Amy Winehousewas a rare gem. Ahead of what would have been the singer’s 40th birthday, her family — father Mitch, mother Janis and brother, Alex — arewilling to share pieces of their beloved Amywith the fans who love and miss her, in a new book coming out on Aug. 29.Amy Winehouse: In Her Wordswill showcase the beloved singer’s personal to-do lists, poems she wrote to loved ones, as well as pictures from her childhood.Ahead of the book’s release, her family shared some of the featured images exclusively with PEOPLE. See the rare photos below.
Amy Winehousewas a rare gem. Ahead of what would have been the singer’s 40th birthday, her family — father Mitch, mother Janis and brother, Alex — arewilling to share pieces of their beloved Amywith the fans who love and miss her, in a new book coming out on Aug. 29.
Amy Winehouse: In Her Wordswill showcase the beloved singer’s personal to-do lists, poems she wrote to loved ones, as well as pictures from her childhood.
Ahead of the book’s release, her family shared some of the featured images exclusively with PEOPLE. See the rare photos below.
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Amy Winehouse’s Early Years
Amy Winehouse with her mother, Janis Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
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Long before she was making the world smile with her rousing hits, Amy was bringing joy and cheer to her family. “We always wanted the world to know the real Amy, where she came from and what made her tick,” her father, Mitch Winehouse, told PEOPLE.
03of 22Winehouse Family Beach DayAmy Winehouse with her father Mitch and older brother, Alex.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse“In all aspects she was just a normal Jewish kid from North London, who did normal kid things, went to drama class, loved her grandma, her mum and dad, loved her brother," Mitch said.
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Winehouse Family Beach Day
Amy Winehouse with her father Mitch and older brother, Alex.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
“In all aspects she was just a normal Jewish kid from North London, who did normal kid things, went to drama class, loved her grandma, her mum and dad, loved her brother," Mitch said.
04of 22Amy Winehouse’s JournalsAmy Winehouse Journal Entry.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseThe collection of never-before-seen photos, journal entries and handwritten letters and poems, will be published on Aug. 29, days before what would have been her 40th birthday.
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Amy Winehouse’s Journals
Amy Winehouse Journal Entry.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
The collection of never-before-seen photos, journal entries and handwritten letters and poems, will be published on Aug. 29, days before what would have been her 40th birthday.
05of 22Amy Winehouse Playing AroundAmy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseIt looks like Amy cultivated her playful attitude at a young age, as she’s pictured here seemingly playing hide and seek in a clothing hamper.
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Amy Winehouse Playing Around
Amy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
It looks like Amy cultivated her playful attitude at a young age, as she’s pictured here seemingly playing hide and seek in a clothing hamper.
06of 22Amy Winehouse’s Grade School DaysAmy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseThe cheerful tot is captured smiling while on a playground slide in her early grade school era.
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Amy Winehouse’s Grade School Days
The cheerful tot is captured smiling while on a playground slide in her early grade school era.
07of 22Amy Enjoys the PoolAmy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseThe rosy-cheek tot is photographed relaxing in a pool on what seems to be a hot summer day.
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Amy Enjoys the Pool
The rosy-cheek tot is photographed relaxing in a pool on what seems to be a hot summer day.
08of 22Say Cheese!Amy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseThe future hitmaker shows off her full-bodied curls and wide smile in this sunny pic.
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Say Cheese!
The future hitmaker shows off her full-bodied curls and wide smile in this sunny pic.
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Picture of Amy and her older brother Alex Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse and her brother, Alex, look photoshoot-ready while posing for the camera in their school uniforms.
10of 22Hugs from Big BroAmy and Alex Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseNever one to follow the rules, Amy looks off-camera as her brother poses for the lens.
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Hugs from Big Bro
Amy and Alex Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
Never one to follow the rules, Amy looks off-camera as her brother poses for the lens.
11of 22Amy Winehouse in High SchoolAmy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse"From the outset, we realized that school was probably never going to fulfill Amy. ‘I’m bored,’ was a phrase she often repeated," her parents said in an excerpt of the foreword given exclusively to PEOPLE. “Teachers told us she was bright and capable, yet there was always a ‘but’. But … she couldn’t sit still, or she couldn’t concentrate, or she misbehaved in class.”
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Amy Winehouse in High School
“From the outset, we realized that school was probably never going to fulfill Amy. ‘I’m bored,’ was a phrase she often repeated,” her parents said in an excerpt of the foreword given exclusively to PEOPLE. “Teachers told us she was bright and capable, yet there was always a ‘but’. But … she couldn’t sit still, or she couldn’t concentrate, or she misbehaved in class.”
12of 22Amy and Her FamilyAmy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse"She was a loyal, generous friend. She’d help anybody… Just a wonderful human being who saw the best in everybody,” her parents describe their daughter.
