164 replies to this topic

[Amy Jenna Harper]

I agree, even he did mistakes,he is a human being,everyone does mistakes,parents are not perfect.
I don't know if I could say that it was the most shocking in the book,but it is true the moment when she was on drugs,be clean for two days and then again made me sad,I didn't realise before what she was going through,and what Mitch had to got through;very difficult moment in the book;I was feeling better when she was getting better but after when she was back I was " No Amy,not again", frustrated a little bit,I don't know how to explain,sorry I'am very bad for explain,my English is not my first language.

[amylove]

I agree, even he did mistakes,he is a human being,everyone does mistakes,parents are not perfect.

I agree but MY whole point is he never admits he made mistakes which is really weird. He doesn't think he could have done anything differently and I think people naturally feel like they could have done something differently when a situation doesn't turn out good. He'll say oh the divorce affected her more than I thought or I have a big head, but he really seems to have left everything up to Amy her whole life.

[Mrs. Jones]

I think you guys forgot the fact that Mitch wrote this book from his point of view, he mentioned that he wrote the diary to keep the track of time. True he might messed up with the dates but firstly you all don't know what is going on in Mitch's mind. As for Amy's talent it's clearly that Mitch was too focused on Amy's well being instead of her talent because he wanted to keep her alive, he wanted her to beat her addiction. That is how a parent are, when Amy died Mitch realized because he said himself that he was busy keeping her daughter safe and was always stressing out, after Amy died Mitch is not stressing out anymore and his life is starting to be "calm down" that is when he start to gathering his thoughts together and starting to see how talent Amy was.

Also in the book I can see that those sentences Mitch made about Blake, it was his thoughts in that time frame not the present. You guys need to realize that Mitch used his diary to make this book to express his thoughts in that time period. Read the book again and you will noticed that and perhaps will help you understand why Mitch said that or why. It was his thoughts in that time frame not the "present" when he was writing that book

I agree, but I think you've completely misunderstood where I was coming from.

Mitch did not write this book alone, he had a ghost-writer. Also, editors are paid to read over, correct typos and insconsistancies. My point is just that someone did not do their job properly, checking the facts, checking dates (I mean come on! the info is on the internet, it's not hard to find!). He writes that Amy was wearing a yellow dress at some award in 2008 and a few pages later he posts the photo of her at that award ceremony wearing a different dress!

You can really tell this book was hurried, and I find that a real shame.

About the book, I found Juliette missing a little too much. Apart from the Sweet n' Sour reference and about Amy's overdose and the fact that Blake called Juliette (both stories are available on the internet and frequently mentioned in biographies), there is no talk of Juliette, which I find odd. Did her and Amy have a falling out (he does say some her friends tried the tough love approach and couldn't really deal with her addcitions)?

Most importantly, I was shocked to see Juliette's name missing from the list of friends Mitch mentioned in his eulogy ("Tyler, Naomi, Catriona, Chantelle, John and Kelly..." etc.). What's up with that?

I was feeling better when she was getting better but after when she was back I was " No Amy,not again", frustrated a little bit,I don't know how to explain,sorry I'am very bad for explain,my English is not my first language.

Thta's quite a common feeling, I've read a few biographies now of addicts, and their relapses are frequent, it's quite normal to get frustrated...

Edited by Amy Jenna Harper, 18 September 2012 - 04:39 PM.
3 posts a result

[Winehouse8327]

Thta's quite a common feeling, I've read a few biographies now of addicts, and their relapses are frequent, it's quite normal to get frustrated...

Yes, and according to experts, it's normal to relapse. It's even an essential aspect of healing because it helps to understand exactly what pushes again. The more relapses you have, more the risks become smaller over time because through it, you learn to know you better.

[UnholyWar]

Am I the only one who felt that this book focused more on Amys bad points than her good ones? I wanted to read this and remember why I loved her, instead it was like reading a police report. I know you can't sugar coat addiction, but it was TOO much. I'm sure Amy wouldn't of wanted this. I can't understand what would possess him to write this book. It focuses far too much on her flaws.

[amylove]

^This is one of the reasons I'm not reading it... I know there was a TON of positive about Amy. I think Mitch just needed to go through his process of having an addict daughter... it seems it was less about making Amy look good and more about making himself look good (as in a good parent). I wonder how it would have been written differently if Amy hadn't died (supposedly it was already in the works).

Edited by allisost, 06 October 2012 - 01:40 PM.

