

With over 417,000 copies sold, Spears’ captivating tell-all resonates with readers and offers a glimpse of hope for the icon, even after all this time. These two memoirs have flown off the shelves and into the hearts of beloved supporters, allowing audiences to grow closer to the courageous figures who inspire them. Although Red Table Talk has been canceled and Spears has made fewer public appearances, we have access to Pinkett Smith’s wise words and Spears’ honesty in fascinating narratives that readers will want to digest in one sitting.