Amy Winehouse (From Bucks Free Press)
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The perfect wife and mother, Rebecca runs a home, a village magazine and is working on her novel. She does not visit the gym or jog but is in amazingly good shape. She enjoys photography, playing the piano and arguing with the TV. She lives in Amersham with her husband and youngest child (aged nine). Her eldest, now 26, lives and works in Buckinghamshire.
Amy Winehouse
7:31pm Sunday 24th July 2011
Most of all, I heard/read Amy Winehouse’s name connected to drunkenness or scandalous behaviour. The press. Again. Focusing on difficulty and showing us an individual in trouble, trying to cope, holding a magnifying glass up to them and broadcasting it to the world.
In fact I never bought one of her songs. I don’t think this disqualifies me from commenting on her.
The first thing I can say about her singing is that I could always understand what she was saying.
Ironically (for one supposed to be always drunk) she was clear and seemed to want to be understood.
Unlike the ‘clean living’ Michael Bublé – slurred, badly enunciated with a vaguely ‘foreign’ edge to his pronunciation. The new trend for native English speakers to sound as though they’ve learned English as a second language.
The other thing that gnaws at me is: did Amy get the right help? Did people know what a state she might have been in prior to her death (I’m assuming the suspicion of overdose is correct.) Did she talk to friends or family? Was it too difficult to detect she was in such a bad place?
Of course if the guess of an overdose is correct, it could have been an accident. Worse still.
Addiction is down to the addict to quit. Yes. But I wonder whether she was surrounded by people who didn’t mind her addiction. Who liked her exciting dramas when she’d had too much. Who thought she was a good laugh.
There a groups of people who will be around another person to catch their glory, These aren’t the sort of people who’d be committed to helping her give up.
And what 27 year old listens to their parents?
I feel mournful for what she represents: the waste of youth, talent and the potential for a healthy, vibrant, loving adulthood.
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Comments(6)
NicM
says...
7:04am Mon 25 Jul 11
Amy Winehouse was, by all accounts, a fragile soul. She was obviously not prepared to deal with reality and took refuge in the feeling that drugs and alcohol gave her.
Her death is played out thousands of times a year by other young people who are out of the public eye. The reasons why they hit the self-destruct button seem to be complex and unclear. Most of them have families that love them and are devastated. To ask why someone didn't notice or do anything is callous and judgemental.
Rebecca Leon
says...
4:17pm Mon 25 Jul 11
:
I take your point about the 'unknowns' who die the same way each year. All fragile souls. Perhaps all unable/unwilling to take help also.
:
And I think that's what I was trying to get at with the byline and closing paragraph: she represents one of many.
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I don't blame anyone.
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Demoness: considering you joined in the barrage of criticism against my fictional work about a dead woman (remember?), the fact that the only issue you have here is to defend Michael Bublé baffles me.
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Full of feeling for those who've lost people in their lives, leading the onslaught as though I'd written it vindictively with you all in mind.
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No such grieving for a real young person who's just died.
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Just make sure I don't hurt Michael Bublé's feelings. Right?
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Defective hearing? Rather that than defective sensitivities m'dear.
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Or are you ridiculing someone with hearing difficulties? Someone you don't even know. My oh my. After so many righteous comments on Ivor's spot about his/her own prejudice. I can't believe it!
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Rehab? I heard it once when I descended from my ivory tower to get the milk... Gold top.
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Had to be said.
demoness the second
says...
4:48pm Mon 25 Jul 11
Rebecca Leon wrote:Firstly you made a cheap shot at a good singer - why? What had this got to do with Amy's death? You could have just said that she had a voice, (unlike others), which you could understand.You also put the clean living part into quotation marks - is this an insinuation that he was not clean living? I just don't see why it had to be written.
NicM: 'fragile soul' - that's the phrase that seems to describe her best.
:
I take your point about the 'unknowns' who die the same way each year. All fragile souls. Perhaps all unable/unwilling to take help also.
:
And I think that's what I was trying to get at with the byline and closing paragraph: she represents one of many.
:
I don't blame anyone.
:
Demoness: considering you joined in the barrage of criticism against my fictional work about a dead woman (remember?), the fact that the only issue you have here is to defend Michael Bublé baffles me.
:
Full of feeling for those who've lost people in their lives, leading the onslaught as though I'd written it vindictively with you all in mind.
:
No such grieving for a real young person who's just died.
:
Just make sure I don't hurt Michael Bublé's feelings. Right?
:
Defective hearing? Rather that than defective sensitivities m'dear.
:
Or are you ridiculing someone with hearing difficulties? Someone you don't even know. My oh my. After so many righteous comments on Ivor's spot about his/her own prejudice. I can't believe it!
:
Rehab? I heard it once when I descended from my ivory tower to get the milk... Gold top.
:
Had to be said.
I apologise for the defective hearing remark - that was not necessary and you are right I do not know you,
However clearly you were so incensed by the Buble bit that you did not read the rest of my post that talked about her family knowing about her addiction but being helpless because in the end an addict has to admit they have a problem.
So first paragraph an observation of an unnecessary nasty remark about another singer.
Second and third paragraphs addressing the main topic of your blog.
With all due respect to Nic, she implied that you were callous and judgemental.
And yet you were civil to her?
Are you still sore because I did not like your llterary efforts?
Mama36
says...
5:00pm Mon 25 Jul 11
Rebecca Leon
says...
8:03pm Mon 25 Jul 11
:
D: 'With all due respect to Nic, she implied that you were callous and judgemental. And yet you were civil to her?'
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What? You'll need to clarify.
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Blame my defective comprehension but that sentence makes no sense to me.
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And seems we're both guilty of just reading the first paragraph and making sweeping statements about eachother.
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The perfect wife and mother, Rebecca runs a home, a bad temper and is working on her novel. She enjoys photography, playing the piano and likes almost anything that's out of fashion and uncool. She lives in Amersham with her husband and youngest child (aged ten). Her eldest, now 27, lives and works in Buckinghamshire.
demoness the second says...
11:06pm Sun 24 Jul 11
As a matter of fact Amy's Dad Mitch tried very hard to persuade her to get help. But, like so many addicts, she did not want to know.
In the end, as sad as this is, Amy made choices - the help was there. She did not want it and until an addict accepts that they need help, no amount of persuasion or coercion will work.
Try listening to Rehab.... a song of hers.