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From This Moment On
The world may know Shania Twain as many things: a music legend, a mother, and recently, a fixture in the news for her painful, public divorce and subsequent marriage to a cherished friend. But in this extraordinary autobiography, Shania reveals that she is so much more. She is Eilleen Twain, one of five children born into poverty in rural Canada, where her family often didn't have enough food to send her to school with lunch. She's the teenage girl who helped her mother and young siblings escape to a battered woman's shelter to put an end to the domestic violence in her family home. And she's the courageous twenty-two-year-old who sacrificed to keep her younger siblings together after her parents were tragically killed in a car accident.
Shania Twain's life has evolved from a series of pivotal moments, and in unflinching, heartbreaking prose, Shania spares no details as she takes us through the events that have made her who she is. She recounts her difficult childhood, her parents' sudden death and its painful aftermath, her dramatic rise to stardom, her devastating betrayal by a trusted friend, and her joyful marriage to the love of her life. From these moments, she offers profound, moving insights into families, personal tragedies, making sense of one's life, and the process of healing. Shania Twain is a singular, remarkable woman who has faced enormous odds and downfalls, and her extraordinary story will provide wisdom, inspiration, and hope for almost anyone.
Shania Twain's life has evolved from a series of pivotal moments, and in unflinching, heartbreaking prose, Shania spares no details as she takes us through the events that have made her who she is. She recounts her difficult childhood, her parents' sudden death and its painful aftermath, her dramatic rise to stardom, her devastating betrayal by a trusted friend, and her joyful marriage to the love of her life. From these moments, she offers profound, moving insights into families, personal tragedies, making sense of one's life, and the process of healing. Shania Twain is a singular, remarkable woman who has faced enormous odds and downfalls, and her extraordinary story will provide wisdom, inspiration, and hope for almost anyone.
448 pages, Hardcover
First published May 3, 2011
351 people are currently reading
4973 people want to read
About the author
Shania Twain
56 books92 followersShania Twain OC (born Eilleen Regina Edwards) is a Canadian country pop artist. Her third album Come on Over is the best-selling album of all time by a female musician and the best-selling album in the history of country music. She is the only female musician to have three albums certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and is also the second best-selling artist in Canada, behind fellow Canadian Céline Dion, with three of her studio albums being certified double diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association. Twain has achieved both critical and financial success, having received five Grammy awards, 27 BMI Songwriter awards, and she has sold over 75 million albums worldwide to date including 48 million in the USA alone. She is ranked as the 10th best-selling artist of the Nielsen Soundscan era, with approximately 33,591,000 sales through April 5 2008, based on relatively few releases.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 533 reviews
August 29, 2020
Just finished this audio book and I can say that I was thoroughly enthralled and entertained. Only the introduction and ending was read by Shania herself but I felt the narrator's tone and expression was spot-on and sounded a lot like her!
I've always enjoyed Shania's fun music and she's a Canadian national treasure so I'm glad I listened to this book. She is very truthful and pretty straightforward about her sad and very humble roots. I think her story is quite powerful. She showed a lot of resilience as she continued to push-on and make a success of it in the music industry. From her tough times in childhood, to the breakdown of her first marriage and eventual happiness in her second marriage this book is heartfelt and inspiring. To me Shania comes out shining as a very down-to-earth and humble girl.
I've always enjoyed Shania's fun music and she's a Canadian national treasure so I'm glad I listened to this book. She is very truthful and pretty straightforward about her sad and very humble roots. I think her story is quite powerful. She showed a lot of resilience as she continued to push-on and make a success of it in the music industry. From her tough times in childhood, to the breakdown of her first marriage and eventual happiness in her second marriage this book is heartfelt and inspiring. To me Shania comes out shining as a very down-to-earth and humble girl.
January 20, 2013
Two stars is even a bit too kind for this book. While I understand that Shania is not a writer and this is her personal memoir of her life, I have to admit I was expecting a bit more.
Not in the way of life stories, this book is so chock full of them I actually wonder if she left anything major out. No, I mean more in the way of editing. Whoever edited this book was either asleep at their desk or gave in to all of her desires to make this book be her voice - because it is very, very repetitive and in some cases so personal that it reads more like a rambling diary entry than a book.
I can't fault her reasons for writing this, and I really did relate to her Northern Ontario girl stories (not the poverty or hardships, but the rough-and-tumble way that growing up in the bush moulds your character). I also felt a bit of a kinship with her due to half of my family coming from that part of Canada and having spent a great deal of summers and winters there.
I also appreciated her explanations of fame and how it can destroy your spirit and sense of self, causing loneliness.
But ultimately, if this book was half the length it would be about 100x more effective and enjoyable than this was. I will say that the last third of the book was hard to put down, but the first 2/3 were quite the slog.
Read at your own risk.
Not in the way of life stories, this book is so chock full of them I actually wonder if she left anything major out. No, I mean more in the way of editing. Whoever edited this book was either asleep at their desk or gave in to all of her desires to make this book be her voice - because it is very, very repetitive and in some cases so personal that it reads more like a rambling diary entry than a book.
I can't fault her reasons for writing this, and I really did relate to her Northern Ontario girl stories (not the poverty or hardships, but the rough-and-tumble way that growing up in the bush moulds your character). I also felt a bit of a kinship with her due to half of my family coming from that part of Canada and having spent a great deal of summers and winters there.
I also appreciated her explanations of fame and how it can destroy your spirit and sense of self, causing loneliness.
But ultimately, if this book was half the length it would be about 100x more effective and enjoyable than this was. I will say that the last third of the book was hard to put down, but the first 2/3 were quite the slog.
Read at your own risk.
May 18, 2011
I love reading autobiographies about various celebrities and influential people throughout our time. It is so interesting to read about someone who is famous but has had a life that is so different from what you would expect. Eilleen Thiebaud (aka Shania Twain) is no exception. She had a childhood of poverty, dysfunction and witnessed spousal abuse within her family. I believe the determination to pull herself out of this life and make it better was the driving force behind her success. I remember when she came out with her first hit. It was actually from her 2nd CD. “Any Man of Mine” was her first single but the most notable song from this CD was “If You’re Not in It for Love”. She was the talk of the music industry and extremely intriguing. I remember watching the Behind the Music special on her. So, I was familiar with her story before reading this book.
The book was a pleasant surprise. There is a lot about her childhood, her parents and the life she lived in Canada. And then she goes into her big break into the music business, restrictions in her creativity until meeting Mutt Lange. She talks about her success, time on the road and the people on tour with her. And then her marriage to Mutt, her son Eja and her life in Switzerland. Finally, she ends the book with the end of her marriage to Mutt and a new beginning with her marriage to Fred Thiebaud.
Eilleen is so open and honest about her life, almost to a fault. But it is interesting to read about someone and share the same views, emotions and ideas about being a mother and wife with a career and a 45 year old body that is starting not to cooperate. There is so much to this book. She offers intimate insight on all sorts of aspects of life I think this book can attract a large audience. I found myself turning the pages quickly, so engrossed, especially when reading about Eilleen meeting Mutt and, of course, the affair. The one thing that stands out though, is her vulnerability and the fact that she let it all out between the pages. I so admire her courage, wondering if Mutt Lange is going to feel the backlash of her honesty about the end of their relationship.
Eilleen shows incredible talent for writing a book. I was so impressed. A quote that stand out…”A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words”. I truly enjoyed this autobiography and I am so impressed with this celebrity’s writing talent and openness. Great job!
The book was a pleasant surprise. There is a lot about her childhood, her parents and the life she lived in Canada. And then she goes into her big break into the music business, restrictions in her creativity until meeting Mutt Lange. She talks about her success, time on the road and the people on tour with her. And then her marriage to Mutt, her son Eja and her life in Switzerland. Finally, she ends the book with the end of her marriage to Mutt and a new beginning with her marriage to Fred Thiebaud.
Eilleen is so open and honest about her life, almost to a fault. But it is interesting to read about someone and share the same views, emotions and ideas about being a mother and wife with a career and a 45 year old body that is starting not to cooperate. There is so much to this book. She offers intimate insight on all sorts of aspects of life I think this book can attract a large audience. I found myself turning the pages quickly, so engrossed, especially when reading about Eilleen meeting Mutt and, of course, the affair. The one thing that stands out though, is her vulnerability and the fact that she let it all out between the pages. I so admire her courage, wondering if Mutt Lange is going to feel the backlash of her honesty about the end of their relationship.
Eilleen shows incredible talent for writing a book. I was so impressed. A quote that stand out…”A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words”. I truly enjoyed this autobiography and I am so impressed with this celebrity’s writing talent and openness. Great job!
July 26, 2011
Don't read this book if you want to keep liking Shania Twain. I knew a little of her back story and admired her being able to overcome everything in her past, but reading this poorly written, whiny autobiography made most of that disappear.
This book needed a ghost writer or a more forceful editor. Just tell the story, don't stop constantly to tell us how you see things in hindsight, save it for the end of the book. Here is my paraphrasing a sample paragraph. 'When I was 8 we moved to town and the violence increased. My father, because we were not allowed to call him step-father and I respect him for that and for taking on the burden, at such a young age, he was only 18, and loving us as his own was an amazing thing to do, was beating my mom to a pulp on a regular basis. I know that it was only because of poverty and my mom did kind of ask for it because she was stressed out about money. If she could have just kept her mouth shut then maybe things would have been better, although that doesn't excuse the violence, even though I have forgiven my father and respect him so much that when choosing a stage name I felt that abandoning Twain would have been a betrayal. I don't understand his motivation in whispering hateful things to me when he thought I was sleeping or for the times he groped my breasts while I was sleeping, I completely forgive him and respect him. But, back to the time when I was 8 years old and we moved to town.'
Were you able to keep all of that straight? Her storytelling style is to take 2 steps forward, 1 step back, jump 4 steps into the future then backtrack 3.
