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.
In new book Through the Storm, Lynne shares the inside story of the Spears family from a mother's point of view.
"Sometimes, my kids played me like a fiddle. I wish I had been less gullible and more suspicious - much more suspicious. My biggest mistakes in this life were from not going on my instincts," she reflects.
Taking readers outside the narrow orbit of the Hollywood glitterati. Lynne shares how fame forever changed their family.
"My children said their prayers every night, but I should have helped them understand the power of prayer for every situation life throws at us."
She adds, "I wish I had soaked in the beauty of the moment, taking the time to really enjoy my children when I had them with me. We can't get those years back."
Lynne also speaks honestly about her regrets over 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; .
"Within a month or so of meeting, Sam [Lufti, former manager] was in complete control of Britney's life, labelling himself her friend, her manager, her life coach. Everyone deferred to him - he appointed himself as her gatekeeper, and there was no one he wanted to keep the gate closed to more than Britney's family."
She also shares her thoughts on 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
"To see that girl with such despondency in her eyes...it broke my heart in a million pieces. My world was crumbling around me. And once again, I wondered, how did we ever get from there to here?"
Lynne describes Through the Storm as "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".
Through the Storm (ISBN 9781595552075) is priced £9.50 and published by Thomas Nelson
