Thoughts

by T-Boz, T-Boz

When TLC was between albums, I had no way to release my creativity. One night, feeling put-out by my boyfriend and wondering about how much women had to go through to make a relationship work, I sat down and started writing poems. "Unpretty" was the first. Up until then, I hadn't realized how badly I needed to release what I was feeling inside. They were my thoughts from the heart, and my art.

The poems cover a whole range of topics: Love, relationships, heartbreak, body image, family, society, abortion, and many other things. They each mean alot to me, and I hope they inspire you, give you a different perspective on what's going on around you, or just help you relax. You'll find a little bit of me in these words, and maybe you'll find a little bit of yourself or someone you know.

I reached out to my friends, including my fans, while I was putting Thoughts. together and they realty inspired me and helped me figure out which stories to tell. Stories about the important people in my life, like my mom who's always been there for me, my family, my TLC partners Lisa and Rozonda, and those who have all helped me along the way. I've had to deal with some tough stuff, like my relationship with my dad, who left when I was three, my never-ending battle with sickle cell, the bad high school years, my self-image problems, and my fight to survive in this crazy music business.

Sharing these stories and poems has helped me face big issues in my life. Maybe they'll help you, too. Or maybe they'll give you a better understanding of who I am as a person. I can only express myself so much through my songs. On my own, though, I can let you into my heart and mind.

Thank you for allowing me to share my Thoughts with you.



Love, Tionne

Genres: Poetry, Music

Audio CD

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Latasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hello my name is latasia Jefferies and Thoughts by Tionne Watkins, is one of my favorite books. I read this book about a million times, and everytime i read it, it feels like im just reading it for the first time. What i like so much about the book is that, it is something that i can relate to. I don't want to give too much of the book away, but this book is a variety of everything. It tells the story of former singer of the group TLC. If you dont know, TLC is an all girl group, that made alot of hit songs. So basiaclly, its a biography of Tionne's life with the group, and her life growing up. She writes a variety of poems on the different topics young teenage girls, women, and just people in general face. Like, rape, love, hate, sex, society, being excepted, loving yourself and others, death and etc. One poem that I love in paticular, is this poem called "Unpretty." What it is about is, when you look in to the mirror and you don't see the same person you used to see. It's about loosing your self esteem, and not being the same person you used to be. I think this is a way alot of people feel at certain times. I would reccomend this book to young adults. I feel some of the issues talked about, are things that are mature. And i also feel that, the topics are things we all have thought about, but didn't know how to say it. I feel the overall message of this book is, to never let fame change you or get the best of you. You will live and learn from your experiences. Everyone has their personal thoughts, and a story to tell. I am positive that if you read this book, you will fall in love with it, and read it multiple times like me!

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tionne Watkins. does anybody recognize that name? well as T-Boz, she was once part of TLC. what some people dont know is that she used to write a lot of the songs that TLC recorded. when TLC was inbetween albums, Tionne wrote Thoughts to release everything built up inside her that music was supposed to do.

Thoughts is a collection of poems and essays -- from it came the song "Unpretty"-- that varies from a wide range of subjects. from self image to abortion to violence and hate with everything inbetween. with this book, T-Boz allows us to see into her world and her thinking. surely, each piece in this book will make you think about our world and the people in it.

i found this book interesting because the topics were very serious. this book deals with a lot of controversial issues that concern everybody. the poems really got me to think about issues that i never really thought were serious. in a way, this book opened up my mind and changed my perspective on a lot of things. though it is not extremely hard to read, you do have to take your time with it, in order to really understand it.

[Julian · Rating 2 out of 5]

***trigger warning***

i love t-boz as an artist, but while this is a very (for 1999 standards) beautifully designed book, none of it aged well whatsoever.

it’s a lot of shallow nonsense trying to appear deep. most of it is a product of the time period and thus not very surprising, but i was honestly a bit shocked at some of the reactionary and misogynistic rhetoric being regurgitated both in the poems and in the essays. some of her explicit opinions include (this is where the trigger warning becomes relevant): abortion is murder; a lot of women in the industry are “whores”; if you get date raped it’s your fault for going on the date in the first place.

mixed in are some classic liberal talking points about color blindness and gender essentialism, as well as lots of religious fluff about god’s plans and “staying humble”.

i can see why this book is all but forgotten today, and i can only hope tionne has revised her stance on some of the topics discussed here since its publication 25 years ago.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the first time in high school and was blown away. TLC meant so much to me as a child and a teenager, and I particularly loved T-Boz. She was sexy, she was cool, but she also was smart. She was like the big sister I never had. My copy of this book is long since gone, but I managed to snag a file of the audiobook. T-Boz has such a buttery smooth, soft, soothing voice--perfect for audiobook.

I may be approaching middle age, but TLC (and T-Boz) will always be important to me.

[Nidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio of this book and I loved it. I loved the music and singing throughout the book too, it definitely added something special to it. This book felt like someone was reading their diary to me. It felt very personal & hearing the poem version of “Unpretty” was so special. I loved it. I also really loved the inclusion of her mother’s song to her as a little girl, that made me tear up <3

[Ke’ · Rating 5 out of 5]

My very first book of poetry and I remember it from time to time. It inspired me to be a poet and use it as a creative outlet for myself. Very grateful this was one of the only books my mother owned at home.

[Sincere Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great book.

[Brandon Session · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read this book before but I want to try it out.

[Mashay Jones]

Yes

[Christy Seedorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

She is showing off her emotions by poetry in this book.

[Nyeisha (Bookbabe of Delaware) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the poems where extremely interesting...

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!!

[Permitup24 . · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiration

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing I loved all the poems and I'm a big fan of TLC I recommend this book to you

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Brianna32144]

I love it

[LaurenceDurrgmail.Com]

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