A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston

I was unsure whether to read Robyn's memoirs, torn between wanting to learn about the 'what could have been' for Whitney and respecting the late singer's obvious need to keep that part of her life private. Now I'm glad I couldn't resist, and for any other readers with the same doubts, Robyn is nothing but respectful. Sad, yes, regretful, but she says nothing about her friend that would shame her - and nothing can harm Whitney now anyway.

In the foreword, Robyn explains that she wants to honour Whitney's memory and set the record straight, and she does so admirably. I have nothing but respect for both women, but more so for Robyn, who suffered so much loss and heartache - both her brother and her mother died of AIDS - before finding love show more and family with her partner Lisa. For Whitney, I just feel pity - with family and a husband like that, who needs enemies? I'm tempted to read Cissy Houston's book about her daughter, just to compare versions, but think I might throw up.

Robyn and Whitney met in their late teens, and soon became friends - and yes, like the song, they also turned into lovers. 'We were friends. We were lovers. We were everything to each other. We weren't falling in love. We just were. We were one: that's how it felt', she explains. Robyn was bisexual - 'From a young age, I loved beautiful people' - but Whitney just seemed to go with the flow, and ended their physical relationship before her career started to take off. I always wanted to believe that Whitney really did want to be with Robyn, and she would have been a damn sight happier than with Bobby Brown, but I think Whitney's religious upbringing probably brainwashed her into wanting a 'normal' relationship ('living that kind of life meant that we would go to hell'). Robyn remained Whitney's strongest ally, however, and also became her assistant/manager, which added fuel to the rumours going around the industry.

Robyn's account of Whitney's mother and brothers infuriated me far more than the hypocrisy of the American entertainment business, though. Not since reading Karen Carpenter's bio have I read about such an insufferable woman, putting her talented daughter down while living off her success. I have no doubt that Cissy Houston is a great singer, but WOW. No awards for parenting. Robyn related how Cissy once forced Whitney to go on stage with her drugged up brother, who was clearly high and hadn't rehearsed, just because she wanted him to have a slice of the action too ('Instead of setting an example, Cissy handed out a pass').

Robyn also sets the record straight about Whitney and drugs - Bobby didn't get her hooked, she had been taking cocaine since she was fourteen. She and Robyn did them together, although Robyn tried to get her to stop, but Bobby probably made her worse, isolating Whitney from the few people who wanted to help her. Whitney's story after meeting Bobby - 'There were so many forewarnings about her relationship with Bobby, but she chose to ignore them all' - is like a tragedy waiting to happen, a downward spiral, and of course that was Whitney's fate, in 2012.

I admire Whitney for her amazing voice and beauty, and her 'vulnerable but determined' attitude, but the poor woman really needed to scrape off all the hangers on in her life, from Cissy and Bobby on down. 'She deserved to have the freedom to do what she wanted with her life. That's all I ever wanted for her,' her friend concludes. Robyn, on the other hand, 'finally realised that [she] needed to save herself' and started afresh, beginning a new life story with Lisa and her two children. She's incredible, and I'm thankful that she opened up about her life with Whitney. show less

This was a good read. Interesting history of NJ/NY in the 90's. Great behind the scenes info about certain songs, collaborations, movies, etc. The author's voice is strong. Sad that she seems as bewildered as everyone else wrt the end of Whitney's life.

This was a very good read. I didn't know any of the back story of Whitney Houston and there was a lot to learn about. Sure, this is from Robyn Crawford's point of view, and some of the characters may not be happy with their portrayal, but I think it was pretty genuine and very touching.

This book is so heartbreaking. You can never really know what is going on in a person's life and what they go through. Whitney really did have a problem that no one was helping her with. It is sad that her life ended because really only 2 people in her life tried to help her get off drugs.

I've never really listened to Whitney Houston and haven't ever known anything about her but this book was pretty good.