Mariah Carey’s authorized autobiography with co-author Micheala Anegla Davis, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” provides readers new insights about Carey’s upbringing while simultaneously humanizing her.

In 368 pages, Carey covers her struggles growing up in a divorced household with interracial parents.

Carey writes, “I was given two polar opposite professional opinions about my lips as a girl: they were too full for a white beauty standard and not full enough for a Black one.” 

A recurring problem throughout the book is that the timeline can get confusing; at some points Carey talks about childhood and then she’ll switch to her life living in New York as a singer. 

In the chapter “Precious,” Carey writes about her life toward the end of 2009 and then in the following chapter, “Divas” she jumps back to singing with Aretha Franklin in 1998. 

Carey shows her relatability to readers when talking about her current on-and-off relationship with her dysfunctional family including her “ex” brother and “ex” sister, as she refers to them.

Throughout the novel Carey also covers her previous relationships, including an abusive relationship with ex-husband Tommy Motola and Mexican singer Luis Minguel, whom she refers to as “The Latin Elvis.”

One thing readers will find lacking is the absence of storytelling for some of the more infamous sides of the singer. Carey completely avoided discussing any of her time with ex-boyfriend Eminem, as well as the song she allegedly wrote about him ”Obsessed,” which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 100. 

Carey also avoids writing about her time on the TV show “American Idol,” as well as her infamous New Years Eve performance in 2016 where she stopped singing during her three song set. 

Carey does comment about her appreciation for her fans as well as the lasting effect her music has had.

“Yes, thank you to the fans who have loved my little Christmas love song so deeply—so much so that it held the number-one spot on the charts for three weeks, making it the last number-one song of 2019 and the first number-one song of 2020…” she writes.

Overall this book is a must read for any fan of Carey’s—“lambs” as she calls them— or any fan of pop music. 

Right now you can purchase “The Meaning of Mariah” in paperback for $17.24 on Amazon or get it on Audible for one credit with the added benefit of Mariah Angela Carey herself as the narrator.