“The way we drank was nothing like how my father did it. When he drank, he grew more depressed and shut down,” Britney Spears writes in her memoir
J. Merritt/Getty Images; Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
For Britney Spears, bonding with her mother as a teenager involved an unconventional activity.
In an excerpt from her much-anticipated memoir The Woman in Me, shared exclusively with PEOPLE in this week’s cover, the pop star, 41, says that she and mom Lynne, 68, would drink daiquiris together as early as eighth grade.
“For fun, starting when I was in eighth grade, my mom and I would make the two-hour drive from Kentwood to Biloxi, Mississippi, and while we were there, we would drink daiquiris,” Spears writes. “We called our cocktails ‘toddies.’”Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Jamie Spears, Bryan Spears, Jamie-Lynn Spears, Britney Spears and Lynne Spears in 2003
Related: Britney Spears Opens Up: ‘Finally Free’ to Share Her Story in Bombshell Memoir & New Interview — ‘No More Lies’ (Exclusive)
The “Piece of Me” singer reflects fondly on her time spent imbibing with her mother — and notes that their experiences with alcohol were very different than those of her father Jamie’s.
“I loved that I was able to drink with my mom every now and then,” she writes. “The way we drank was nothing like how my father did it. When he drank, he grew more depressed and shut down. We became happier, more alive and adventurous.”
Spears says her adolescence, spent in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, following the end of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1994, were happy years, and that she was able to settle into “normal teenage life — or the closest thing to ‘normal’ that was possible in my family.”
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Britney Spears at the American Music Awards in 1998“There was something so beautifully normal about that period of my life: going to homecoming and prom, driving around our little town, going to the movies,” she writes. “But the truth was, I missed performing.”
The star — who was 16 when she released her debut single “…Baby One More Time” in 1998 — has long been vocal about the strains in her relationship with both Lynne and Jamie, and has said she feels she was mistreated by her parents during the 13 years she spent in a conservatorship that was put in place in 2008.
Though she’d spoken publicly about her unhappiness with Lynne’s alleged involvement in the now-terminated conservatorship, Spears and her mother appeared to make inroads toward reconciliation in May, when the pop star revealed that Lynne had paid her a visit and the two had begun to hash things out.
“My sweet mama showed up at my door step yesterday after 3 years … it’s been such a long time … with family there’s always things that need to be worked out … but time heals all wounds !!!” Spears wrote on Instagram. “After being able to communicate what I’ve held in for an extremely long time, I feel so blessed we were able to try to make things RIGHT !!! I love 💕 you so much !!! Psss… I’m so blessed we can have coffee together after 14 years !!! Let’s go shopping afterwards !!!”
Britney Spears’ The Woman in Me
Spears’ memoir — now available for pre-order — is set for release on Oct. 24 through Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
In an interview with PEOPLE done over email, the Grammy winner shares her hopes for the book, and says she wants it to inspire fans to “speak up. Be loud. Know your worth. Inspire people and most of all, just be kind.”
For more of the exclusive excerpt and interview with Britney Spears, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
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