Book Review

Title: From this Moment On

Author: Shania Twain

Publisher: Atria Books

Published: May 3 2011

Number of Pages: 409

ISBN: 978-1-4516-2074-0

Reviewed by: Tessa Perkins

In this detailed, personal memoir, Twain documents all her triumphs and tragedies from her poor, small town upbringing in Northern Ontario, to her sudden stardom and fame and her recent divorce and second marriage. With great insight into personal tragedy, loss, and coming to terms with the past, this autobiography was a joy to read and I could not put it down. While usually quite a private person, she writes in the introduction that she chose to write about her life for a couple of reasons: she wants her son, Eja, to have an accurate record of her life from her perspective, and she believes that her stories may help others who have gone through similar experiences.

Growing up in a rather dysfunctional family of seven composed of her mother Sharon, her stepfather Jerry Twain, her older sister Jill who’s biological father was engaged to Sharon and died tragically before their wedding, her younger sister Carrie who shares the same biological father as Shania, Mark who was Jerry’s only biological child, and Darryl who was adopted as an infant after his mother, Jerry’s sister, committed suicide. As you can see, this “Twain Gang” as they used to refer to themselves was quite a blend of five children from two mothers and four fathers, but despite all of this Jerry treated all of the children as his own and would not tolerate being called “stepdad.”

Shania has a lot of respect for her father - even though there was a great deal of domestic violence and he would beat her mother quite often. She attributes their violence and marital tension to their constant financial struggles that would cause them to move in order to flee bills they could not pay. By the time Shania graduated high school she had attended seventeen different schools. By the time Shania was fourteen, she’d had enough of the violence in her household, and decided to pack up the family and convince her mother that they would go to a women’s shelter in Toronto.

Her mother also suffered from bouts of extreme depression and left the children to fend for themselves much of the time. The one thing that did get her out of bed was her determination that her “little singer” would succeed one day. Shania describes how her mother would be on the phone all day trying to book her gigs anywhere that would have her - from retirement homes to strip bars.

Even though she was performing from a young age, Shania says that she struggled with extreme stage fright and her dream was never to be the centre of attention, but to write songs and maybe be a backup singer. After playing in many bars and small venues, she joined a rock band called Longshot as the lead singer, and after that toured with another band called Flirt. The sudden death of her parents when she was twenty-two brought her back to her hometown to take care of her three younger siblings and deal with her parents’ estate which was a gruelling process of reliving the tragic events and trying to decipher legal documents.

Her family friend and manager, Mary Bailey suggested that she take a job at the Deerhurst Resort in a nearby town of Huntsville, and although Shania was skeptical, she eventually took the job and moved her family there in order continue her singing career in some way and provide for them at the same time. Reading about how she overcame the loss of her parents and became a provider for her siblings while performing a Las Vegas style show that was completely different from anything she had ever done shows how resilient and resourceful this woman really is. While performing at Deerhurst, Shania was discovered by a talent scout from Nashville and landed her first recording deal.

I really enjoyed reading all about her childhood, what it was like living through the bitter cold of Northern Ontario, and working as a crew leader in her parents’ reforestation business. The descriptions of her move to Nashville, romance and collaboration with Mutt Lange, her adjustment to sudden fame, and various unwanted sexual advances are all also extremely interesting and insightful. For the first time, she also discusses the painful double betrayal of her ex-husband Mutt cheating on her with her friend and confidante Marie-Anne and her subsequent friendship with Marie-Anne’s ex-husband Frederic, and the way they fell in love.

Although fans of Shania may know a lot about her start as Eilleen Regina Edwards, her hardships growing up, and her marriage with Mutt, this book provides much more detail than ever before and in Shania’s own words. She is a truly remarkable person, and I’m glad she was able to find comfort in writing this book when she felt like her world was falling apart. For anyone looking to find inspiration and hope, or just some wise words and great stories, I think you will find it in this book. As Shania says “human suffering does not discriminate,” and although she has become rich and famous, she still had a lot to say about struggle, grief, and finding happiness that we can all relate to.                        

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