Sylvia Patterson Books

"Written with a searing honesty and published for the tenth anniversary of Amy Winehouse's death, My Amy is an evocative portrait of unbreakable lifelong friendship - and a devastating study into fame, addiction and self-sabotage. Only one person knows what really happened to Amy, other than Amy herself. He is Tyler James, Amy's best friend from the age of thirteen. They met at stage school as two insecure outsiders, formed an instant connection and lived together from their late teenage years right up until the day she died, aged just twenty-seven. Tyler was there by her side through it all. From their carefree early years touring together to the creation of the multiple Grammy-winning Back To Black, which she wrote on their kitchen floor. From her volatile marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil through her escalating addictions, self-harm and eating disorders as the toxic nature of fame warped Amy's reality. For the last three years of her life, Tyler was with her every day when she'd beaten drugs and was close to beating alcoholism too. He also knew better than anyone the real Amy Winehouse who the tabloid-reading public rarely saw - the hilarious, uncompromising force-of-nature busy taking care of everyone else. We all think we know what happened to Amy Winehouse, but we don't. This definitive insider's story tells us all, finally, the truth"--Publisher's description.

A second memoir from the Costa-shortlisted writer Sylvia Patterson, her story of illness, aging and getting through it all číst celé

This is a three-decade survivor's tale, a scenic search for elusive human happiness through music, magazines, silly jokes, and a cast of colorful characters. In 1986, Sylvia Patterson boarded a train to London with a tea-chest full of vinyl records and a dream to write about music forever. Escaping a troubled home, she embarks on a lifelong quest for meaning, often surrounded by flaky pop stars and unreliable hip-hop legends. As she encounters music's biggest names, she faces glamour and tragedy, wisdom and lunacy, alongside drink, drugs, and disaster. From Madonna's Earth Mother phase to Prince's compliments on her shoes, and Eminem's threats, her experiences are both hilarious and harrowing. She shares fruit with Johnny Cash, make-up with Amy Winehouse, and pints with Richey Edwards of the Manics. The narrative spans from the 80s to the present, featuring encounters with the Beckhams in LA, a Gallagher in her living room, and Shaun Ryder and Bez in Jamaica. This chronicle of the last thirty years in music is not just about the industry but also one woman's wayward search for love, peace, and a wonderful life, leaving readers to ponder whether she ultimately found them.