And someone needs to tell her that you can forgive someone without justifying their actions. Poverty doesn't cause violence. And nothing excuses molesting your step-daughter, even if he was young when he married your mother and never let anyone say step. Just tell the story and give us your insight and evaluation at the end.
There were times in the book that she realized that she was whining but just went on whining anyway. And the way she treated her marriage, it seemed doom from the outset. Nothing justifies infidelity, but marriages take work and that means time. Time! So, when your tour ends don't run off to go horse shopping with Bo Derek, Michael Douglas' wife and some princess for a month! Yep, after the tour she took off with her friends for a month rather than spend Time with her husband.
I'm sorry that I read this book, any respect and sympathy I had for her have been severely diminished. I'm sorry you had to read this review, but please, please, don't read this book.
This book needed a ghost writer or a more forceful editor. Just tell the story, don't stop constantly to tell us how you see things in hindsight, save it for the end of the book. Here is my paraphrasing a sample paragraph. 'When I was 8 we moved to town and the violence increased. My father, because we were not allowed to call him step-father and I respect him for that and for taking on the burden, at such a young age, he was only 18, and loving us as his own was an amazing thing to do, was beating my mom to a pulp on a regular basis. I know that it was only because of poverty and my mom did kind of ask for it because she was stressed out about money. If she could have just kept her mouth shut then maybe things would have been better, although that doesn't excuse the violence, even though I have forgiven my father and respect him so much that when choosing a stage name I felt that abandoning Twain would have been a betrayal. I don't understand his motivation in whispering hateful things to me when he thought I was sleeping or for the times he groped my breasts while I was sleeping, I completely forgive him and respect him. But, back to the time when I was 8 years old and we moved to town.'
Were you able to keep all of that straight? Her storytelling style is to take 2 steps forward, 1 step back, jump 4 steps into the future then backtrack 3.
And someone needs to tell her that you can forgive someone without justifying their actions. Poverty doesn't cause violence. And nothing excuses molesting your step-daughter, even if he was young when he married your mother and never let anyone say step. Just tell the story and give us your insight and evaluation at the end.
There were times in the book that she realized that she was whining but just went on whining anyway. And the way she treated her marriage, it seemed doom from the outset. Nothing justifies infidelity, but marriages take work and that means time. Time! So, when your tour ends don't run off to go horse shopping with Bo Derek, Michael Douglas' wife and some princess for a month! Yep, after the tour she took off with her friends for a month rather than spend Time with her husband.
I'm sorry that I read this book, any respect and sympathy I had for her have been severely diminished. I'm sorry you had to read this review, but please, please, don't read this book.
March 13, 2023
A Powerful, Open and Very Honest Autobiography.
The world may know Shania Twain as many things: a music legend, a mother, and recently, a fixture in the news for her painful, public divorce and subsequent marriage to a cherished friend. But in this extraordinary autobiography, Shania reveals that she is so much more. She is Eilleen Twain, one of five children born into poverty in rural Canada, where her family often didn’t have enough food to send her to school with lunch. She’s the teenage girl who helped her mother and young siblings escape to a battered woman’s shelter to put an end to the domestic violence in her family home. And she’s the courageous twenty-two-year-old who sacrificed to keep her younger siblings together after her parents were tragically killed in a car accident.
Shania Twain’s life has evolved from a series of pivotal moments, and in unflinching, heart breaking, Shania spares no details as she takes us through the events that have made her who she is. She recounts her difficult childhood, her parents’ sudden death and its painful aftermath, her dramatic rise to stardom, her devastating betrayal by a trusted friend, and her joyful marriage to the love of her life. From these moments, she offers profound, moving insights into families, personal tragedies, making sense of one’s life, and the process of healing. Shania Twain is a singular, remarkable woman who has faced enormous odds and downfalls, and her extraordinary story will provide wisdom, inspiration, and hope for almost anyone.
Shocking to find out the whole truth of her story, the more recent and sad story that Shania open her heart to the reader to tell her story. What a tragedy, that happily has finished with a happy ending.
She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her success garnered her several titles including the "Queen of Country Pop".
Twain has received five Grammy Awards, two World Music Awards, 39 BMI Songwriter Awards, stars on Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and inductions into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Her sixth studio album Queen of Me was released in 2023.
Tells me I have to catch up with reading my autobiographies more quicker, read this 12 years after it's release, as I catch up with over 150 autobiographies on my bookshelf.
The world may know Shania Twain as many things: a music legend, a mother, and recently, a fixture in the news for her painful, public divorce and subsequent marriage to a cherished friend. But in this extraordinary autobiography, Shania reveals that she is so much more. She is Eilleen Twain, one of five children born into poverty in rural Canada, where her family often didn’t have enough food to send her to school with lunch. She’s the teenage girl who helped her mother and young siblings escape to a battered woman’s shelter to put an end to the domestic violence in her family home. And she’s the courageous twenty-two-year-old who sacrificed to keep her younger siblings together after her parents were tragically killed in a car accident.
Shania Twain’s life has evolved from a series of pivotal moments, and in unflinching, heart breaking, Shania spares no details as she takes us through the events that have made her who she is. She recounts her difficult childhood, her parents’ sudden death and its painful aftermath, her dramatic rise to stardom, her devastating betrayal by a trusted friend, and her joyful marriage to the love of her life. From these moments, she offers profound, moving insights into families, personal tragedies, making sense of one’s life, and the process of healing. Shania Twain is a singular, remarkable woman who has faced enormous odds and downfalls, and her extraordinary story will provide wisdom, inspiration, and hope for almost anyone.
Shocking to find out the whole truth of her story, the more recent and sad story that Shania open her heart to the reader to tell her story. What a tragedy, that happily has finished with a happy ending.
She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Her success garnered her several titles including the "Queen of Country Pop".
Twain has received five Grammy Awards, two World Music Awards, 39 BMI Songwriter Awards, stars on Canada's Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and inductions into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Her sixth studio album Queen of Me was released in 2023.
Tells me I have to catch up with reading my autobiographies more quicker, read this 12 years after it's release, as I catch up with over 150 autobiographies on my bookshelf.
October 12, 2011
I just finished reading this book at 2 am on a work night! What?!?! Now here I am writing a review at 2 am, listening to her "Come On Over" album. Haha. The book was easy to read and so interesting to read that it was hard to put down! I actually had no expectations for the book since I don't even like reading autobiographies/memoirs if it's not about a rock band with really bad boys, but I picked this up on a whim during a trip to the library because I liked the quote on the back on the book. I've always been a fan of Shania, but after reading the book, I JUST LOVE HER MORE!!!
I loved reading about her life. But some things preventing me from giving this book five stars: she went into A LOT of detail about her childhood and life with her parents. So much that I felt that I actually knew her family. That was cool, and I expected to have that much detail about her tours and records...but she skimmed those parts of her life! She basically said she worked nonstop, played some pranks, and rode horses. WHAT?!?! No sweet fan stories or more backstage stuff?!!? No stories about the inspiration behind her songs? It was like, "I went from city to city and became exhausted and finally I could go home. Next chapter."
Then the next chapter was about her divorce from her husband. It was SO heartbreaking to read because I've been in a similar situation and her descriptions of her emotions during that time were exactly how I felt too, except hers was probably 100x worse since she was married to the guy. I liked that she decided to share her psychoness of pleading and making excuses for her ex-friend and ex-husband because haven't we all done that?
I had no idea what the body image chapter was for. It was out of place and I didn't even finish reading it because I felt it was pointless. Shania, you're gorgeous, and I get that you can get insecure at times. You don't need a whole chapter discussing it, though.
In the end, after reading about her struggles and successes, I just really love her more than I already did. I feel that by her sharing her story, she shows us that despite setbacks you may have, losses you may experience, etc, you CAN achieve your dreams! With a lot of hard work, persistence, and optimism. And also, you CAN have it all without compromising your integrity. She always stood up for herself, stayed strong for her fans and son, never did drugs or slept her way to the top...yet is one of the best selling recording artists of all time! (:
I loved reading about her life. But some things preventing me from giving this book five stars: she went into A LOT of detail about her childhood and life with her parents. So much that I felt that I actually knew her family. That was cool, and I expected to have that much detail about her tours and records...but she skimmed those parts of her life! She basically said she worked nonstop, played some pranks, and rode horses. WHAT?!?! No sweet fan stories or more backstage stuff?!!? No stories about the inspiration behind her songs? It was like, "I went from city to city and became exhausted and finally I could go home. Next chapter."
Then the next chapter was about her divorce from her husband. It was SO heartbreaking to read because I've been in a similar situation and her descriptions of her emotions during that time were exactly how I felt too, except hers was probably 100x worse since she was married to the guy. I liked that she decided to share her psychoness of pleading and making excuses for her ex-friend and ex-husband because haven't we all done that?
I had no idea what the body image chapter was for. It was out of place and I didn't even finish reading it because I felt it was pointless. Shania, you're gorgeous, and I get that you can get insecure at times. You don't need a whole chapter discussing it, though.
In the end, after reading about her struggles and successes, I just really love her more than I already did. I feel that by her sharing her story, she shows us that despite setbacks you may have, losses you may experience, etc, you CAN achieve your dreams! With a lot of hard work, persistence, and optimism. And also, you CAN have it all without compromising your integrity. She always stood up for herself, stayed strong for her fans and son, never did drugs or slept her way to the top...yet is one of the best selling recording artists of all time! (:
September 22, 2011
This is one of the worst books I've ever read, but I could not put it down...I'm not sure if it was because I bought it on an ereader and I didn't want the book to go to waste, or because I was curious how it would end (even though, from following tabloids, I know how the book ends)...but I just don't think Shania Twain is cut out to tell a story through the pages of a book. Stick to song writing (cuz I love her music!)
The book just didn't seem to flow right. She seemed to take every horrible thing that ever happened to her and randomly insert it whether or not it had a place. I get trying to tell the complete story-but it came across as a "feel sorry for me and everything I went through" rather than an actual integral part of the storyline.
