The publication of Britney Spears' memoir, The Woman in Me, is officially a week away. The book, which has been in the limelight for most of Spears' 41 years, includes anecdotes like the time she infamously shaved her head in 2007 during what People calls "a difficult period in her life."

At the time, Spears was going through a painful divorce from ex-boyfriend Kevin Federline and was "already a constant paparazzi target and gossip fixture," People writes.

"The head-shaving incident seemed to confirm the narrative that she had become an outlier.

As for what she was thinking at this moment, let Spears tell it herself in this excerpt from the book: "Spears writes. 'Ever since I was a teenager, I was looked up to, looked down upon, and told what I thought about my body. Shaving my head and acting out were my ways of fighting back"

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One night in 2007, Spears walked into Esther's Haircutting Studio in Tarzana, California, and asked to have her hair shaved. Esther Tognozzi, who owned the salon, refused Spears' request, so Spears picked up a pair of clippers and gave herself a buzz cut. A few days later, Spears was photographed attacking a photographer's car with an umbrella.

In 2008, Spears entered into a court-ordered conservatorship, with her father Jamie and her attorney managing her finances and personal life. Under conservatorship, she writes, "I was made to understand that those days were over." I had to grow my hair out and get back in shape. I had to grow my hair out and get back in shape.

In the end, her conservatorship lasted nearly 14 years, during which she was hopelessly unhappy. She wrote, "I did a little creative work here and there, but my heart just wasn't there anymore." 'As for my passion for singing and dancing, it was almost a joke at that point. Thirteen years passed, feeling like a shadow of myself. When I think about it now, it makes me sick that my father and his associates controlled my body and my money for so long. ...... Think how many male artists have gambled away all their money, how many have had substance abuse or mental health issues. No one tried to take away their control over their bodies and their money. I did not deserve what my family did to me."

In September 2021, Jamie had her conservatorship suspended after Spears petitioned a judge in open court to end the legal arrangement. Two months later, the conservatorship was finally removed. At that point, Spears tried to share her steps. 'For the past 15 years, or even at the beginning of my career, I held still while people talked about me and told my story for me,' she told People. 'After being released from conservatorship, I was finally free to tell my story without the influence of those who were in charge of my life. And my fans deserve to hear directly from me. There are no more conspiracies or lies. For my past, my present, and my future belong to me."