The Marmite Girl Says Goodbye (Jade: Fighting to the End - Jade Goody)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Jade: Fighting to the End - Jade Goody
Date:	21/04/09 (237 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting, entertaining, a good read

Disadvantages: Sad, poignant

Jade Goody died on Mothers' Day and by that time, she was so famous and popular, that Sky News televised her funeral live. I was one of the millions that watched it. Yet plenty of people (including my husband) can't understand her appeal.

I recently bought Jade's second autobiography - Fighting to the End - and found it an excellent read. To me, this book sums up both sides of Jade of her - the good side (her skills as a mother, her successful business ventures, her funny and bubbly personality) and her not so good side (her many gaffes, her idiosyncratic use of the English language, the Celebrity Big Brother debacle). But I believe the fact that we know both sides to her is one of the main reasons for her popularity.

When Jade was diagnosed with cervical cancer, she faced it in the public spotlight, just like the rest of her life had been, since she appeared in Big Brother in 2002. When she was told it was terminal, she married Jack Tweed, had herself and her sons christened, and planned her funeral. Whatever you think about Jade, she has increased awareness of cervical cancer immensely and should be applauded for that.

Her book, Fighting to the End, is a reworking of Catch a Falling Star, which came out in hardback in September 2008. The paperback version was released in March 2009 with a new title, new cover, new photographic section and some thirty odd pages before the book itself begins. We have a moving tribute from Lucie Cave, who was Jade's ghost-writer, and this section fills in the gaps from where the book itself leaves off.

I read Jade's first autobiography and enjoyed it, so I would have always read the second, but I hadn't got round to it by the time the paperback came out, so I bought that version. Of course, reading this after her death, it has a poignancy that can be quite upsetting. When she writes about things she would like to do in the future, you can't help but think how sad it is that her dreams could not be realised.

I liked Jade when she was in Big Brother all those years ago and I sort of followed what she did afterwards, but not as a great fan. There were several events I hadn't heard about before reading this book, so it was good to read her view of things. She writes about meeting Jack and the ups and downs of their relationship. (He still comes across as a waste of space!)

Jade never had it easy. Her childhood has been well-documented and we know her mum was part-paralysed in an accident and her dad died of a drug overdose, after many years in prison. But here, we discover that even after her initial fame, she had more than her fair share of hard times.

I watched the controversial Celebrity Big Brother with her and Shilpa Shetty. At the time, I disliked Jade for her outbursts as much as everyone else. But reading everything Jade went through afterwards, I do feel sorry for her. I don't feel Jade was racist (her father was mixed race, her best friend is black, etc.). It was ignorance and a volatile temper that caused Jade's attacks on Shilpa, not racism. Shilpa forgave her, the Indian people forgave her and everyone else should too.

It was fascinating reading Jade's version of events during and after Celebrity Big brother. The time she spent in The Priory being treated for depression was very interesting too.

She has had plenty of successes in her short life - three television series on Living, two books, two perfumes, appearances on reality television series, winning Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes - and she hoped going onto the Indian Big Brother - Big Boss - would be another one. She wanted to somehow make amends for what happened with Shilpa Shetty and it seemed to be going well, until she was told in the house that she did have cancer and needed to get home immediately.

In her last few months, Jade kept working and earned millions for her two sons, paying for their private education until they are eighteen. Jade was brighter than she seemed. She understood the benefits of giving her sons the best start in life and to her, education was the key. She may have thought East Anglia was abroad, but she wanted her sons to know better.

To me, Jade was a great mum and this comes across in her book too. All the way through, she puts her sons first. When she is ill with depression, she didn't see the boys until she was well again, so it wouldn't upset them. You can feel how much she loved and cared for them. It's a tragedy she couldn't see them grow up.

I would definitely recommend this book. At 280 pages long, I read it in just a few days and enjoyed it, as I felt it told me more about her and I could hear her voice coming through the words. There are four sections of colour photos too. With a cover price of £7.99 and currently only £3.86 at Amazon UK, even recession-hit Britain can spare a few pounds to read the words of this amazing woman. The royalties from it go to her sons too, of course.

Summary: A poignant look back at Jade's life