I don't recommend this book-or...perhaps if you are so curious, I suggest borrowing it. I don't feel I gained anything from my time spent reading this book.
The book just didn't seem to flow right. She seemed to take every horrible thing that ever happened to her and randomly insert it whether or not it had a place. I get trying to tell the complete story-but it came across as a "feel sorry for me and everything I went through" rather than an actual integral part of the storyline.
I don't recommend this book-or...perhaps if you are so curious, I suggest borrowing it. I don't feel I gained anything from my time spent reading this book.
May 13, 2011
I loved this book and couldn't put it down because Shania writes the way she speaks...from her heart to the page, she is honest, vulnerable and transparent. I admire the way in which she seeks to process/understand the trials in her life without judgement. I loved her tomboyish charm, the images of the unforgiving North, the respect she maintained for herself as a young girl thrust into a sometimes seedy industry. Loved her songwriting spirit and her amazing ability to put her suffering into perspective by taking responsibility for her future...one "moment" at a time. Bravo.
May 6, 2013
I went to Las Vegas last month and was fortunate enough to see Shania Twain's show at The Colosseum at Caesar's Palace. I had a great seat, orchestra on the aisle, and wow, I'm so glad I went. After the show, I bought a program and this book - an autobiography published in 2011 that I had not known she had written. I knew generally that Shania came from rural Ontario, Canada, and that her family was poor, and that her road to success was quite a story. I also know that she had a tumultuous divorce, and then in recent years before doing her Vegas residency she lived rather hermit-like in Switzerland.
Well, needless to say, what I knew only scratches the surface. This is quite a story, and I laud Eileen (aka Shania) for her candor and willingness to share some very private things in the book. It's a fairly long book, but a good read, and one that has humor, sadness and a humble author. It's like reading a story by a friend. I liked the style and flow. That said, I wanted more. I suspect editors jumped in and cut some stuff I would have loved to know about. After the first half of the book focusing mostly on her rough-and-tumble upbringing, and the simple fact that her family had no money, ever, I was curious to know how her family reacted to her success and whether she is supporting them now, etc. But, it's the sign of a good book when it leaves you wanting more. It's really quite a story.
The last chapter really resonates for anyone who has faces or is facing challenges and what it takes to move forward "From This Moment On." It's genuinely inspiring.
I wish now that i had read the book BEFORE seeing her show, because certain sections make more sense and are more powerful and resonant now - and I understand why she has those beautiful horses in her show! (Yes, huge, beautiful horses!)
A good read. Honest, humble, with feeling. I finished and feel I know Eileen and would love to have cup of tea with her. She's the real deal.
Well, needless to say, what I knew only scratches the surface. This is quite a story, and I laud Eileen (aka Shania) for her candor and willingness to share some very private things in the book. It's a fairly long book, but a good read, and one that has humor, sadness and a humble author. It's like reading a story by a friend. I liked the style and flow. That said, I wanted more. I suspect editors jumped in and cut some stuff I would have loved to know about. After the first half of the book focusing mostly on her rough-and-tumble upbringing, and the simple fact that her family had no money, ever, I was curious to know how her family reacted to her success and whether she is supporting them now, etc. But, it's the sign of a good book when it leaves you wanting more. It's really quite a story.
The last chapter really resonates for anyone who has faces or is facing challenges and what it takes to move forward "From This Moment On." It's genuinely inspiring.
I wish now that i had read the book BEFORE seeing her show, because certain sections make more sense and are more powerful and resonant now - and I understand why she has those beautiful horses in her show! (Yes, huge, beautiful horses!)
A good read. Honest, humble, with feeling. I finished and feel I know Eileen and would love to have cup of tea with her. She's the real deal.
October 12, 2015
Everyone has a story to tell, but Shania Twain’s is hard to beat. She tells pretty much all in such an intimate way, at times it reads almost like a diary. It is a rich, thoughtful, interesting and brave book.
It is enlightening, too. For ex., it is hard to imagine what it must be like to grow up in Canada in a very poor, rather large mixed-race dysfunctional family, but Shania’s description of her early years gave me a clear picture of what it was like. The portrayal of her relationship with her parents is poignant. Her step-father (whom she always refers to as her “father” because, as she says, she never knew her biological father) was often extremely violent with her mother, who, like many battered women, seems to give in and up. When Shania was an adolescent, there are incidences that show just how highly conflicted he must have been. As an outsider, it is difficult to understand why a child who is often neglected to the extent that she was at times clearly in harm’s way, can have such a deep love for her parents. It seems to be a rather common phenomenon among such children, though, from what I have read.
This was highly interesting to learn about the Twain family’s business of planting trees with native workers in the Canadian backwoods. Teenage Shania often worked as a foreman there and so we see this scenery and slice of life not only through her eyes, but it also reveals a lot about her character.
When her parents are killed in a car crash, Shania has to take over as head of the family. She finds a job in a variety show in a nearby town. There she rents a bungalow with no toilets or running water, and she washes her siblings’ clothes in a nearby river.
The section about her entry into the music scene in Nashville is fascinating. Again, one cannot imagine what it must be like for a talented young woman to arrive there and have to negotiate with practically only men who are set in their rigid traditions. Two of the funniest anecdotes in the book (and the book abounds with good ones) is an encounter she has with a chatty salesgirl in Nashville, and an incidence where she flees the mansion of an over-confident admirer in his fancy car.
She does a very good job of describing the various stages of her musical career, starting from the time she was just a young girl singing in bars, to the long periods she wrote music while snowed in in a makeshift cabin in the woods with no water, electricity, cell phone, and just a wood stove. She tells about the toils of getting on shows, her stage fright, the long drives, and her mother’s unfailing belief in her talent. I understand better now where her music, which is at once intelligent, sassy, heart-rendering and yearning, comes from. No wonder it rings true and strikes a chord with her millions of fans.
It is also hard to imagine just how difficult it is to be a celebrity, and again, Shania does an excellent job describing this. We fans, for example, do not understand that while we think we know every detail of her life and will thus approach her as an old friend, to her we are simply strangers. She tells about how lonely and exhausted a star can get while travelling in a bus all over the country doing live shows for a year or two with hardly a break. Try to imagine, also, what it must be like to spend your days either in a bus with several other people, or on stage in front of thousands of people, and whenever you leave one or the other, you risk being surrounded and bombarded by staring people who want your autograph. So many young women dream of being rock stars, but the reality behind the glamour and the wealth is not that wonderful.
Then there is the section about the break-up of her marriage, which as she admits herself was most likely the catalyst for her memoir. While in some ways Shania holds nothing back here (such as she is not ashamed to admit her insecurities, her rage, her confusion, and gets quite philosophical, making an essay on love, another on emotional pain and how to deal with it), she doesn’t go into what was the cause of their drifting apart. I can only imagine that this was getting just too personal and too painful. She does very well in describing her own feelings, and I doubt that I have ever read a better personal testimony on acute depression.
There is a very touching anecdote when Fred, her friend and future husband, comes to rescue her when she was at her lowest. Here she also comes with some of her best metaphors, such as likening Fred to a gift that was hidden back under the Christmas tree.
The last part of the book reads almost like a chat with all her girlfriends. She talks openly of changes in her body as she approaches 50 (including a disarming part about her cellulite), how she hates having to worry about her hair and how she looks. She dares to criticize fashion industry and how they put pressure on her personally and other women in general.
In this book, Twain lets us in on things that most women would most likely prefer not to talk about, such as when a live-in lover turns his back on her just after her parents die, or, on a lighter level, the twinge of jealousy she feels while waiting for a flight at the airport and a perked-up young blond outshines her.
As you close the book, you feel justified in all the positive emotions you have ever had for ST.
It is enlightening, too. For ex., it is hard to imagine what it must be like to grow up in Canada in a very poor, rather large mixed-race dysfunctional family, but Shania’s description of her early years gave me a clear picture of what it was like. The portrayal of her relationship with her parents is poignant. Her step-father (whom she always refers to as her “father” because, as she says, she never knew her biological father) was often extremely violent with her mother, who, like many battered women, seems to give in and up. When Shania was an adolescent, there are incidences that show just how highly conflicted he must have been. As an outsider, it is difficult to understand why a child who is often neglected to the extent that she was at times clearly in harm’s way, can have such a deep love for her parents. It seems to be a rather common phenomenon among such children, though, from what I have read.
This was highly interesting to learn about the Twain family’s business of planting trees with native workers in the Canadian backwoods. Teenage Shania often worked as a foreman there and so we see this scenery and slice of life not only through her eyes, but it also reveals a lot about her character.
When her parents are killed in a car crash, Shania has to take over as head of the family. She finds a job in a variety show in a nearby town. There she rents a bungalow with no toilets or running water, and she washes her siblings’ clothes in a nearby river.
The section about her entry into the music scene in Nashville is fascinating. Again, one cannot imagine what it must be like for a talented young woman to arrive there and have to negotiate with practically only men who are set in their rigid traditions. Two of the funniest anecdotes in the book (and the book abounds with good ones) is an encounter she has with a chatty salesgirl in Nashville, and an incidence where she flees the mansion of an over-confident admirer in his fancy car.
She does a very good job of describing the various stages of her musical career, starting from the time she was just a young girl singing in bars, to the long periods she wrote music while snowed in in a makeshift cabin in the woods with no water, electricity, cell phone, and just a wood stove. She tells about the toils of getting on shows, her stage fright, the long drives, and her mother’s unfailing belief in her talent. I understand better now where her music, which is at once intelligent, sassy, heart-rendering and yearning, comes from. No wonder it rings true and strikes a chord with her millions of fans.
It is also hard to imagine just how difficult it is to be a celebrity, and again, Shania does an excellent job describing this. We fans, for example, do not understand that while we think we know every detail of her life and will thus approach her as an old friend, to her we are simply strangers. She tells about how lonely and exhausted a star can get while travelling in a bus all over the country doing live shows for a year or two with hardly a break. Try to imagine, also, what it must be like to spend your days either in a bus with several other people, or on stage in front of thousands of people, and whenever you leave one or the other, you risk being surrounded and bombarded by staring people who want your autograph. So many young women dream of being rock stars, but the reality behind the glamour and the wealth is not that wonderful.
