Amy, My Daughter by Mitch Winehouse.

Amy Winehouse, a very popular and top selling British singer, died just 27 years old. In this book her father Mitch Winehouse tells the tale of his daughter’s short life.

I was fascinated by this book which told the story of Amy from when she was born until after her death when the Amy Winehouse Foundation was established to help to prevent the effects of drug and alcohol misuse on young people and to support, inform and inspire vulnerable and disadvantaged young people.

Mitch writes at length about his father/daughter relationship, all the pitfalls and successes plus the constant ups and downs of coping with Amy. This is an intimate story and you feel as though you have become a member of the Winehouse family as Mitch trusts you with the family’s secrets. Amy got a fair amount of bad press in her lifetime and here Mitch puts the record straight rather than the distorted picture portrayed by the press to gain further sales.

I learned a lot about Amy and Mitch has made a lovely legacy with his book. I really engaged with this story and Mitch captured the very feeling of fathering a daughter caught in the media spotlight, letting her lead her own life but being there for her when needed. The focus of this book is strong and I took a lot away from it. Mitch writes…

Drugs were illegal, expensive and required privacy. Alcohol was freely available, and she could drink wherever and whenever she liked, mostly without public criticism. As a consequence, her lack of inhibition about drinking was yet another problem - it was moving beyond serious, and if she carried on, her illness might end up killing us both.

… This book has many highs and lows with Mitch getting across to the reader how this turmoil affects a father and how tiring supporting a daughter through her problems can be. Amy was such a kind, loving and generous person you just hoped she would work through her problems and come out shining. I got so caught up in the tension within this story, that when I got to the end, a wave of sadness crashed over me. This is a very powerful and moving story with such a sad and avoidable ending. MItch has written a wonderful tribute to his daughter as well as giving the man-in-the-street a fascinating and hugely informative read. This has got to be the best taxi driver tale, ever and I will vote it the top score of 5 stars. You do not have to be a fan of Amy or her music to get an awful lot from this book. This is top class human-interest material and will really make you question how you feel as you are enjoying drinks with friends.

Amy, My Daughter is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2012.