It’s been 4 years since Amy Winehouse died from an accidental alcohol overdose and now her mother, Janis Winehouse is finally speaking out about everything her daughter went through. Her mother is letting fans read about the life she lived with her daughter in her new memoir, Loving Amy: A Mother’s Story, which will be available on January 12th.
Amy Winehouse developed a reputation of an unstable party girl, often showing up drunk or drugged. She had amazing success very fast and even earned 5 Grammys, but her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil impacted her greatly. By 2007, the singer overdosed on several drugs and was even arrested for possession of drugs. Her husband was arrested again for offering a bribe to a bartender he beat and this caused Winehouse to lose it again. By 2008 she was in and out of rehab and was even treated for having traces of emphysema and an irregular heartbeat caused by smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes. Sadly in 2011 she died at the age of 27 from an accidental alcohol poisoning.
There were many theories about Winehouse’s health and not even her mother knew what was wrong. “She could well have been almost Tourette’s, where she would just shout things out,” Amy’s mother, Janis Winehouse, told People. “We just do not know.”
Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics. It can’t be cured and can last a lifetime, even though treatment may help.
Amy was a “gifted” child, her mother writes in the memoir. Fans got to catch a glimpse of the singer’s raspy and stunningly-powerful voice at the age of 14 in the documentary titled, Amy.
“I honestly think 50 things killed her,” Amy director Asif Kapadia told E!’s Marc Malkin in June 2015. “It’s no simple thing. It’s everything. It’s her situation at home…it’s no self-esteem…not feeling enough love to love herself and to care about herself. Everything.” “And then on top of that, you get too much money, too much success. And when they did try to stop it, it was too late,” he says.
Amy’s parents set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation after her death, whose mission is supporting and empowering children in need through music therapy and music education. It also helps prevent the effects of drug and alcohol abuse of young people. Amy’s father, Mitch wrote a memoir already, so it will be interesting to see what her mother says as well.