Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston | Gerrick Kennedy

Foreword by Brandy

How did the greatest voice of a generation become a casualty of relentless media scrutiny and fame? Gerrick Kennedy investigates in his powerful tribute.

About the Book:

Didn’t We Almost Have It All is a candid exploration of the genius, shame, and celebrity of Whitney Houston.

Named a Best Book of The Year... So Far by The New Yorker | Named a Best Book of The Month by the Washington Post

On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found submerged in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Since then, the world has mourned her death amid new revelations about her relationship to her Blackness, her sexuality, and her addictions.

Didn’t We Almost Have It All is award-winning journalist Gerrick Kennedy’s exploration of the duality of Whitney’s life as both a woman in the spotlight and someone who often had to hide who she was.

This is the story of Whitney’s life—her whole life—told with both grace and honesty.

Long before that fateful day in 2012, Whitney split the worldwide open with her voice. Hers was a once-in-a-generation talent forged in Newark, New Jersey, and blessed with the grace of the church and the wisdom of a long lineage of famous gospel singers.

She redefined The Star-Spangled Banner.

She became a box-office powerhouse, a queen of the pop charts, and an international superstar.

But all the while, she was forced to rein in who she was amid constant accusations that her music wasn’t Black enough, original enough, honest enough.

Kennedy deftly peels back the layers of Whitney’s complex story to get to the truth at the core of what drove her, what inspired her, and what haunted her.

He pulls the narrative apart into the key elements that informed her life—growing up in the famed Drinkard family; the two romantic relationships that shaped the entirety of her adult life: Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown; her fraught relationship to her own Blackness and the ways in which she was judged by the Black community; her drug and alcohol addiction; and, finally, the shame that she carried in her heart, which informed every facet of her life.

Drawing on hundreds of sources, Kennedy takes readers back to a world in which someone like Whitney simply could not be, and explains in excruciating detail the ways in which her fame did not and could not protect her.

In the time since her passing, the world and the way we view celebrity have changed dramatically.

A sweeping look at Whitney’s life, Didn’t We Almost Have It All contextualizes her struggles against the backdrop of tabloid culture, audience consumption, mental health stigmas, and racial divisions in America. It explores exactly how and why we lost a beloved icon far too soon.

Frequently Asked Questions About Didn't We Almost Have It All:

• Q: Is this a traditional chronological biography or a celebrity tell-all gossip book?
  A: Neither. This book is a deeply empathetic work of cultural criticism and musical defense. Rather than digging up recycled tabloid rumors or private tragedy, the narrative re-examines Whitney Houston’s monumental musical legacy and the structural pressures she faced from the media and the public.
• Q: What unique credentials and background does the author bring to this text?
  A: The book is written by Gerrick Kennedy, an award-winning cultural journalist and the former lead music writer for the Los Angeles Times. His professional background reporting on the entertainment industry allows him to break down the mechanics of the music business with immense expert authority.
• Q: What major societal and cultural themes are analyzed through her life story?
  A: The book acts as a powerful lens for examining complex social dynamics. Kennedy explores the intersection of race, sexuality, the burden of being a crossover pop icon, the cruel nature of late-20th-century tabloid journalism, and the double standards the American public places on Black women in media.
• Q: Does the narrative explore her relationships with her family and Bobby Brown?
  A: Yes, but it approaches them with a completely fresh, compassionate perspective. Instead of assigning lazy blame, the author provides deep context on how her relationships were warped by constant public scrutiny and explains how the media unfairly weaponized her personal life to overshadow her vocal genius.
• Q: Who is the ideal target audience for this reading?
  A: It is a vital read for die-hard Whitney Houston fans, pop culture historians, music critics, and anyone interested in modern Black feminist studies. It functions exceptionally well as a foundational text for understanding how modern celebrity culture treats and dissects its most brilliant artists.

About the Author:

Gerrick Kennedy: Journalist

Gerrick Kennedy is an award-winning journalist, cultural critic, and author based in Los Angeles. Kennedy is the author of Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap. His writing has appeared in GQ, WSJ. Magazine, NPR Music, Spin, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Shondaland, Cultured Magazine, Men’s Health, and the Los Angeles Times.

Bibliographic Data:

• Full Title: Didn't We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston
• Author(s): Gerrick Kennedy
• Publisher & Imprint: Abrams Press (An imprint of ABRAMS)
• Publication Date: February 1, 2022
• Binding Format: Hardcover (First Edition)
• Condition: Pre-Owned / Very Good
• Edition: 1
• Print Length: 256 Pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 9781419749698
• ISBN-10: 1419749690
• Library of Congress (LCCN): 2021021461
• Primary Genre (BISAC): BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Music
• Sub-Genres (BISAC): BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / African American & Black; MUSIC / History & Criticism; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Popular Culture
• Dimensions: 6.0 x 1.0 x 9.0 inches
• Weight: 16.0 oz (approx. 1.0 lb)

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