Then there is the section about the break-up of her marriage, which as she admits herself was most likely the catalyst for her memoir. While in some ways Shania holds nothing back here (such as she is not ashamed to admit her insecurities, her rage, her confusion, and gets quite philosophical, making an essay on love, another on emotional pain and how to deal with it), she doesn’t go into what was the cause of their drifting apart. I can only imagine that this was getting just too personal and too painful. She does very well in describing her own feelings, and I doubt that I have ever read a better personal testimony on acute depression.
There is a very touching anecdote when Fred, her friend and future husband, comes to rescue her when she was at her lowest. Here she also comes with some of her best metaphors, such as likening Fred to a gift that was hidden back under the Christmas tree.
The last part of the book reads almost like a chat with all her girlfriends. She talks openly of changes in her body as she approaches 50 (including a disarming part about her cellulite), how she hates having to worry about her hair and how she looks. She dares to criticize fashion industry and how they put pressure on her personally and other women in general.
In this book, Twain lets us in on things that most women would most likely prefer not to talk about, such as when a live-in lover turns his back on her just after her parents die, or, on a lighter level, the twinge of jealousy she feels while waiting for a flight at the airport and a perked-up young blond outshines her.
As you close the book, you feel justified in all the positive emotions you have ever had for ST.
February 20, 2012
Who knew that this woman who once lived so far out in the bush in Canada and had such an impoverished childhood that food and running water was a luxury would grow up to be one of the top selling music artists of all time? I found her childhood story fascinating and not at all what I expected. She overcame a tremendous amount of adversity to get to where she is today. I couldn't imagine how she felt when she was thrust into the role of parent to her siblings in her early 20s due to the tragic passing of her parents. She took on her new role as breadwinner to her smaller siblings and was still able to reach her high goals she set for herself.
My only issues with this book are that she seems to me to misdirect her negative feelings in certain situations in life. Her father used to beat her mother to a bloody pulp and Shania seems to think it is because her parents loved each other too much or something. Also, her dad is a big time pervert (feeling her up on at least one occasion and calling her sexually explicit names in another - all of this while she was supposed to be sleeping and defenseless) and Shania pushes that off as perhaps he was sleepwalking or something. Maybe this is the reason why, years later, she blames her then-husband (Mutt Lange) about 0% and his mistress (her ex-BFF, Marie-Anne) about 100% for their affair. It takes two to tango. Yes, Marie-Anne is a nasty homewrecker, but Mutt is a lousy pig of a husband, too.
Shania stated in the beginning of the book that she was writing the book so that her son would have an accurate picture of her life, should she pass away early like her parents, instead of reading about her via tabloids. This could be the reason for much of the sugarcoating.
Although Shania seems to me to be in quite a bit of denial about how the world works and those that are evil in it, she can sure make some awesome music that is easy to relate to. I will say that I found her book to be really good, especially if you can get past the denial bits (which are really only a small minority in the book). I thought her book was kind of like reading a Laura Ingalls Wilder book - with all the simplicity and pioneering ways of the bush and the humble existence that she and her family led.
The book is over 400 pages long and I don't think it was full of filler fluff, except for maybe a small portion at the end. For the most part, I found this book to be a real page turner. I would recommend this book to anyone who had a poor or abusive childhood, as they could easily relate and, of course, to anyone who is a fan of both Shania Twain and autobiographies.
My only issues with this book are that she seems to me to misdirect her negative feelings in certain situations in life. Her father used to beat her mother to a bloody pulp and Shania seems to think it is because her parents loved each other too much or something. Also, her dad is a big time pervert (feeling her up on at least one occasion and calling her sexually explicit names in another - all of this while she was supposed to be sleeping and defenseless) and Shania pushes that off as perhaps he was sleepwalking or something. Maybe this is the reason why, years later, she blames her then-husband (Mutt Lange) about 0% and his mistress (her ex-BFF, Marie-Anne) about 100% for their affair. It takes two to tango. Yes, Marie-Anne is a nasty homewrecker, but Mutt is a lousy pig of a husband, too.
Shania stated in the beginning of the book that she was writing the book so that her son would have an accurate picture of her life, should she pass away early like her parents, instead of reading about her via tabloids. This could be the reason for much of the sugarcoating.
Although Shania seems to me to be in quite a bit of denial about how the world works and those that are evil in it, she can sure make some awesome music that is easy to relate to. I will say that I found her book to be really good, especially if you can get past the denial bits (which are really only a small minority in the book). I thought her book was kind of like reading a Laura Ingalls Wilder book - with all the simplicity and pioneering ways of the bush and the humble existence that she and her family led.
The book is over 400 pages long and I don't think it was full of filler fluff, except for maybe a small portion at the end. For the most part, I found this book to be a real page turner. I would recommend this book to anyone who had a poor or abusive childhood, as they could easily relate and, of course, to anyone who is a fan of both Shania Twain and autobiographies.
November 13, 2017
Okay I was a sucker for the Borders going out of business sale and felt I HAD to purchase something. Shania Twain's biography was originally $35.00 and I got it for like $3.00...so I read it. It is written like someone with no writing experience so be ready for thoughts that pop up and change directions several times. But as a story, its interesting. Very small town girl, with a truly sad childhood perseveres and becomes a best selling artist. Her point in the story (although not as inspiring as it could be) is that even those who are rich and famous have hurts, are less than perfect, and suffer from self doubt. It exposes her and makes her very vulnerable. I like Shania (Eileen) Twain, and actually kind of like her music as well. This book gave me a little more background and a little more intimate view into her life. Easy to read, quick too, I think I finished it in a day.
January 22, 2019
I remember when it was that I became an enthusiastic fan of Shania Twain.
It was the first time I ever heard her sing “I Ain’t Goin’ Down” on the radio.
Based on the incredible strength of that song alone, I picked up her 2002 album “Up!” As it turned out, the entire album was truly excellent, the serendipity of my discovery was not lost on me.
But back to “I Ain’t Goin’ Down,” I loved the way Shania sang it; her gorgeous voice tone, combined with her knack for using a song to tell a story “from the gut,” and in such an unforced emotional way. Her ability to do this is one of her precious artistic gifts, and is a big reason, I believe, why she has enjoyed such an amazing degree of success as a recording artist.
But as beautiful as it was to listen to her sing this song, I was even more moved by the authentic and genuine lyrics she crafted:
The chorus:
“I’m gonna hold on
‘Cause what I believe in is so strong
No Matter how long
No one can tell me I’m wrong
I ain’t going down”
Then there’s the first verse that sets the stage for the theme of the song:
“I had a baby at fifteen, Daddy never did forgive me
I never heard from the guy again
I had to drop out of high school, everybody treated me so cruel
But I didn’t give in and giver her away”
And the second one that never fails to put a lump in my throat:
“Her smile got me through the day, and every night I’d pray
I could give her enough
At night I’d lie awake and cry, hopin’ we’d get by
‘Cause you can’t live on love”
The third verse talks about the kind of determination it takes to raise a child as a single mom:
“I worked night and day to keep us goin’
Through the sweat and tears without her knowin’
It was worth it just to watch her grow
Oh, oh, at least I was able to hold her whenever she needed my shoulder
I’m so glad I never let her go”
The fourth verse talks about the sweet rewards, and the dreams this mom has for her daughter:
“Her smile got me through the years
Dried away the tears and filled me with hope
At night I’d lie awake and cry
Prayed we would get by
And for the courage to cope…”
I later learned that Shania’s inspiration to write this song sprang from the experiences of some of her peer group that became teenage single moms, and even closer to home, her own mother who found herself a single mom on two occasions. She wanted to dedicate the song to the women who had the courage to endure the hardships of being a single mom, and at the same time celebrate the joys they were able to experience. She clearly esteems these women…the women of consequence who did not allow their difficult circumstances to stop them from enjoying a meaningful life filled with love. Shania paid tribute to them by penning such an unforgettable, emotionally charged song.
But even before I knew Shania’s reason for writing this song, I had my own more personal reasons for finding it relevant and inspiring to my own life and the lives of those around me.
In the mid 1990’s I found myself working in the contact center environment, and by the end of that decade, I was managing a rather large team of contact center agents, and by the time Shania Twain’s song “I Ain’t Goin Down” was released, I’d had a few years to learn about what made these places tick and the kind of people it took to create a winning contact center team.
I also came to learn that single moms were among our highest achieving team members, furthermore, they were often the ones who contributed some of the best ideas and even more amazingly, were often the ones building up and encouraging their peers when they felt defeated, and discouraged, either in the job, or in their personal lives.
I’ll never forget the first single mom who really stood out for me…it was in the year 2004.
For the longest time I didn’t even know that this member of my team was a single mom, but right away I noticed that she was the one who arrived for her shift at least fifteen minutes early, she was the one who read and reviewed all the day’s memos and was consistently among those who were sufficiently skilled and “people wise” enough to exceed their “call quota limit” while at the same time receiving one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings. The ability to successfully walk the “tightrope” between high productivity and high customer satisfaction is a testament to a person’s determination, work ethic, commitment, and perhaps most of all, ability to appreciate and “humanize” the person on the other end of the line. It is a rare quality indeed!
The center we worked in was such a busy place! Aside from the thousands of calls, there were emails, letters and call backs to complete before we could call it a day. It was in the contact center industry that I became accustomed to eating my lunch soup cold, since I rarely had the time to heat it up! As a result of the breakneck pace we all worked at, it took me a few months to get to know this particular teammate in any way beyond the confines of the day to day workings of our center.
