Fantasia
Barrino was only 19 when people all across the country voted
her the new American Idol in May of 2004. Even judges Simon
Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul agreed that she was
their favorite winner ever on the popular TV show.
As
a proud single-mom, she became an instant role-model for girls
without much hope who found themselves in a similar predicament.
Soon thereafter, ‘tasia, as her fans call her, recorded
her first CD, Free Yourself, which went platinum in just a
couple of months.
Now
she has written a tell-all autobiography, describing a life
which has had more than its share of challenges. Besides having
a baby out of wedlock at 17, she recounts a litany of woes
she had to overcome growing up in the town of High Point,
North Carolina.
For
example, although she was raised by religious parents,
a preacher grandmother, and started single Gospel music
at the age of five, she turned her back on the church
and became sexual-active right after entering high school.
Dressing flirtatiously, she ended up raped by one boy,
but was ultimately impregnated by her pastor’s
son. Unfortunately, his reaction to the news of his
impending fatherhood was, “It ain’t mine.”
Although
she had been warned by her grandmother not to get knocked
up because, “You will be on your own. No man will
help you,” Fantasia had to find out the hard way.
She dropped out of high school unable to hold down a
job because she was unable to read or make change. She
went on welfare, but that money brought her “baby-daddy”
around. And his M.O. was to beat her silly before taking
all the infant’s money, forcing ‘tasia to
shoplift for milk, diapers and other necessities.
She
bottomed out while sharing an apartment in the projects
with another single-mom, drinking and smoking and frequenting
nightclubs where she met more of the wrong types of
guys. Obviously, her fortunes changed with American
Idol, and she constantly credits her faith in God that
she would find a way out of the ghetto.
Since
no co-author or ghost-writer is credited as having contributed
to the memoir, Fantasia deserves the highest of accolades
for having crafted such an honest, heartfelt, insightful
and well-written book. Though now only 21 she shows
evidence of having grown wise beyond the harsh teen
years which threatened to take a great toll on her soul.
Best
of all, she has plenty of advice for anyone thinking
of following in her footsteps in chapters with titles
like, “It Ain’t about the Bling,”
“Don’t Be a Hootchie Mama,” and “Learn
from Your Mistakes.” She breaks it down in plain
English, when she explains, “In the ghetto where
I come from, big butts and tight jeans are the way to
get certain men’s hearts. My days of being a hootchie
mama started probably in the eighth or ninth grade.”
The
author proceeds to explain, and rather clearly, exactly
how she was misguided into imitating behaviors she saw
in music videos, and why that was an inappropriate way
of attracting a man. Finally, Fantasia warns young girls
of the pitfalls of teen pregnancy, such as the fact
that, “the cost of day care is more than a minimum-wage
job earns.”
Given
its sincerity, its spirituality and its sobering message,
Life Is Not a Fairy Tale is highly recommended for any
at-risk teenagers with low self-esteem and in dire need
of a reason for hope and of inspiration to keep the
faith. For Fantasia makes a convincing case that if
she could overcome all her obstacles, anybody else can,
too.
Fantasia
Life Is Not a Fairy Tale
by Fantasia Barrino
Fireside Books
Hardcover, $21.95
240 pages, illus.
ISBN: 0-7432-8156-X
Email
This Article To A Friend
