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Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'
The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl by Melanie C
3 reviews
danileah07's review
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Eating disorder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse
kelly_e's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Title: The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl
Author: Melanie Chisholm
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: September 15, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Frank • Insightful • Nostalgic
📖 S Y N O P S I S
The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl is an intimate memoir from international pop star Melanie Chisholm--better known as Mel C. or Sporty Spice--chronicling her trajectory from small-town girl to overnight icon as part of the Spice Girls, one of the biggest music groups in history. In addition to how the band came to be and playing some of the biggest venues in the world, Melanie talks about the pressures of fame, the shaming and bullying she experienced, the struggles she has had with her body image and mental health, and the difficulty of finding yourself when the whole world knows your name.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I was nine-years-old when the Spice Girls burst onto the scene and took over the music world. While I cannot honestly say I was a huge fan, I definitely knew who they were, and most of my childhood friends were obsessed, which means I can recall re-enacting performances in living rooms at sleepovers numerous times. As a child, Sporty Spice was the one I related to the most, so of course, I was intrigued when I saw she was releasing a memoir.
This memoir has a pretty linear progression, although it does jump around from time to time, which made things a bit confusing on audio. It delves deeps into the complexities of the music industry giving the reader a behind the scenes glimpse into the relentlessness of fame. One of the parts that surprised me most was how the band came to be. I had no one one of the most popular girl groups came to be because they answered an ad in the newspaper.
Her discussion surrounding her mental health (both during the bands biggest years and during her solo career) really resonated with me. For me, that's where the real value in this memoir is. She opens up about her struggles with anxiety, depression, anorexia and binge eating disorder with the hope of helping someone else, and offering encouragement to ask for help.
Overall, this was a solid memoir with a strong mental health focus. I highly recommend listening to the audio version, read by the author herself, for an enhanced emotional experience. This isn't a tell-tale memoir, so if you're looking for juicy stuff this isn't the book for you.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the Spice Girls
• celebrity memoir enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"We live in much more interesting times now where the gender lines are less binary, and gender is much more fluid. None of us are just one thing, are we? It's something I feel we should hold onto today; that we're all many things, and that's to be celebrated. Our complexity is what makes us so normal/brilliant/unique/interesting!"
Author: Melanie Chisholm
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: September 15, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Frank • Insightful • Nostalgic
📖 S Y N O P S I S
The Sporty One: My Life as a Spice Girl is an intimate memoir from international pop star Melanie Chisholm--better known as Mel C. or Sporty Spice--chronicling her trajectory from small-town girl to overnight icon as part of the Spice Girls, one of the biggest music groups in history. In addition to how the band came to be and playing some of the biggest venues in the world, Melanie talks about the pressures of fame, the shaming and bullying she experienced, the struggles she has had with her body image and mental health, and the difficulty of finding yourself when the whole world knows your name.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I was nine-years-old when the Spice Girls burst onto the scene and took over the music world. While I cannot honestly say I was a huge fan, I definitely knew who they were, and most of my childhood friends were obsessed, which means I can recall re-enacting performances in living rooms at sleepovers numerous times. As a child, Sporty Spice was the one I related to the most, so of course, I was intrigued when I saw she was releasing a memoir.
This memoir has a pretty linear progression, although it does jump around from time to time, which made things a bit confusing on audio. It delves deeps into the complexities of the music industry giving the reader a behind the scenes glimpse into the relentlessness of fame. One of the parts that surprised me most was how the band came to be. I had no one one of the most popular girl groups came to be because they answered an ad in the newspaper.
Her discussion surrounding her mental health (both during the bands biggest years and during her solo career) really resonated with me. For me, that's where the real value in this memoir is. She opens up about her struggles with anxiety, depression, anorexia and binge eating disorder with the hope of helping someone else, and offering encouragement to ask for help.
Overall, this was a solid memoir with a strong mental health focus. I highly recommend listening to the audio version, read by the author herself, for an enhanced emotional experience. This isn't a tell-tale memoir, so if you're looking for juicy stuff this isn't the book for you.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the Spice Girls
• celebrity memoir enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"We live in much more interesting times now where the gender lines are less binary, and gender is much more fluid. None of us are just one thing, are we? It's something I feel we should hold onto today; that we're all many things, and that's to be celebrated. Our complexity is what makes us so normal/brilliant/unique/interesting!"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Body shaming
Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Misogyny, and Bullying
Minor: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Death
anorexia, binge eating disorder, anxiety, depression, divorcebookswithlauren's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Like many 90's kids, I absolutely loved Spice Girls, especially Mel B and Mel C as I was a sporty, 'tom boy' kid but I also had an afro. As I have grown older, I have related a lot more to Melanie C and all the things she has been through and I was hoping that one day, she would feel ready to write and release a book about her journey.
Who I Am, is a beautifully written and honest reflection from Melanie's childhood to present day as a mother and musician.
Who I Am, is a beautifully written and honest reflection from Melanie's childhood to present day as a mother and musician.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Bullying
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Death
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