On the rare occasion that we’d get a “break in the action” I would stop by the workstations of the people answering calls to find out how their day was going, what the customers were saying and what we could do better. The particular lady was a big contributor to those discussions, thoughtfully suggesting meaningful improvements to our workplace and / or the processes we used to deliver service to our customers. I found her ideas to be well thought out and practical, and I’m pleased to say that we were able to put some of them into actual practice in our workplace. But even during these times, I still didn’t know that she was a single mom. She’d told me she had children, two girls in fact, that were about fourteen and twelve years old at the time, but that was all I knew.
Then one day she approached me to ask if it was possible for her to shift her schedule for the next few days. She was genuinely sorry to make this request so suddenly, but the circumstances demanded it. It turned out that her eldest daughter had been caught with illegal drugs and the police officer involved had set into motion a number of intervention meetings that were designed to help this young teen. It was then, for the first time, that I came to know that she was a single mom.
What an honor it was for me to do whatever I could to partner with her in this time! She was such a fine team member, such an admirable person, and I deeply respected the value she brought every day she came to work, the least I could do for her was to make a shift arrangement!
I’d made other suggestions to her regarding how we might be of help in her time of need. She thanked me but was firm that this was all she required of us. I’m still moved at her strength of character, even as I think of it today!
It was after that experience that I became better “attuned” to the sheer number of single parents who were part of our team, and I noticed, as I mentioned earlier that they were some of our highest achieving team members. I found myself regularly seeking them out for advice. I admired their courage, tenacity and work ethic. What an honor it was to advocate for them when promotion opportunities came around, and to watch some of them rise through the ranks and become high functioning, creative, people centric managers themselves!
During this time, when I would hear Shania Twain’s “I Ain’t Goin’ Down,” I felt it somehow immortalized the incredible lives lived by the single moms I was privileged to work alongside with. Interestingly, when I told these single moms about my love for this song, I found that they too found it to be a source of encouragement, inspiration and understanding. This song became a kind of anthem for us.
As far as my ongoing love of Shania’s music is concerned, I came to cherish a number of her other songs, including: “For Ever and For Always,” “When” and “Thank You Baby!” (Especially the video of her performing this song live in Chicago in 2003!
Despite being a Shania fan, I hadn’t realized she wrote her autobiography! How did I miss that!?!
It’s with that in mind that I made sure “From This Moment On” would be read early in 2019.
Even before reading the book, I considered her to be on the “younger side” to be writing her autobiography, considering that she was only 46 years old when the book was published and clearly there were so many wonderful things she was yet to do.
Shania answered this question right in the first few pages of the book when she said:
“There have been moments in my life when I wasn’t so confident tomorrow would ever come, so once I began writing this book, it started crossing my mind more regularly that perhaps I’d better hurry up and document my life story in case I run out of time. Hurry to ensure that my story would not be put together with half-truths someday, misconstrued through articles and various other media exploitation.”
Shania goes on to add that her motivation was also that her son, Eja (“Asia”), only nine years old when she was writing the book, would have an “honest and complete account of my life, should I not get the chance to tell him about it myself.” Shania’s was also motivated to document her life because of the sudden and tragic loss of her mother and father in a fatal car accident. She shared that there were so many things she wanted to know about her parents that she would never get the chance to because of the abrupt nature of their removal from her life.
As a result, “From This Moment On” is a penetrating look into the life of this exceptional human being, a collection of stories from her life that I found to be touching and inspirational, and in some places alarming and unpleasant, but always genuine and authentic.
Another reason I wanted to read Shania’s biography was because I knew it would help me understand how a musician is developed…what the “seeds” of their “beginnings” look like.
As I mentioned before, I worked for a long time in the contact center industry, and while I was there, my wife Leanne and I had our first child, a beautiful boy named Spencer, (followed by our amazing son Nolan who followed a few years later). For years Leanne was working in the insurance training field, and as a result travelled to many cities throughout the United Sates for work. Once children arrived, it was no longer practical to be away from home so much.
So in 2005 we developed a small music school in the basement of our home. I was still working elsewhere and as a result, for the first five years she ran it almost by herself. She did a tremendous job of building the foundation of the music school. She was classically trained in piano and voice, she had the innate ability to bring out the best in her students and she possessed a talent with utilizing technology for teaching and business development. In short, her powerful vision, the student’s success and her impressive business acumen caused the music school to grow.
It was in 2010 that she suggested I come to work with her full time. I did this and we’ve had a wonderful partnership building Crescendo Music Studios ever since.
Over these past fourteen years we have had the honor of watching students of child age grow into impressive musicians. Some are now on our staff as teachers, what a special thing that is! Others have gone on to study music in university, others playing in fantastic bands, and still others are performing in large and small venues. We’re so proud of all of them.
It was with all this in mind that I was curious about Shania Twain’s early music journey, and I’m pleased to say that she was generous in how much she shared about her formative years as a budding musician. Here were a few aspects of her development that stood out for me:
First was the fact that she learned to play guitar at eight years old, and that the guitar turned out to be the instrument she used to write her songs. The first part of this that struck me as impressive was that she was learning and playing acoustic guitar at such a tender age. If she’d gained some level of proficiency by the age of eight, she probably first picked up the instrument at an even earlier age. Based on what I’ve learned from our teachers and from our students, acoustic guitar is a very challenging instrument for a child to handle. We certainly have had a few students start as young as seven or eight, but those were the ones who were able to work through the “dexterity demands” of holding the instrument, the sore hand muscles that come from repeatedly pushing a steel string down onto a fret and the tender, burning fingers that are sore until a child builds the calluses that protect their fingertips.
And when our students work through these challenges, they have the benefit of weekly lessons with a skilled, encouraging teacher as well as a helping, supportive hand form their parents during the week. In the early days, young Shania (Eileen) had no such support system, making her early proficiency with the guitar even more impressive.
The next aspect is Shania’s songwriting development using the guitar. Again, based on our experiences at Crescendo, most students who begin songwriting, or composing at an early age do so by using the piano, partly for the reasons mentioned about regarding the challenge of learning guitar, and partly because, as they tell us, the keyboard for the piano is “laid out” before you, easy to watch as you’re playing notes and chords. Not so with the guitar, because the fretboard is turned away from the musician, therefore it forces them to “look over” the board when choosing the chords of their song.
In short, I was impressed with Shania’s determination to make music and write songs with the guitar at such a young age. She shared a story about her early songwriting experiences that I found to be very touching:
“I was ten when I wrote my first songs, and the backyard was a great place to hide and write. When I escaped into my creative world of “putting” stories to music. I lost myself in a world of fiction.
Usually after some solitary time in the backyard, I’d hear my mother calling for me. I wouldn’t answer. What a terrible thing to do to your own mother, but I didn’t want to be disturbed. I wanted to preserve this state of escape for as long as I could, and pretend I wasn’t there. My backyard spot was actually inside a patch of brush that sat in the center of the one-acre lot behind the house. I trimmed a path through the branches and made a cavity on the inside as my hiding place. I could make small twig fires in there without being seen. This branchy cave was a place where I could forget about the piles of laundry I would spend the coming Saturday hand washing and hanging on the line, or if it was raining, the hours from midafternoon to eleven at night in the Laundromat.”
The other important aspect of her early musical experiences was her development as a vocalist. Based on our experiences at Crescendo, most young singers seek to sing lead, the melody line being their place of comfort and confidence.
This was not the cast with Shania when she was first learning to sing. This was what she shared about that aspect of her learning:
“One of my favorites to sing along with was “Rainy Days and Mondays.” I liked to double Karen’s voice, but on a different note, pretending to be her backup singer. I couldn’t resist singing along to the beauty of her voice, but I wanted to hear her, not sing over her notes. I tried to follow Karen’s lead part by following the melody line like a shadow. The blend felt so satisfying to me. My mother, however, was taken aback.
“Eileen!” she exclaimed, “What are you doing?”
“This part’s more interesting,” I explained. I loved to harmonize, and couldn’t get enough of listening to pristine, and sometimes complex vocal arrangements.”
As I read this part, I could help but marvel at the maturity of her approach to singing. Shania continued to pursue her vocal development in this way and as a result, gained a much better appreciation for her backup singers when she went on to become a prominent solo artist.
These stories were important for me to understand because of the large impact that Shania Twain and her incredible body of musical work has had on our teachers and students over the years. She is a musical influence to many of our teachers and so many students have learned and performed her songs over the years. I’m looking forward to sharing the stories I learned for this book with our teachers and students as the opportunities arise.
Early in the book, Shania says this:
“I have to say, it’s been satisfying bringing myself up-to-date with myself, if you will, through writing this book.”
And now that I’ve finished reading “From This Moment On” I must say that she’s achieved so much more than just that, she’s also brought all of us along with her…and now we too can find ourselves "up-to-date" with her amazing life.
A life that was definitely worth reading about!
It was the first time I ever heard her sing “I Ain’t Goin’ Down” on the radio.
Based on the incredible strength of that song alone, I picked up her 2002 album “Up!” As it turned out, the entire album was truly excellent, the serendipity of my discovery was not lost on me.
But back to “I Ain’t Goin’ Down,” I loved the way Shania sang it; her gorgeous voice tone, combined with her knack for using a song to tell a story “from the gut,” and in such an unforced emotional way. Her ability to do this is one of her precious artistic gifts, and is a big reason, I believe, why she has enjoyed such an amazing degree of success as a recording artist.
