Product Description

By the age of 11 Kerry Katona had lived in countless different homes and attended 8 different schools. By the age of 13 she could beat grown men at pool and knew how to look after her mother during a breakdown. By the age of 15 she had lived in women's refuges, the heart of London's East End gangster-land and several different foster homes. By the age of 18 she was a pop star..."Too Much, Too Young" is the moving, gripping - yet often very funny - account of one child's unique upbringing, and a woman's journey through pop stardom, motherhood and marriage heartbreak. From the backstreets of Warrington to the smoky pubs of the East End, from the shelters where victims of domestic violence hide, to the exclusive hotels where international pop stars party, this is an extraordinary read. Better than fiction, more dramatic than the tabloids, more emotional than the soaps and funnier than a reality TV show...welcome to Kerry's life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19067 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Synopsis
By the age of 11 Kerry Katona had lived in countless different homes and attended 8 different schools. By the age of 13 she could beat grown men at pool and knew how to look after her mother during a breakdown. By the age of 15 she had lived in women's refuges, the heart of London's East End gangster-land and several different foster homes. By the age of 18 she was a pop star..."Too Much, Too Young" is the moving, gripping - yet often very funny - account of one child's unique upbringing, and a woman's journey through pop stardom, motherhood and marriage heartbreak. From the backstreets of Warrington to the smoky pubs of the East End, from the shelters where victims of domestic violence hide, to the exclusive hotels where international pop stars party, this is an extraordinary read. Better than fiction, more dramatic than the tabloids, more emotional than the soaps and funnier than a reality TV show...welcome to Kerry's life.

From the Publisher
The full story of Kerry Katona, from abused childhood to tabloid fame

About the Author
Kerry was born in Warrington in 1980. She came into the limelight when she joined the hugely successful band Atomic Kitten. She left in 2001 when her first daughter was born. As well as winning I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! she has been a regular presenter on Loose Women, starred in the successful Irish TV series Show Band and has been the subject of a prime time ITV documentary, My Fair Kerry. She continues to live in Warrington with her expanding family.

Customer Reviews

But what has she really learned?
Because I am an American, Ms Katona's UK celebrity status was nothing more than an interesting aside as I sat down to read her book. Consistent with the other comments about this publication I was also appalled by the treatment she received at the hands of her mother. I was also impressed with the resiliency of Ms. Katona as well as her eventual successes. However, I could not help but wonder if she would have realized these successes had she not been the attractive and opportunistic girl that she grew to be.

It would seem that the author would like to impress upon her readers that she is a strong, independent woman who has willed herself to positions of success. But it is easy to see that her co-dependenency has influenced most of her life. To this point, her life has been based upon her physical appeal and her vulnerability. Her selection as an Atomic Kitten, her first marriage, her selection as "Queen of the Jungle" all suggest a person who was propelled more by her ability to exploit the moment rather than live in the moment.

It is curious that Ms. Katona found it more important to relate the details of an "over the top" wedding to her first husband than it was to provide the reader more insights into her depression, drug/alcohol use and diagnosis of bipolar disorder. It is not until the pentultimate chapter that she discusses these things and her stay at Cottonwood.

The author has failed to connect some of the dots, as is evidenced in her closing chapter. I wish Ms. Katona well and I sincerely hope that she finds the peace and happiness she has sought. I am not convinced, based upon her own words, that she has exorcised all her demons.

A lesson to us all
I can't say I've taken much notice of Kerry but she kept popping up on TV in those Iceland adverts so I bought this book!
What a good read and and insight into this young woman's life. From very humble beginnings, she shares her thoughts and changing circumstances as she climbed the ladder of success within the pop world whilst being 'first and foremost a Mum - no wonder Iceland used her in their adverts. A lesson to all of those youngsters who attemp to enter the pop world.
The book is full of pathos and I wished she was my daughter. I admire the way she can smile in the face of adversity. Kerry took the knocks but always got back up again smiling and this makes it a sad but enjoyable read. Good on ya girl.

Too much, too young - a bit too fast!
Before I read this book, I admired Kerry and I wanted to know more about her - she'd experienced some crazy situations before she'd even hit her twenties, usually courtesy of her unstable mother. It was impossible not to find yourself cheering young Kerry on as she battled through desertion, the foster care system, her mother's fragile mental state, and as she finally hit the big time, it restored your faith in karma to know that she'd finally been given the means to reap some rewards from all the years when she had nothing.

I did feel that as soon as we reached the part of the book when Atomic Kitten hit the big time, Kerry had been given a word limit. Whole weeks and months were skipped, and we lurched from one page on "Wow, I'm in a top ten pop band" to the next where she suddenly announced "And then I'd had enough". All the detail disappeared from her story. The next part of the book flew by in a blur - the breakdown of her fairytale marriage, stints in rehab, the "I'm A Celebrity" jungle adventure and the story of her new husband shot by, when these are the things I most wanted to know about.

Kerry comes out of the story as someone who's been fighting for so long that she's in need of a well deserved sit down. She's been wronged by people who should have been there for her, savaged by the press, and still manages to come out with the happy-go-lucky attitude we know her for. The brief "And finally" at the end of the updated version is a bittersweet conclusion, so I'm hopeful that there's another, more detailed book in the pipeline to fill in the gaps on the transition from pop star to Mum Of The Year in the same detail that she gave to her early life.