Customer Reviews

The Woman I Was Born to Be: My Story

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On April 1st, 2009 Susan Boyle spent a lonely birthday in her West Lothian home in Scotland. There were no cards, no presents, no parties, no phone calls with people singing happy birthday. Nope, for Susan, it really wasn't a "birthday" but just any other ordinary day.

On April 1, 2010 Susan Boyle was known around the world!! She had become an overnight sensation singing with the voice of an angel. The range, the pitch and notes this woman can hit literally leave you quaking in your boots. You are literally awed, stuptified, your mouth won't move and all you can do is cry tears that come from the very innermost, deepest parts of your soul. Wow! What a difference a year can make!!!!

Susan's autobiography is HER story and she tells it well. People are so quick to judge others who are not like themselves but I'm here to tell you, this woman is one smart cookie, a heck of a lot smarter than many folks would have given her credit for. Her story is touching, happy, sad and will make you laugh, shake your head, cry, want to jump up and down and might even propel you to try the 'Susan wiggle', it worked for me! LOL

The quilt pictured in the book..."I" was one of those quilters and my "Angel" square is in the top RIGHT corner looking at the photo and I couldn't be prouder as I like to consider myself Susan's number one fan in Canada!!!

Susan, congratulations on your book and a story well told. You deserve all the riches and blessings this world has to give you.

Like many others, since Susan catapulted into public view around the world, I have been interested in her circumstances, her strong drive, and wonderful musical gift, and her eagerness to share. the book, very easy to read, is a reliable companion to her CDs. By reading her story from her perspective, he music becomes all the more meaningful. by the time you have read it, you feel as if you've been visiting with a good neighbour who is willing to share what life is like from her side of the fence.

Susan Boyle's book, The Woman I Was Born To Be, reads like Susan is in your living room talking with you. It is personal, funny, wise, brave and honest. You're taken first into her childhood world, the world of a large Catholic family in a small, poor Scottish village, but you end up on a huge stage with an 80 piece orchestra, in front of 10,000 people in Tokyo, Japan - the journey is heart-warming and heart-breaking - and not to be missed.

The press who fawned over her and then turned on her. The family who struggled to adapt to the changes. The fears Susan faced and still faces today............

Susan's determination to turn 'disability' into 'ability' keeps her going, along with her Faith in God, her family, and the people who help her most along the way. You'll meet them all - but the person you'll never forget - is Susan Boyle.

Highly recommended - a Must Read.

THE WOMAN I WAS BORN TO BE reviewed by CanadianBill

On April 1, 2009, Susan Boyle's 48th birthday came and went without notice. Susan had no money, there was no party, no cards, no anything. It was just another day.

On April 1, 2010 Susan Boyle stood in the Famous Nippon Budokan in Tokyo Japan, in front of an 80 piece orchestra with which she had just sung several songs. She was wearing a diamond and gold bracelet, a gift from Simon Cowell and a beautiful gown designed especially for her. Susan stood there and listened as the 10,000 strong audience sang Happy Birthday while the orchestra played. In the audience were members from her fan site that had travelled from all over the globe just to hear her sing.

The difference a year makes! With humor, humility, wit and great honesty, Susan Boyle shares her incredible journey. The tears and the fears are there - but so too are the joys and the triumphs.

Reading Susan's story, one finally understands how her world was turned so upside down in one brief moment. Instant worldwide fame. The reader can't help but suffer with her as the press beseiges her unrelentingly and then turns on her at the most challenging time in her life - the week leading up to the BGT Final.

In the book, perhaps her former singing teacher and now long-time friend, Fred O'Neil says it best: "Susan Boyle is not an 'ordinary woman'. She is an extraordinary person who's got a different kind of voice and a different personality. She is not like any other person in the world."

I laughed out loud. And I wept. Courage is not being without fear. Courage is being afraid but going on anyway.

Susan Boyle's story is a story of courage.

Reading Susan Boyle's autobiography made me wish that I had been able to help defend her from all the pain she has had in her life; she seems to have this sort of effect on people. Here she describes her story from an early age when, as she says, she was bullied and unloved, and shows how she has developed into the beautiful, intelligent woman she now is, with special emphasis on the past year and a half. Susan tells how big a part music has played in her life and how she used her singing as a source of comfort in times of distress. Still fearful at times, still somewhat lacking in confidence, but nonetheless, growing stronger with each new challenge, Susan describes her new life and her love for her fans. And they are there in their thousands, supporting and loving her in return. Reading The Woman I Was Born To Be is like hearing the story in Susan's own voice; her sense of humour, her hearty laugh, her unique and glorious voice, her strong religious convictions, and her courageous quest for recognition are all there. This is a wonderful book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a story of struggle against adversity and a happy ending.

Susan's journey is frank, honest, warm, funny, heart-breaking, and triumphant, just like Susan herself. I could not put her book, "The Woman I Was Born To Be", down once I started reading. I felt just like Susan was in a chair next to me herself telling me this story. Her message to never give up on your dreams, your abilities, yourself, and that talent has no expiration date come shining through. Also her determination to never let bullies define you, and if you are bullied to tell someone and not let them get power over you. We have all followed along with Susan from that mind-blowing day of her audiition on BGT, her continued thriumphs throughout the world as she has become a much loved international superstar, yet has remained true to herself and grounded in her roots an beliefs. Susan is one of a kind and what is good in a person. Susan is Susan. Thank God! We've never seen anyone like her, and will not see another in this lifetime. I loved the book and am sure I will reread it. Like Susan's singing, time stands still during this great read!

Susan's book was a joy to read. It is written with honesty, wit and humour. Her years of bullying are detailed and a must read for all young people going through this same thing today. Enjoy.The Woman I Was Born to Be: My Story

Susan Magdalane Boyle was born on 1 April 1961, the ninth child in her family. On 1 April 2009, she observed her 48th birthday quietly. On the 11th of April, her audition (recorded in August 2008) for `Britain's Got Talent' was shown on British television. Video of her audition, singing `I dreamed a Dream', was posted on YouTube, and Susan Boyle became known around the world. On 1 April 2010, she was singing with an eighty-piece orchestra at Japan's Budokan Arena.

This is Susan Boyle's story. The story of how a woman, blessed to be part of a loving family but bullied at school because she was different, found her own successful path in life. Susan's story is a very personal recounting of her life before, and after, April 2009. Susan Boyle has changed: fame has bought new challenges, and a new confidence. She has the most amazing and beautiful voice and I think it wonderful that she is sharing her voice with the world.

This is an interesting autobiography: Susan Boyle's career is still young and the balance of her life experience is in many ways quite unremarkable. Or is it? Susan struggled to find a place in a world where difference (especially if the label disability is applied) is a disadvantage.

If you've heard Susan Boyle sing, if you've wondered about where she came from and wanted to know more about the woman behind the voice from the woman who owns the voice, then you will enjoy this account. Susan herself said, about writing this book: `My story demonstrates that you shouldn't just look at the label, you should look at the whole person, emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually, and I hope that telling it will show that dreams are not impossible, if you've got courage and a willingness to go on no matter what the circumstances.'

I agree.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Good day - this was actually a good read! I was one of the many touched by Susan and her voice and story. I wasnt going to read the book however bought it 2nd hand and it was very good. Its an easy read and its heartwarming and from her heart. Enjoy!

A must read for all Susan Boyle fans. She tells it like it is in her own way. Excellent !!!