Description
A candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston a decade after her passing-now in paperback!In the decade since Whitney Houston's passing, the world has mourned her death as a once-in-a-generation talent and queen of the pop charts. Didn't We Almost Have It All is an exploration of Whitney's life as a woman in the spotlight. This is the story of Whitney's whole life, told with grace and honesty.Gerrick Kennedy deftly peels back the layers of Whitney's story and pulls the narrative apart into the key elements that informed her life-growing up in a famous family; her relationships with Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown; her connection to her own Blackness and the Black community; her drug addiction; and, finally, shame. Kennedy takes readers back to a time when someone like Whitney could not simply be and explains the myriad ways in which her fame could not protect her. A sweeping look at Whitney's life, Didn't We Almost Have It All contextualizes her struggles against the backdrop of tabloid culture, mental health stigmas, and racial divisions in America. It explores how and why we lost a beloved icon far too soon.
A candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston a decade after her passing-now in paperback!
About the Author
Gerrick Kennedy is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic, and author based in Los Angeles. Kennedy is the author of Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap. His writing has appeared in GQ, WSJ Magazine, NPR Music, Spin, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Shondaland, Cultured Magazine, Men's Health, and the Los Angeles Times.
Reviews
"In this stirring work, journalist Kennedy reexamines 'all that Whitney was and all that she was never able to be'...the author both celebrates the legendary singer's inimitable talent and offers a rousing critique of oppressive systems still at work today. This is a must-read for fans." * Publishers Weekly, *starred* review *
"A collection of unsparing, deeply personal essays on the singer's life and career that arrives 10 years after her death...Kennedy's book, unlike so many before it, is not a gossipy biography but a collection of often powerful meditations on Whitney's life and the culture that failed her". * The Washington Post *
"A decade after Houston's death, journalist Gerrick Kennedy celebrates the music legend's triumphs in a judgment-free exploration of her life following a foreword by Brandy." * InStyle *
"A candid exploration of Houston's talent, dysfunction and fame beyond the tabloid headlines...It seriously considers her impact on music, pop culture, race and the author's own life as a queer Black man." * Los Angeles Times *
"By contextualizing her career, this book is far from a simple biography or tell-all, and feels like, what Wills described as 'a collective apology' to a beloved icon." * The Grio *
"The great strength of this book is that Kennedy-who sees Houston through the lens of the Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and LGBTQ+ movements o f the last decade-refuses to pass judgment. Instead, he seeks to understand Houston's struggles as evidence of a woman who shouldered an enormous burden-not just as a pop icon, but as a deeply devout queer Black artist forced to inhabit an unforgiving premade identity...Thoughtful reading for Houston fans and music historians alike." * Kirkus Reviews *
"Kennedy's winning argument invites readers to focus on Houston's triumphs: the ceilings she broke and the pathways she paved. Particularly impactful is Kennedy's work to locate Houston's legacy in a historical-cultural context, retrieving, for example, the no longer-sung, racist third verse of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'-which she breathtakingly performed in 1991-and contemplating the meaning of a Black woman performing the national anthem at such a profound level." * Booklist *
"Tackle Didn't We Almost Have It All...and you can expect to see things you already know, but you can also expect to be delighted. It's a fan's book, for sure, and reading it might be the greatest love of all...There's a lot of introspection in it, as well as a shift in how we think about our celebrities." * Jacksonville Free Press *
Book Information
ISBN 9781419752971
Author Gerrick Kennedy
Format Paperback
Page Count 316
Imprint Abrams Press
Publisher Abrams
A candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston a decade after her passing-now in paperback!
About the Author
Gerrick Kennedy is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic, and author based in Los Angeles. Kennedy is the author of Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap. His writing has appeared in GQ, WSJ Magazine, NPR Music, Spin, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Shondaland, Cultured Magazine, Men's Health, and the Los Angeles Times.
Reviews
"In this stirring work, journalist Kennedy reexamines 'all that Whitney was and all that she was never able to be'...the author both celebrates the legendary singer's inimitable talent and offers a rousing critique of oppressive systems still at work today. This is a must-read for fans." * Publishers Weekly, *starred* review *
"A collection of unsparing, deeply personal essays on the singer's life and career that arrives 10 years after her death...Kennedy's book, unlike so many before it, is not a gossipy biography but a collection of often powerful meditations on Whitney's life and the culture that failed her". * The Washington Post *
"A decade after Houston's death, journalist Gerrick Kennedy celebrates the music legend's triumphs in a judgment-free exploration of her life following a foreword by Brandy." * InStyle *
"A candid exploration of Houston's talent, dysfunction and fame beyond the tabloid headlines...It seriously considers her impact on music, pop culture, race and the author's own life as a queer Black man." * Los Angeles Times *
"By contextualizing her career, this book is far from a simple biography or tell-all, and feels like, what Wills described as 'a collective apology' to a beloved icon." * The Grio *
"The great strength of this book is that Kennedy-who sees Houston through the lens of the Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and LGBTQ+ movements o f the last decade-refuses to pass judgment. Instead, he seeks to understand Houston's struggles as evidence of a woman who shouldered an enormous burden-not just as a pop icon, but as a deeply devout queer Black artist forced to inhabit an unforgiving premade identity...Thoughtful reading for Houston fans and music historians alike." * Kirkus Reviews *
"Kennedy's winning argument invites readers to focus on Houston's triumphs: the ceilings she broke and the pathways she paved. Particularly impactful is Kennedy's work to locate Houston's legacy in a historical-cultural context, retrieving, for example, the no longer-sung, racist third verse of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'-which she breathtakingly performed in 1991-and contemplating the meaning of a Black woman performing the national anthem at such a profound level." * Booklist *
"Tackle Didn't We Almost Have It All...and you can expect to see things you already know, but you can also expect to be delighted. It's a fan's book, for sure, and reading it might be the greatest love of all...There's a lot of introspection in it, as well as a shift in how we think about our celebrities." * Jacksonville Free Press *
Book Information
ISBN 9781419752971
Author Gerrick Kennedy
Format Paperback
Page Count 316
Imprint Abrams Press
Publisher Abrams