But as beautiful as it was to listen to her sing this song, I was even more moved by the authentic and genuine lyrics she crafted:
The chorus:
“I’m gonna hold on
‘Cause what I believe in is so strong
No Matter how long
No one can tell me I’m wrong
I ain’t going down”
Then there’s the first verse that sets the stage for the theme of the song:
“I had a baby at fifteen, Daddy never did forgive me
I never heard from the guy again
I had to drop out of high school, everybody treated me so cruel
But I didn’t give in and giver her away”
And the second one that never fails to put a lump in my throat:
“Her smile got me through the day, and every night I’d pray
I could give her enough
At night I’d lie awake and cry, hopin’ we’d get by
‘Cause you can’t live on love”
The third verse talks about the kind of determination it takes to raise a child as a single mom:
“I worked night and day to keep us goin’
Through the sweat and tears without her knowin’
It was worth it just to watch her grow
Oh, oh, at least I was able to hold her whenever she needed my shoulder
I’m so glad I never let her go”
The fourth verse talks about the sweet rewards, and the dreams this mom has for her daughter:
“Her smile got me through the years
Dried away the tears and filled me with hope
At night I’d lie awake and cry
Prayed we would get by
And for the courage to cope…”
I later learned that Shania’s inspiration to write this song sprang from the experiences of some of her peer group that became teenage single moms, and even closer to home, her own mother who found herself a single mom on two occasions. She wanted to dedicate the song to the women who had the courage to endure the hardships of being a single mom, and at the same time celebrate the joys they were able to experience. She clearly esteems these women…the women of consequence who did not allow their difficult circumstances to stop them from enjoying a meaningful life filled with love. Shania paid tribute to them by penning such an unforgettable, emotionally charged song.
But even before I knew Shania’s reason for writing this song, I had my own more personal reasons for finding it relevant and inspiring to my own life and the lives of those around me.
In the mid 1990’s I found myself working in the contact center environment, and by the end of that decade, I was managing a rather large team of contact center agents, and by the time Shania Twain’s song “I Ain’t Goin Down” was released, I’d had a few years to learn about what made these places tick and the kind of people it took to create a winning contact center team.
I also came to learn that single moms were among our highest achieving team members, furthermore, they were often the ones who contributed some of the best ideas and even more amazingly, were often the ones building up and encouraging their peers when they felt defeated, and discouraged, either in the job, or in their personal lives.
I’ll never forget the first single mom who really stood out for me…it was in the year 2004.
For the longest time I didn’t even know that this member of my team was a single mom, but right away I noticed that she was the one who arrived for her shift at least fifteen minutes early, she was the one who read and reviewed all the day’s memos and was consistently among those who were sufficiently skilled and “people wise” enough to exceed their “call quota limit” while at the same time receiving one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings. The ability to successfully walk the “tightrope” between high productivity and high customer satisfaction is a testament to a person’s determination, work ethic, commitment, and perhaps most of all, ability to appreciate and “humanize” the person on the other end of the line. It is a rare quality indeed!
The center we worked in was such a busy place! Aside from the thousands of calls, there were emails, letters and call backs to complete before we could call it a day. It was in the contact center industry that I became accustomed to eating my lunch soup cold, since I rarely had the time to heat it up! As a result of the breakneck pace we all worked at, it took me a few months to get to know this particular teammate in any way beyond the confines of the day to day workings of our center.
On the rare occasion that we’d get a “break in the action” I would stop by the workstations of the people answering calls to find out how their day was going, what the customers were saying and what we could do better. The particular lady was a big contributor to those discussions, thoughtfully suggesting meaningful improvements to our workplace and / or the processes we used to deliver service to our customers. I found her ideas to be well thought out and practical, and I’m pleased to say that we were able to put some of them into actual practice in our workplace. But even during these times, I still didn’t know that she was a single mom. She’d told me she had children, two girls in fact, that were about fourteen and twelve years old at the time, but that was all I knew.
Then one day she approached me to ask if it was possible for her to shift her schedule for the next few days. She was genuinely sorry to make this request so suddenly, but the circumstances demanded it. It turned out that her eldest daughter had been caught with illegal drugs and the police officer involved had set into motion a number of intervention meetings that were designed to help this young teen. It was then, for the first time, that I came to know that she was a single mom.
What an honor it was for me to do whatever I could to partner with her in this time! She was such a fine team member, such an admirable person, and I deeply respected the value she brought every day she came to work, the least I could do for her was to make a shift arrangement!
I’d made other suggestions to her regarding how we might be of help in her time of need. She thanked me but was firm that this was all she required of us. I’m still moved at her strength of character, even as I think of it today!
It was after that experience that I became better “attuned” to the sheer number of single parents who were part of our team, and I noticed, as I mentioned earlier that they were some of our highest achieving team members. I found myself regularly seeking them out for advice. I admired their courage, tenacity and work ethic. What an honor it was to advocate for them when promotion opportunities came around, and to watch some of them rise through the ranks and become high functioning, creative, people centric managers themselves!
During this time, when I would hear Shania Twain’s “I Ain’t Goin’ Down,” I felt it somehow immortalized the incredible lives lived by the single moms I was privileged to work alongside with. Interestingly, when I told these single moms about my love for this song, I found that they too found it to be a source of encouragement, inspiration and understanding. This song became a kind of anthem for us.
As far as my ongoing love of Shania’s music is concerned, I came to cherish a number of her other songs, including: “For Ever and For Always,” “When” and “Thank You Baby!” (Especially the video of her performing this song live in Chicago in 2003!
Despite being a Shania fan, I hadn’t realized she wrote her autobiography! How did I miss that!?!
It’s with that in mind that I made sure “From This Moment On” would be read early in 2019.
Even before reading the book, I considered her to be on the “younger side” to be writing her autobiography, considering that she was only 46 years old when the book was published and clearly there were so many wonderful things she was yet to do.
Shania answered this question right in the first few pages of the book when she said:
“There have been moments in my life when I wasn’t so confident tomorrow would ever come, so once I began writing this book, it started crossing my mind more regularly that perhaps I’d better hurry up and document my life story in case I run out of time. Hurry to ensure that my story would not be put together with half-truths someday, misconstrued through articles and various other media exploitation.”
Shania goes on to add that her motivation was also that her son, Eja (“Asia”), only nine years old when she was writing the book, would have an “honest and complete account of my life, should I not get the chance to tell him about it myself.” Shania’s was also motivated to document her life because of the sudden and tragic loss of her mother and father in a fatal car accident. She shared that there were so many things she wanted to know about her parents that she would never get the chance to because of the abrupt nature of their removal from her life.
As a result, “From This Moment On” is a penetrating look into the life of this exceptional human being, a collection of stories from her life that I found to be touching and inspirational, and in some places alarming and unpleasant, but always genuine and authentic.
Another reason I wanted to read Shania’s biography was because I knew it would help me understand how a musician is developed…what the “seeds” of their “beginnings” look like.
As I mentioned before, I worked for a long time in the contact center industry, and while I was there, my wife Leanne and I had our first child, a beautiful boy named Spencer, (followed by our amazing son Nolan who followed a few years later). For years Leanne was working in the insurance training field, and as a result travelled to many cities throughout the United Sates for work. Once children arrived, it was no longer practical to be away from home so much.
So in 2005 we developed a small music school in the basement of our home. I was still working elsewhere and as a result, for the first five years she ran it almost by herself. She did a tremendous job of building the foundation of the music school. She was classically trained in piano and voice, she had the innate ability to bring out the best in her students and she possessed a talent with utilizing technology for teaching and business development. In short, her powerful vision, the student’s success and her impressive business acumen caused the music school to grow.
It was in 2010 that she suggested I come to work with her full time. I did this and we’ve had a wonderful partnership building Crescendo Music Studios ever since.
Over these past fourteen years we have had the honor of watching students of child age grow into impressive musicians. Some are now on our staff as teachers, what a special thing that is! Others have gone on to study music in university, others playing in fantastic bands, and still others are performing in large and small venues. We’re so proud of all of them.
It was with all this in mind that I was curious about Shania Twain’s early music journey, and I’m pleased to say that she was generous in how much she shared about her formative years as a budding musician. Here were a few aspects of her development that stood out for me:
First was the fact that she learned to play guitar at eight years old, and that the guitar turned out to be the instrument she used to write her songs. The first part of this that struck me as impressive was that she was learning and playing acoustic guitar at such a tender age. If she’d gained some level of proficiency by the age of eight, she probably first picked up the instrument at an even earlier age. Based on what I’ve learned from our teachers and from our students, acoustic guitar is a very challenging instrument for a child to handle. We certainly have had a few students start as young as seven or eight, but those were the ones who were able to work through the “dexterity demands” of holding the instrument, the sore hand muscles that come from repeatedly pushing a steel string down onto a fret and the tender, burning fingers that are sore until a child builds the calluses that protect their fingertips.
And when our students work through these challenges, they have the benefit of weekly lessons with a skilled, encouraging teacher as well as a helping, supportive hand form their parents during the week. In the early days, young Shania (Eileen) had no such support system, making her early proficiency with the guitar even more impressive.
The next aspect is Shania’s songwriting development using the guitar. Again, based on our experiences at Crescendo, most students who begin songwriting, or composing at an early age do so by using the piano, partly for the reasons mentioned about regarding the challenge of learning guitar, and partly because, as they tell us, the keyboard for the piano is “laid out” before you, easy to watch as you’re playing notes and chords. Not so with the guitar, because the fretboard is turned away from the musician, therefore it forces them to “look over” the board when choosing the chords of their song.
In short, I was impressed with Shania’s determination to make music and write songs with the guitar at such a young age. She shared a story about her early songwriting experiences that I found to be very touching:
“I was ten when I wrote my first songs, and the backyard was a great place to hide and write. When I escaped into my creative world of “putting” stories to music. I lost myself in a world of fiction.
Usually after some solitary time in the backyard, I’d hear my mother calling for me. I wouldn’t answer. What a terrible thing to do to your own mother, but I didn’t want to be disturbed. I wanted to preserve this state of escape for as long as I could, and pretend I wasn’t there. My backyard spot was actually inside a patch of brush that sat in the center of the one-acre lot behind the house. I trimmed a path through the branches and made a cavity on the inside as my hiding place. I could make small twig fires in there without being seen. This branchy cave was a place where I could forget about the piles of laundry I would spend the coming Saturday hand washing and hanging on the line, or if it was raining, the hours from midafternoon to eleven at night in the Laundromat.”
