Published in 2017
256 pages
Tionne Watkins, better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer, songwriter, model, dancer, actress, author, and executive producer. Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as the lead singer of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC. Watkins went public with her struggle with sickle cell anemia in 1996 and later became one of the spokespersons for Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.
What is this book about?
Hailed by Rolling Stone as “the most effervescent and soulful girl group anyone has seen since the Supremes,” five-time Grammy Award winning supergroup TLC has seen phenomenal fame and success. But backstage, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins has lived a dual life. In addition to the balancing act of juggling an all-consuming music career and her family, Tionne has struggled with sickle-cell anemia since she was a young girl–a debilitating and incurable disease that can render her unable to perform, walk, or even breathe.
A Sick Life chronicles Tionne’s journey from a childhood spent in and out of the hospital in Des Moines, Iowa, and was told she wouldn’t live to see 30 to the superstar musician who is still living out her life’s dream of performing. For the first time, Tionne will tell her full life story–the diagnosis, the tumultuous rise to fame, the life in the spotlight, and the hard-fought advocacy work. Through Tionne’s tough, funny, tell-it-like-it-is voice, you’ll see how the extraordinary singer and advocate found the inner strength, grit, and determination to live her dream–despite her often unpredictable and demanding health issues. She dives deep into never-before-told TLC stories, including accounts of her friendship with Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopez and the tragedy of her death. Tionne’s unvarnished discussion of her disease, unending strength, and ability to power through the odds is a story like no other.
