I picked this up figuring that if I was going to read a book about Whitney Houston, who better to have written it than her mother. I should have realized by the subtitle of this that the book would really be more about Cissy's relationship than about Whitney. I've always had that impression of Cissy Houston anyway - that she's really more interested in how the world affects her than anything else.
It's kind of a mutual biography - of both Cissy and Whitney. It is interesting to read how Cissy got where she was and became who she is, as well as knowing how that framed her relationship with her kids. She's led a very musically influential life even without being Whitney Houston's mother, and I would imagine that she often gets overlooked because of that fact.
There were a number of moments in the book where I found it hard to believe a mother wouldn't have asked more questions of her child, her grown child, yes, but when that person is struggling, doesn't the instinct to mother kick in no matter how old they are? Cissy often notes that she didn't know anything about the situations that Whitney was in, the bad anyway, and it seems very much like she just didn't want to know. She didn't ask because she didn't want to pry. But if Whitney and her mother were as close as Cissy claims wouldn't she ask? If Whitney was struggling she wasn't going to be asking for help. Especially not when she had a husband who was enabling and encouraging the situation.
I'm not a parent. I don't really know. The loss of Whitney Houston was horrible for the world. I would imagine even more so for her mother. Nobody can change the past. And if Cissy feels some guilt or regret for the way things did or didn't get handled in her daughter's life, then that's her cross to bear. It's clear that she loved her family the best way she could. And that's really the gift of this book.
#49-2021
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