Toxic? Britney tells of troubles in new memoir

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears, the dewy-eyed child star who became a global pop phenomenon and then melted down in full view of the world, tells her story with the release of her already bestselling memoir.

"The Woman In Me" is the pop princess in her own, unvarnished words, shot through with the anguish of a family she believes has failed her at every step of the way, in an industry that mercilessly devours its talent.

From sharing daiquiris with her mother as a young teenager -- two years after she became a regular on "The Mickey Mouse Club" -- to the 13 years she spent as an adult in a conservatorship, the memoir details how she struggled to escape the influence of her controlling father.

The book, whose pre-orders catapulted it to the top of the Amazon best-seller list, was produced too early to include that coda with husband Sam Asghari.

But readers will still have plenty to chew on.

Tidbits that have leaked ahead of publication include news of an abortion Spears says fellow Mickey Mouse Club alum Justin Timberlake urged her to have after she became pregnant while the couple was together.

When the pair split, and his hit "Cry Me A River" appeared to be about the way he felt she had betrayed him, Spears was painted as the "harlot who'd broken the heart of America's golden boy," she writes.

Readers have also learned of a brief but intense affair with Irish actor and Oscar nominee Colin Farrell, what she calls "a two-week brawl."

"Brawl is the only word for it -- we were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight."

The noughties brought fame and notoriety to Spears in equal measure, with a passionate fan base eager for every last scrap of news about her.