I can remember the first time I ever heard the voice of Whitney Houston with such clarity. It was 1985 and “Saving All My Love For You” came on the radio. I can remember being blown away and yet envious of her voice. I knew from that first note that this was only the beginning of Whitney songs that I would enjoy throughout the years. Being very shy I never wanted to sing in front of anyone, but I have always loved singing. As a teen I would go in my room and sing along with “Saving All My Love For You” working hard to try and match Whitney’s voice range. I sing in a high soprano range and I found Whitney to be one of my early singing influences. I would sing along and dream of being a singer myself someday.

When I read this book not only did I read it from the perspective of being a fan, but I read it as a mother. The pride that Cissy had in hearing Whitney sing was very evident in the words of this book. It is easy to see how Cissy felt like her little girl had the voice of an angel. As people know Whitney was raised in the church and her singing roots range from Gospel to Soul and more. Cissy has been in the music business for many years and she was able to help Whitney train her natural given talent: her voice.

When it comes down to it I feel that Cissy was Whitney’s biggest fan. As a mother we all want our children to succeed and would give anything to take away the pain that happens in their life. Cissy was able to admit that while Whitney wasn’t perfect, she was her own person who had to account for the things that she did in her life.

This book lets you in to the life of Whitney from her childhood to stardom with the ups and downs until her passing. I won’t go into too many details about the book, but I recommend it to any Whitney fan. I will say that it is tragic that Whitney’s life was cut short, but regardless of what she did in her life that resulted in her early passing, her voice will always be legendary.
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It is hard to rate a book like this- a grieving mom retelling her memories of her now deceased child. First let me say that I was annoyed by the grammatical errors in the book.... I hate that writing and editing isn't taken more seriously nowadays.

There were so many things that I did not know about Whitney Houston, but this book did not give a lot of insight into her per se. It was a book about Cissy Houston- about her willful ignorance about her daughter's drug use, about her choice to miss out on some of her daughter's most important performances, and about her lack of knowledge about how to deal with difficult situations. While I totally respect that Ms. Houston is a mom struggling to come to terms with her daughter's passing (I have seen my own mother do the same after my sister's death), I found myself shaking my head in disbelief that a mom would not intervene before it became so bad. Her excuses for not acknowledging the issues ("she told me not worry") are shameful, at best.

I am glad that she did not blab too much about what Bobbi Kristina experienced, but am shocked that nowhere in this book does she mention actively trying to protect Bobbi Kristina from any of them. And she says that she is angry with her brothers because they were not protecting their sister, but she doesn't protect her daughter. Cissy admits to her own "partying" habits (which I can only believe means substance abuse because she calls her kids' abuse "partying" as well), but she doesn't seem to make any effort to educate her children on the pitfalls of fame....

I know I should be reviewing the book and not her parenting style, but the book reads like a mission to convince the world that she was a good mother who just didn't know any better. The only problem is that she admits to be told numerous times about her daughter's walk on the dark side, and she chose to do nothing until she was in too deeply. ( )

I can't say I was all that big of a Whitney Houston fan. I appreciated that she had a great voice but her music wasn't really my thing and I was turned off by the way she embarrassed herself in the public eye in the later years (crack is wack!).I wanted to read this book because I was more interested in the mother trying to save her daughter perspective of the tragedy. Cissy Houston did not disappoint. The woman is the personification of class. There is no doubt that she loved her daughter but all of the mother's love in the world couldn't save Whitney from her own self admitted demon, herself.

The book starts out with Cissy recounting her own amazing music career and her relationship with Whitney's father, her husband John. Whitney, nicknamed Nippy was the longed for little girl that arrived after two brothers. When it became obvious that Whitney had the gift Cissy spent a lot of time installing a professional work ethic in her daughter before turning her over to a hand picked mentor Clive Davis. Although Cissy tried to do everything right unbeknown to her, Whitney's brother Michael was turning her on to the drugs that would become her downfall. Although Cissy disputes the fact that Bobbie Brown was the cause of Whitney's drug use in her book the fact that it was due to her own brother Michael is revealed in Cissy's interview with Oprah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZo0lCkfpuom The look on Cissy's face when Michael talks about introducing Whitney to drugs is truly heartbreaking. I think all of Cissy's kids broke her heart and now Whitney's daughter is following the same path.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raH8V78tti4

Through the years Cissy tried many times to talk to Whitney about her problems and even staged an intervention with the police. Whitney was an adult and her choices were her own. Whitney responded by cutting Cissy out of her life when she became ashamed of her actions. Cissy never stopped loving or praying for her daughter. She is one of those people whose own walk with God truly serves as a beacon to others. When Whitney met the sad conclusion to her life Cissy was broken but she never wavered in her faith. Cissy has never been stingy with her love or her ability to tell it like she sees it. If Whitney had listed to her mamma she would be alive today. Bobbie Kristina had better repair the rift with her grandmother before she meets the same fate as her mother.

This book was so well written. Cissy Houston's voice came through loud and clear. Although Cissy addresses all of the controversies and incidents through the years it is never done is a salacious or scandalous way. She just states what she thinks is right even though her opinions may have never been all that popular with her family members. I hope she keeps on giving her opinion. Everyone in her family would be a lot better off if they just followed her advice. Cissy Houston is a classy lady who exudes Christian love. I hope she can find the peace she deserves in her final years. ( )