[TBR]

I don't think he went into it with any real agenda other than writing an honest account of Amy and how addiction affected her life. It would have been worse (imo) to write a glorified account of her life and gloss over what is a real problem that the book could serve to provide awareness for to a wider audience. I still can't help but find the accusations of Mitch using the book for his own self-indulgence somewhat unfair. It probably did do him a lot of good getting it all off of his chest, yes, but I think he simply was/is passionate about trying to get through to his daughter and now to raise awareness of addiction, and has made a fair few ill-advised decisions (the TV appearances) in doing so. He was and still is in a unique position; he had a daughter in the public eye fighting serious illness and had exhausted all conventional avenues and seemed to (naively) think that airing his family's dirty laundry on TV may shock Amy into action. I'm sure he thought when writing the book (and I agree) that sugar-coating her troubles wouldn't achieve anything, and that an honest portrayal would be the best way forward to highlight the truth of addiction.

[amylove]

UnholyWar said the book talked about bad more than good, so if that's the case I wonder if it could have been more balanced? Or maybe as fans who love her we were expecting her good side to be revealed more when really it is about her struggles and a father's way of coping with them. When talking about her addictions, you can't really sugarcoat them... but when it's the majority of what is described, isn't that sensationalizing her life a bit? Obviously Amy was more than her addictions. Maybe a better title would be "How I coped with Amy's addictions"... I haven't read it, I don't know, you tell me

[DARE TO BE D]

^This is one of the reasons I'm not reading it... I know there was a TON of positive about Amy. I think Mitch just needed to go through his process of having an addict daughter... it seems it was less about making Amy look good and more about making himself look good. I wonder how it would have been written differently if Amy hadn't died (supposedly it was already in the works).

You havent read the book right? so how do you know its doesnt have good things about Amy? Also Amy was a grown women
who lived her life and what she did when she wasnt around him , he couldnt or shouldnt comment on. This book rushed out or not
is his account of what happened. I dont think he wrote bad things about her, he wrote about what he say when he visited her.
He didnt live with her and sometimes wouldnt see her for a few weeks and would hear things from her inner circle. He loved her and
he is parent who appears did the best he could with her addiction. If you read the book you realize how long he was actually in denial
about her doing drugs. He writes about her better days, how she loved her final camden home , how happy he was when she was
sober and her mind was intact. He seems only to be disappointed that his daughter would fall back into her addiction and he seem to be powerless over it and angry which to me is normal. She went in & out the London clinic to rehab and he was there for her
spending time , bring her KFC and hoping it was the last time... His anger was at Blake and his family , he knew Blake turned her on to drugs and wanted it to end . I dont get the anger towards Mitch .. This man lost his child and what ever mistakes he may have made with Amy its he who has to deal with it. My feeling is he did the best he could do under the circumstances.
read the book , its not as sad as you think , the only sad part is we all know how its going to end...

[amylove]

I can't sugarcoat my feelings about Mitch. I have no anger towards him. I just have my observations based on previous behavior and personality traits he has even admitted himself.

[Jayne]

I think people criticizing Mitch about the book should at least read it first.

[amylove]

You can direct that comment at me, I don't mind
I'm critical about everything. The book will just piss me off... I know it will. I'm not going to read a book by someone who irks me, even if it's about Amy. That would be like me reading a book by a politician I don't like... what's the point?

[SarahMermaid]

For me the most shocking thing was the coma in May 2011. To think that she went on the road just a month after boggles the mind.

EDIT: i meant to add as well..anyone else get the impression that Mitch isn't keen on Dionne? All he says is that Amy wasn't her godmother..and that's it.

Edited by SarahMermaid, 07 October 2012 - 01:06 PM.

[The girl from Impanema]

I read the book 2 months ago. I was surprised that Mitch doesn't say much about Amy's eating disorders and that she had not received any proper treatment.
Additionally - I lately found that Amy was manic – depression… Unless I missed it somewhere – it was never mentioned! He was saying that she was "ill" but never talked really about her mental health! He all the time talked about her stage fear…Was it the real thing???????
I wonder when was her first manic – depression seizure, maybe her "medicine" for this was alcohol, that helped improve her mood… Maybe she wrote B2B on her first one (Mitch does say that she was unable to get up from bed etc., though for MD sick people it is almost impossible doing anything…
Although while reading the book I did think that getting her back to music will do her good, now I think this was terrible for her..

She needed medicines and mental hospitalization, not just a regular rehab center!

Poor Amy L

[UnholyWar]

I'm not at all saying anything bad about Mitch, and I also don't doubt that him writing this book helped him to deal with the loss and that he thought he would be helping other people on the subject of addiction HOWEVER, all I am saying is I didn't benefit from reading this (I am glad I bought it though as the proceeds go the foundation). I wish the book spoke about positive stories he must have from her life that I didn't already know. Something I can read and smile about. This book was very dark and something I didn't enjoy reading. If you want to read a book about am addict though as appose to the person we all love, than read it.