The other important aspect of her early musical experiences was her development as a vocalist. Based on our experiences at Crescendo, most young singers seek to sing lead, the melody line being their place of comfort and confidence.
This was not the cast with Shania when she was first learning to sing. This was what she shared about that aspect of her learning:
“One of my favorites to sing along with was “Rainy Days and Mondays.” I liked to double Karen’s voice, but on a different note, pretending to be her backup singer. I couldn’t resist singing along to the beauty of her voice, but I wanted to hear her, not sing over her notes. I tried to follow Karen’s lead part by following the melody line like a shadow. The blend felt so satisfying to me. My mother, however, was taken aback.
“Eileen!” she exclaimed, “What are you doing?”
“This part’s more interesting,” I explained. I loved to harmonize, and couldn’t get enough of listening to pristine, and sometimes complex vocal arrangements.”
As I read this part, I could help but marvel at the maturity of her approach to singing. Shania continued to pursue her vocal development in this way and as a result, gained a much better appreciation for her backup singers when she went on to become a prominent solo artist.
These stories were important for me to understand because of the large impact that Shania Twain and her incredible body of musical work has had on our teachers and students over the years. She is a musical influence to many of our teachers and so many students have learned and performed her songs over the years. I’m looking forward to sharing the stories I learned for this book with our teachers and students as the opportunities arise.
Early in the book, Shania says this:
“I have to say, it’s been satisfying bringing myself up-to-date with myself, if you will, through writing this book.”
And now that I’ve finished reading “From This Moment On” I must say that she’s achieved so much more than just that, she’s also brought all of us along with her…and now we too can find ourselves "up-to-date" with her amazing life.
A life that was definitely worth reading about!
October 2, 2016
"I figure if I keep shooting for the stars, should I miss, at least I'll have a chance at landing on the moon."I discovered Shania Twain ten years ago. It was late and I couldn't sleep, so I started browsing through the channels of my TV and found this concert that turned out to be of her Up! tour, live in Chicago. At about the same time I was also going through a difficult situation, so her music will always be very special to me, as it takes me back to that period of my life every time I listen to it.
In the scale of 1 to 5, as a musician she's a 6 for me. But when it comes to this book... I wanted to love it! I already knew a few things about her, mainly that she lost her parents when she was young, leaving her to take care of her siblings. And in this memoir, she goes into great detail about almost every aspect of her life, starting from her childhood in an impoverished home, facing the cold winter of Canada; being encouraged by her mother to sing in public, to be the star her mother believed she'd one day be (and she wasn't wrong!); witnessing domestic violence (some of it was hard to read); working as a tree-planting supervisor in her father's reforestation company; her parents' death; her success as a singer (and not wanting to limit herself to one genre, in this case, country); feeling isolated by said success; she also talks about her first husband and his infidelity, and how it affected her.
"I was ten when I wrote my first songs, and the backyard was a great place to hide and write. When I escaped into my creative world of 'putting' stories to music, like when I played with my grass dolls, I lost myself in a world of fiction."I discovered more about her than I expected. There's the phrase "baring her soul", and I feel that's what she did. But the writing... or maybe because of the lack of good editing, it just was very repetitive, often jumping from one topic to another without a smooth transition, and sometimes spending too much time on the same topic. And some of it felt too personal, although I admire her for being so open about herself, knowing how difficult that must have been (something else I learned about her by reading this book).
I had a hard time finishing it (I feel like I'm being a bit generous with my rating... but I can't bring myself to rate it lower...). I mostly read it before bed and sort of 'used' it to fall asleep faster! That's true for the first half, though, a little after that I began to enjoy it more.
"The experience stamped me with the joy of aloneness. By that, I mean the chance to dive into a space where time has little importance, and the divine right to feel, think, or say whatever you want is yours. All yours. Lost in the bliss and simplicity of less, with all the time in the world to reflect and turn those thoughts and feelings into music."Having said that, I'm glad I read it. I got to know more about her as a person who's lived through a lot of hardship, and who has managed to remain positive, humble, and thankful for every experience she has had. And I loved looking at the pictures included at the end of the book, from her childhood, performing at bars, her family, her horse Dancer and her very faithful dog Tim (both mentioned in the book), and some from her photoshoots.
March 8, 2011
this book is more than a love letter to the fans. As she has done with the lyrics of her songs, Shania opens up and is enchanting, funny and at times immensely and intensely vulnerable in a way she rarely allows herself to be with the public. Her strength is showcased with such brilliance that one can’t help but be inspired to stay strong no matter what life throws your way. From This Moment On will inspire women to heal, encourage children to dream all the while giving the world (especially Twain fans) a rare glimpse into Shania’s musical success. Her story will stay with me, because that’s what a great story does.
November 8, 2011
I'll tell ya, to me, this book was amazing, but because I went through a similar situation last year. To read about her difficult life and her climb to popularity, it just goes to show you that you don't really know a person when they are a star. If you've been betrayed by not only one but two people that you loved, it is a great loss, and a daily mental struggle - especially if you have to see these people every day. How Shania describes her feelings and strength she used to get through was very inspiring. What can I say, I'd recommend it.
February 11, 2012
I skimmed most of this memoir. This is Shania putting her best foot forward while she tells the readers that which she is willing to let them know about her life. There is alot of psycho-babble explaining her actions and the actions of others, especially the last few years of her life when, echoing a stereotypical country western song, her husband leaves their marriage to marry her best friend.
May 16, 2011
Great book! One thing I want to say to Shania: Why would you care about losing that old hag Mutt? You are beautiful, talented, and much too good for him! I have ALWAYS thought this. It's good riddance to bad rubbish! Glad to see that Shania is doing well and I hope she gets her career up and running again. She is gorgeous!
March 31, 2013
This was an interesting read....a warts and all book. Shania Twain is open and honest in this biography. A rags to riches story, this incredible woman deserves the success she has achieved.
March 28, 2025
I enjoyed reading about Shania Twain and learning about her rise to stardom. As with many artists, the road to being discovered can be an impossible climb. I appreciate her frank and honest approach in relating difficult memories.
August 6, 2022
One of the m ost interesting back stories of one of my favourite artists.
September 2, 2011
From this Moment On by Shania Twain is the story of her life written so it “would not be put together with half-truths someday, misconstrued through articles and various other media exploitation. I’m also writing this in order for my son, Eja, to have an honest and complete account of my life should I not get the chance to tell him about it myself” (xii).
She espouses a life philosophy that includes ideas such as, “I believe negative feelings are toxic, and I’ve learned with the grace of time and the butt-kicking teaching of experience that my energy should be spent avoiding negative thoughts and emotions rather than allowing my need for answers to spin me into obsession and suck all my energy dry” (398). Although statements like this make Twain seem quite naïve, her life has been very difficult as well as materially very successful, and she presents convincing evidence that she is very strong, mentally and physically.
Born Eileen and taking as a stage name Shania which means on my way in Ojibwa, she was so poor as a child that she and her family picked free potatoes, sometimes thrusting her hand into “a muck-like slime of putrid, rotted potato” or finding one that “doubled as a condo for potato worms … large, fat, white and so disgusting” (49).
She describes her childhood in detail, times her parents fought and times she helped her mother run away from the man who raised her, but she doesn’t denigrate her parents. She says, “I just accepted the fact that they weren’t always capable of being there for me …” and “Life isn’t like a TV series. … Anyone who gives a good, honest effort wins my respect every time, and in that regard, my mother and my father deserve my thanks” (32-33).
At age sixteen, she earned money by work with her father and a bunch of men to “chain” or measure the distance between stakes planted on a grid by miners. She says she “had a stubborn pride in not being some girly-girl: (129). Soon after the Twain family “got into the reforestation business” (133) and Twain worked as a crew boss in charge of twelve or thirteen grown men. She learned to live with no conveniences and “came to enjoy the solitude of working in the bush” and “understood that if I was respectful and worked as hard and fast as the guy, I’d earn their respect” (138).
She started her music career as a child, “from the age of seven … tapping out melodies on a cheap electric keyboard” (68) and didn’t make it to high school graduation or prom because she was on the road with a band. She moved away from her family when she was eighteen, a time she thinks of as a “developmental period of toying with ideas that just lingered in my creative subconscious until eventually they worked their way into real songs” (166).
On November 1, 1987, when Twain was 22, her parents were killed in an automobile accident, and she took guardianship of her sister and two brothers, eventually supporting them all by working in a production called Viva Vegas at Deerhurst, then a small resort, now a leading Canadian resort destination. There she lost her stage fright, learned to apply makeup and perform in skimpy costumes, walk in high heels, and deal with “professional competitiveness and cattiness” (197).
Twain met and married British rock producer Robert John Mutt Lange and became famous. They created four albums—the 1997 Come on Over, which he produced is the all time best selling album by a female artist—two compilations and a son, Eja, born in 2001. They separated in 2008 after Twain learned that her best friend, who worked for Lange before Twain met him, lied to Twain about having an affair with Lange, even reassuring Twain that “it was absurd to even think her husband could possibly be having an affair” (350). Twain married Thiebaud’s ex husband in 2011.]
Her book definitely includes details about the end of her marriage and how she coped that began as part of her therapy. She’s very open about her feelings and her concerns, which include her body and aging. She comes across as a real and admirable woman, albeit a bit idealistic, i. e. “At present, I wake up every morning to a dream. I have the perfect partner, lover, and friend who spoils me rotten and is intelligent, gorgeous,” etc. (403).
She espouses a life philosophy that includes ideas such as, “I believe negative feelings are toxic, and I’ve learned with the grace of time and the butt-kicking teaching of experience that my energy should be spent avoiding negative thoughts and emotions rather than allowing my need for answers to spin me into obsession and suck all my energy dry” (398). Although statements like this make Twain seem quite naïve, her life has been very difficult as well as materially very successful, and she presents convincing evidence that she is very strong, mentally and physically.
