A Biography: Faith Hill Piece of My Heart
Written: Jan 18 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: learned some about Faith that I didn't already know
Cons: too much about other stars, not written by someone who personally knows her
The Bottom Line: If you are a die-hard Faith Hill fan you would enjoy this book. Otherwise, I wouldn't suggest reading it.
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| wifeofvolsfan's Full Review: |
While browsing the biography section at the library I spotted the book Faith Hill Piece of My Heart by James L. Dickerson. I picked it up and flipped through the pages and thought it might be interesting to read. I love reading nonfiction especially about famous people and true crime.
About the story:
On September 21, 1967 Audrey Faith Perry was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Her mother was a teenager that was not married. She decided to give up her baby for adoption. Ted and Edna Perry adopted the baby when she was three days old. They had two older sons before they adopted the baby. The family didn’t want the children to be around the violence in Jackson, Mississippi so in 1977 they moved them to the small town of Star, Mississippi.
Faith knew that she wanted a career in music. She was told that she should pursue her education first though just in case the music career didn’t work out. To make her family happy she began going to a community college. In the middle of the school year Faith decided to drop out of college and head to Nashville. She had no plan except she knew she wanted to be a star.
Faith married Daniel Hill in July 1987. Life financially became easier for her because she could fall back on him. After five years of marriage Faith wanted out. She then became involved with record producer, Scott Hendricks. She stayed with him until she met the man of her dreams, Tim McGraw.
The book tells of the struggles that Faith went through after coming to Nashville. It gives a detailed summary about the path she took to become of one today’s biggest and brightest stars. Today, Faith is currently married to Tim McGraw and has three beautiful little girls.
Questions the book will answer for you:
Why did Faith’s first serious boyfriend break up with her? Who really encouraged Faith to pursue her dreams? Was Faith popular in high school? Who did Faith sell T-shirts for at Fan Fair as her first job in Nashville? What country singer gave Faith confidence and encouragement making her chase her dream? What was Faith’s first meeting like with her birth mother? Why did Faith’s first marriage not last? What did Daniel Hill get from the very generous divorce settlement? What happened to make Faith wonder if she would ever be able to sing again? How did Faith meet Tim McGraw? What unusual way did she answer his marriage proposal? How did Faith handle Tim McGraw’s arrest?
My Thoughts:
If you are a die-hard Faith Hill or Tim McGraw fan you should definitely read this book. Otherwise you may get bored. The book itself was just average. It was not one of those books that I could just put down. I found at times that I had to push myself to keep reading. I enjoyed reading about Faith’s life and I did learn things that I did not already know. I also enjoyed looking at the pictures which included sixteen black and white photos. I think it’s amazing how someone can come from an average blue-collar family and go to the top becoming a huge star. Faith Hill went against the odds and came out on of the biggest stars ever.
However, I think the book would have better been titled “Faith Hill and most every other country singer in today’s time”. The book was probably half actually about Faith and the other half about all of the other singers. It goes into great detail about Shania Twain, Deana Carter, Jo Dee Messina, Dixie Chicks, LeAnn Rimes and others. Many times the book would be on some long tangent about other stars and I would almost forget that I was reading a book about Faith.
I also didn’t like the way the book portrayed Faith as so mistreated in country music. Many of it talked about how the awards had mistreated her and how Nashville didn’t treat her right. I was beginning to think it was a book just begging for sympathy for Faith. Many parts were like “poor little pitiful Faith has it so bad”. It’s hard for me to feel sorry for someone who has millions of dollars, a sexy husband and three great children. I don’t care if she hasn’t won the first award I still wouldn’t feel sorry for her. The author complained about the lack of awards she had gotten and how Nashville has snubbed her because of her cross over success. With some of the songs she sings I have to agree with the die hard country fans that her music just isn’t country anymore. Why not just consider herself pop and not pretend to be country? I guess she just wants the best of both worlds or “have her cake and eat it too”.
I didn't think the book was complete. I think someone who personally knew her could have better written it. Much of the book is a quote from other sources. Parts of the book the author states that he doesn’t actually know and is just an estimate or a guess. The book is made up a lot based on numbers such as where songs placed on the charts, how many albums were sold and generic information that could be found with a little research. Of course there is a lot of information that could be added to the story if it were written now since it was published in 2001. Things have changed in Faith’s life since then and she has given birth to another baby girl.
I hope the next book I read will be by someone who is personally close to Faith or better yet by Faith herself.
Recommended:
No
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