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A review by dorothy_gale
My Love Story by Tina Turner
5.0
5★: IT IS POSSIBLE TO TURN POISON INTO MEDICINE. Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock and Roll, passed away at the age of 83 on May 24, 2023. Even though she had largely retired from performing 14 years prior, some irrational part of my brain was upset that I didn’t get to see her in person. She had been a part of my life since I was six years old, first as a soundtrack, then in my teens as an icon of resilience and choice, next in my 20s and 30s as comforting nostalgia, and last as classy legend. She was a TRUE DIVA — not a spoiled, demanding, selfish princess — but a humble, generous, grounded queen.
When, 25 days ago, I learned that she had died, I did three things: (1) I shot the messenger [figuratively], (2) I showed my kids some of her classic performances, and (3) I put this audiobook on hold. I was 15 when I watched the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do with It, starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. I hadn’t previously known anything about her life before her Private Dancer album — especially that she survived all forms of horrendous abuse from her World’s Worst A$$hole husband, and that she credited Buddhism at least in part for her escape and recovery. I had also recently watched the 2021 HBO documentary Tina, which was shockingly just as upsetting in that FORTY-FOUR YEARS LATER, the stupid-a$$ media was STILL asking her about frickin’ Ike‼‼ The misogynistic dinosaurs need to GROW UP and CATCH UP and EVOLVE! I was happy, though, to see the most mature Tina in her Swiss abode, peaceful and happy, living the life she had always deserved. I wanted MORE of that, and that’s why I wanted to pay tribute to this legend by hearing her truth, her way.
And this book delivered. She owns her journey and success, and I learned even more about her family relationships, her soulmate Erwin Bach, her health challenges, her sense of style and fashion and beauty, her insecurities, and her tragedies. You can hear and even feel her strength and optimism. She was more than a sultry voice or famous set of legs. She was and will forever remain an inspiration — a powerful alchemist capable of turning poison into medicine. She was SIMPLY THE BEST.
When, 25 days ago, I learned that she had died, I did three things: (1) I shot the messenger [figuratively], (2) I showed my kids some of her classic performances, and (3) I put this audiobook on hold. I was 15 when I watched the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do with It, starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. I hadn’t previously known anything about her life before her Private Dancer album — especially that she survived all forms of horrendous abuse from her World’s Worst A$$hole husband, and that she credited Buddhism at least in part for her escape and recovery. I had also recently watched the 2021 HBO documentary Tina, which was shockingly just as upsetting in that FORTY-FOUR YEARS LATER, the stupid-a$$ media was STILL asking her about frickin’ Ike‼‼ The misogynistic dinosaurs need to GROW UP and CATCH UP and EVOLVE! I was happy, though, to see the most mature Tina in her Swiss abode, peaceful and happy, living the life she had always deserved. I wanted MORE of that, and that’s why I wanted to pay tribute to this legend by hearing her truth, her way.
And this book delivered. She owns her journey and success, and I learned even more about her family relationships, her soulmate Erwin Bach, her health challenges, her sense of style and fashion and beauty, her insecurities, and her tragedies. You can hear and even feel her strength and optimism. She was more than a sultry voice or famous set of legs. She was and will forever remain an inspiration — a powerful alchemist capable of turning poison into medicine. She was SIMPLY THE BEST.