Born Eileen and taking as a stage name Shania which means on my way in Ojibwa, she was so poor as a child that she and her family picked free potatoes, sometimes thrusting her hand into “a muck-like slime of putrid, rotted potato” or finding one that “doubled as a condo for potato worms … large, fat, white and so disgusting” (49).
She describes her childhood in detail, times her parents fought and times she helped her mother run away from the man who raised her, but she doesn’t denigrate her parents. She says, “I just accepted the fact that they weren’t always capable of being there for me …” and “Life isn’t like a TV series. … Anyone who gives a good, honest effort wins my respect every time, and in that regard, my mother and my father deserve my thanks” (32-33).
At age sixteen, she earned money by work with her father and a bunch of men to “chain” or measure the distance between stakes planted on a grid by miners. She says she “had a stubborn pride in not being some girly-girl: (129). Soon after the Twain family “got into the reforestation business” (133) and Twain worked as a crew boss in charge of twelve or thirteen grown men. She learned to live with no conveniences and “came to enjoy the solitude of working in the bush” and “understood that if I was respectful and worked as hard and fast as the guy, I’d earn their respect” (138).
She started her music career as a child, “from the age of seven … tapping out melodies on a cheap electric keyboard” (68) and didn’t make it to high school graduation or prom because she was on the road with a band. She moved away from her family when she was eighteen, a time she thinks of as a “developmental period of toying with ideas that just lingered in my creative subconscious until eventually they worked their way into real songs” (166).
On November 1, 1987, when Twain was 22, her parents were killed in an automobile accident, and she took guardianship of her sister and two brothers, eventually supporting them all by working in a production called Viva Vegas at Deerhurst, then a small resort, now a leading Canadian resort destination. There she lost her stage fright, learned to apply makeup and perform in skimpy costumes, walk in high heels, and deal with “professional competitiveness and cattiness” (197).
Twain met and married British rock producer Robert John Mutt Lange and became famous. They created four albums—the 1997 Come on Over, which he produced is the all time best selling album by a female artist—two compilations and a son, Eja, born in 2001. They separated in 2008 after Twain learned that her best friend, who worked for Lange before Twain met him, lied to Twain about having an affair with Lange, even reassuring Twain that “it was absurd to even think her husband could possibly be having an affair” (350). Twain married Thiebaud’s ex husband in 2011.]
Her book definitely includes details about the end of her marriage and how she coped that began as part of her therapy. She’s very open about her feelings and her concerns, which include her body and aging. She comes across as a real and admirable woman, albeit a bit idealistic, i. e. “At present, I wake up every morning to a dream. I have the perfect partner, lover, and friend who spoils me rotten and is intelligent, gorgeous,” etc. (403).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 23, 2025
“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending”
This book follows the northern Canadian singer Shania Twain through her up and downs through life from having a hard childhood to being success musician juggling it all… This book was interesting but some parts dragged on, I’ve a lot more of Shania Twain that I didn’t know and she very open about a lot of things!
This book follows the northern Canadian singer Shania Twain through her up and downs through life from having a hard childhood to being success musician juggling it all… This book was interesting but some parts dragged on, I’ve a lot more of Shania Twain that I didn’t know and she very open about a lot of things!
September 10, 2012
Have you ever read an autobiography and felt that it contained no soul? Almost as if no person had put their own thoughts, emotions, or love, into its creation? I have. Yet, From This Moment On was the complete opposite. I felt as if Shania was speaking to me directly. I felt the emotion she needed to convey. That is what it I felt with the writing: a sense of urgency with the words as if she needed them to be read. I heard a lot of negative things about this autobiography and it made me rather hesitant. On the other hand, I am a fan of Shania's music and I became interested in how this Canadian woman became the artist she is today. When I finally got the nerve to crack it open, I was both pleasantly, and horribly, surprised. To read the reality of Shania's childhood actually frightened and surprised me. How could this beautiful woman have gone such troubling ordeals? But that is just it: I categorized her as a woman in the spotlight as many people do. I heard hateful remarks on how she has no reason to complain when her husband left her because she had fame and fortune. I pity those who feel this way. Anyone who honestly believes that money makes pain easier to bare is both naive and insensitive. All people deal with situations differently. She may not have struggled financially, but Shania struggled with her grief just as emotionally, and physically, taxing. Celebrities are humans too. They feel pain, suffering, and anxiety like the rest of us. Nothing makes one person's suffering superior to another because it is a personal struggle. Comparing grief to other people just makes everyone worse off. On that note, I wish Shania Twain, and her family, all of the happiness in the world and sincerely hope that she continues to create music.
August 9, 2015
I can’t say I’m particularly a fan of Shania Twain, but I’ve heard her music playing on the radio over the years, and I especially enjoy one of her songs, Ka-ching. The only reason I picked up her memoir is because I always enjoy a good rags to riches story, and this one did not disappoint.
In fact, Shania Twain’s autobiography gave me a deeper insight into what it’s like for children who are neglected by parents who selfishly had more children than they could afford. It just cemented my opinion that most of the world’s poverty can be attributed to people irresponsibly having more children than they can care for. Sad to see is how she justifies the neglect by her mother and the domestic abuse by her father. I guess no matter what, most of us refuse to see our parents through anything other than rose tinted glasses.
After finishing From This Moment On, I feel that Shania Twain deserves all the good things that come her way. Having grown up the way she did, making all the sacrifices she did, and working her behind off for her dream and achieving all that she has, she is more than deserving of the good life she is living. I’m not saying this as a fan (because I’m still not), but as someone who made the journey through Shania’s life story by way of her memoir, and as a wife and a mother who has also suffered betrayal and divorce.
Although much of this autobiography is Eilleen reflecting on her life and writing this book as a way to heal, beyond her sad childhood and painful divorce, there isn’t much else in here that haven’t been publicized in the media over the years. True Shania Twain fans won’t find much new in here, but others, like me, would come to know both Eilleen and Shania Twain.
In fact, Shania Twain’s autobiography gave me a deeper insight into what it’s like for children who are neglected by parents who selfishly had more children than they could afford. It just cemented my opinion that most of the world’s poverty can be attributed to people irresponsibly having more children than they can care for. Sad to see is how she justifies the neglect by her mother and the domestic abuse by her father. I guess no matter what, most of us refuse to see our parents through anything other than rose tinted glasses.
After finishing From This Moment On, I feel that Shania Twain deserves all the good things that come her way. Having grown up the way she did, making all the sacrifices she did, and working her behind off for her dream and achieving all that she has, she is more than deserving of the good life she is living. I’m not saying this as a fan (because I’m still not), but as someone who made the journey through Shania’s life story by way of her memoir, and as a wife and a mother who has also suffered betrayal and divorce.
Although much of this autobiography is Eilleen reflecting on her life and writing this book as a way to heal, beyond her sad childhood and painful divorce, there isn’t much else in here that haven’t been publicized in the media over the years. True Shania Twain fans won’t find much new in here, but others, like me, would come to know both Eilleen and Shania Twain.
March 7, 2017
Finally a memoir from Shania herself. She is very honest and goes really deep into her heart and soul to give us the happy and sad and horrific details of her life growing up to her life now. I know it could not be easy to have some negative things to say about your parents, but you know she still loves them and honours them, she merely is just relating the truth of what she went through and witnessed in her life, which was not easy in the slightest. She is a very simple woman who clearly has not forgotten her roots and loves her family. You can tell her writing this memoir must have been therapeutic to get everything out that she was holding inside for so long, and I don't doubt that there were many tears in going down memory lane. This woman is one tough cookie and real, she is not at all fake or a princess type. Her story is extremely inspiring if you are going through hard times and she definitely gives you the strength and hope to endure and keep going and not give up.
February 9, 2017
One star is a bit generous. I bought this book out of a bargain bin at a used book store for $1.00. All I keep thinking is that some idiot out there paid $35.00 for this book. As I said, I only paid $1.00, and I'd actually like that back.
Whoever Shania's editor was, they did a terrible job. This book was riddled with errors, and I found it distracting.
There was not enough information where there should have been, and there was too much, where less would have been okay.
I was also surprised at the (unnecessary) amount of language. I'm no prude, and I even use words when warranted, but this was just overkill.
Like I said, one star is a bit generous.
Whoever Shania's editor was, they did a terrible job. This book was riddled with errors, and I found it distracting.
There was not enough information where there should have been, and there was too much, where less would have been okay.
I was also surprised at the (unnecessary) amount of language. I'm no prude, and I even use words when warranted, but this was just overkill.
Like I said, one star is a bit generous.
September 18, 2011
Oh Eileen. You can definitely sing, but I would leave the book writing up to others. I feel bad saying this since she came across as such a nice, down to earth person, but the book lacked flow and at times seemed like it was being written by a child was a bad case of ADD, never focused enough to stay with one thought before heading off on another train. I admire her for writing the book by herself when so many celebrities slap their names on the cover when indeed some poor no name actually wrote the book, but in this case I think a little ghost writing would have benefited the story.
August 22, 2017
I cannot say I am the biggest fan of Shania Twain, but I do love her voice. I vaguely hearing about her songs, such as Any Man of Man, Man I feel like A Woman and other hits. Reading this memoir was good to hear about her heartache and how she overcome her parent's demise and her broken marriage. Despite my ambivalent feelings towards the book, I thought it was a decent portrait of an artist life.
I was not a huge fan of the writing style, this this book almost got three stars. However, I did like how the book ended, no one should have to endure what she went through in her marriage. I did not necessarily agree with her actions but then again this is a memoir not a fiction book. It is very hard to rate memoirs cause you don't want to attack an author's life.
Closing thought: It was good but I won't recommend it, but that is my picky nature talking.
I was not a huge fan of the writing style, this this book almost got three stars. However, I did like how the book ended, no one should have to endure what she went through in her marriage. I did not necessarily agree with her actions but then again this is a memoir not a fiction book. It is very hard to rate memoirs cause you don't want to attack an author's life.
Closing thought: It was good but I won't recommend it, but that is my picky nature talking.
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