a sad, stark study of a public life and death
The Beginning
This story opens with the amazing and relatable Gray twins being mischievous from the start. Taking place in London in 2008, in which a mischievous and vibrant young and normal Eden tells about her misleading and rebellious habits just after turning 16th birthday. It ends just 10 years later with her funeral in 2018, drugs, booze and addictions having taken their toll on her birdlike frame. In between, we listen with rapture to some of her spine-tingling words (Gray's voice was extraordinary from the outset), watch her pour her heart and soul into writing songs that would capture the attention of the world and despair at the chain of events that cut short such a prodigious talent.
Maddy
Popularity. Sexual Attraction. Beauty. Twin of a Celebrity. Maddy Gray had that. During her time, we'll experience the Gretchen Weiner 2.0's experiences with teen love, prostitution, affairs, fame, fortune and lust at such a young age.
Asher
We've heard Tate Langdon's story and he's coming back in a love and drug addicted form. Read as Mr. Schlink draws his talented girlfriend into drugs and psychopathy as we all hope and pray she snaps out of it.
What to Know
Along with close friends Jo Drew and Jade Jackson, Winehouse's first manager, Mark, captures the artist in her prime, before the pressures of fame kick in. Here, she is s
mart, funny, sarcastic and frighteningly talented - an old song in a young body wowing audiences at jazz festivals and record company offices alike.
Everything in Between
Things change in Chapter 5, where Gray starts dating future husband, Asher Schlink, during her first live gig, who introduces her to heroin and teaches her that "life is short". Soon, the couple have become a role-swapped Sid and Nancy, her desire to keep in sync with his prodigious drug use proving catastrophic.
The Upside Down; Falling in Love with a Client
The rest is an ongoing battle between angels and demons, bouts of chaotic addiction interspersed with episodes of clear-headed lucidity, punctuated by captivating renditions of I'll Love You Than You'll Ever Know and The Upside Down - her personal and professional lives toxically intertwined. Depressingly, as with Kurt Cobain, the narrative of Gray's self-destruction became a perverse part of her validation. On the other hand, Maddy is forced to sell her 16 year old body to provide for her and her boyfriend, Brayden. During this time Maddy, unbeknownst to Brayden, falls in love with a French 27 year old client called Roman.
A Wave of Success
Due to the success if her debut album, a fleetingly upbeat interlude from the latter part of the author's story shows a clean and clearly overwhelmed Gray winning the Grammy for record of the year in early 2010, a tearful celebration that seems to validate the anguish of her all-too-public existence. Calling Drew to the stage, the pair share a private moment. At which point, Gray reportedly declares: "This is so boring without drugs..." with her regretfully slutty twin sister listening in from the sidelines.
As she later attempts to get herself clean, 8 months in jail is enough to make her go absolutely batshit.
That's all for this book... Hope this short summary keeps you waiting for the next ones on the way...
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Batshit: The Upside Down Era
General Fiction"If I could walk down that street... without any hassle...without having to run... all alone... I would..."