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Amy and Her Family
“She was a loyal, generous friend. She’d help anybody… Just a wonderful human being who saw the best in everybody,” her parents describe their daughter.
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The Teenage Years
“Amy devoured films, musicals, novels and poetry, or took inspiration from our family life in North London or the twists and turns of her many friendships,” her parents said of their late daughter in the foreword.
14of 22Amy Winehouse’s List of AmbitionsAmy Winehouse’s list of ambitions.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseA meticulous planner, Amy’s family knew her to make lists for everything, “what she wanted to buy for her room or, perhaps more accurately, what we or her grandparents were going to buy for her,” her parents wrote. “She listed every item, the shop where it could be bought from and its cost, all neatly totaled up at the end.“Above, is one of her famous lists, carefully plotting all the things she wanted to do once she found fame.
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Amy Winehouse’s List of Ambitions
Amy Winehouse’s list of ambitions.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
A meticulous planner, Amy’s family knew her to make lists for everything, “what she wanted to buy for her room or, perhaps more accurately, what we or her grandparents were going to buy for her,” her parents wrote. “She listed every item, the shop where it could be bought from and its cost, all neatly totaled up at the end.”
Above, is one of her famous lists, carefully plotting all the things she wanted to do once she found fame.
15of 22Amy Goofing Around with Her DadAmy Winehouse and with her dad.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseIn this silly flick, the father-daughter duo joke about Mitch managing Amy.
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Amy Goofing Around with Her Dad
Amy Winehouse and with her dad.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
In this silly flick, the father-daughter duo joke about Mitch managing Amy.
16of 22’To My Darling Mother Janis’Amy Winehouse poem for her mom.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseIn the book, Janis shares this sweet poem Amy wrote her. “Mum, you are the best/ A mechanical genius too/ You fix people’s bikes/ And I love u,'” the sweet poem begins.She goes on to write, " You saved my life/Oh, thanks so much/You’ll always have/That special touch” and concludes, “I bet that dad/Is lucky to/Have someone/As special as you.”
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‘To My Darling Mother Janis’
Amy Winehouse poem for her mom.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
In the book, Janis shares this sweet poem Amy wrote her. “Mum, you are the best/ A mechanical genius too/ You fix people’s bikes/ And I love u,'” the sweet poem begins.
She goes on to write, " You saved my life/Oh, thanks so much/You’ll always have/That special touch” and concludes, “I bet that dad/Is lucky to/Have someone/As special as you.”
17of 22Amy Winehouse Self-ReflectsAmy Winehouse journal entry.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseIn a journal entry titled, “Good Words to Describe Me,” Amy jots down all the adjectives she believed captured her best. “Imaginative,” " “melodramatic,” and loud are some words that made the list.
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Amy Winehouse Self-Reflects
Amy Winehouse journal entry.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
In a journal entry titled, “Good Words to Describe Me,” Amy jots down all the adjectives she believed captured her best. “Imaginative,” " “melodramatic,” and loud are some words that made the list.
18of 22Amy Winehouse in Happier TimesAmy Winehouse at Jazz Cafe.John Alex Maguire/ShutterstockThe bright star is photographed while on stage at the Jazz Cafe in London on Jan. 27, 2004.
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Amy Winehouse in Happier Times
Amy Winehouse at Jazz Cafe.John Alex Maguire/Shutterstock
John Alex Maguire/Shutterstock
The bright star is photographed while on stage at the Jazz Cafe in London on Jan. 27, 2004.
19of 22Amy Winehouse, Star PerformerAmy applying her makeup.Bryan Adams/Camera Press LondonWith her signature beehive hair pouf in place, Amy applies her iconic, thick cat eye.
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Amy Winehouse, Star Performer
Amy applying her makeup.Bryan Adams/Camera Press London
Bryan Adams/Camera Press London
With her signature beehive hair pouf in place, Amy applies her iconic, thick cat eye.
20of 22Amy Winehouse’s ‘Frankie’ poemAmy Winehouse.Courtesy Estate of Amy WinehouseDated Sept. 7, 2001, this seems to be an ode to a person named Frankie. Amy famously titled her debuted albumFrankafterFrank Sinatra, who was a lifelong inspiration.“Whenever she got chastised at school, she would always sing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ — before she went up to the headmistress to be told off, she’d be singing the song because it cheered her up. It was a very special song for her,” he father told Digital Spy, perFar Out Magazine.It’s unclear whether the Frankie in this poem is Frank Sinatra, however.
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Amy Winehouse’s ‘Frankie’ poem
Dated Sept. 7, 2001, this seems to be an ode to a person named Frankie. Amy famously titled her debuted albumFrankafterFrank Sinatra, who was a lifelong inspiration.
“Whenever she got chastised at school, she would always sing ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ — before she went up to the headmistress to be told off, she’d be singing the song because it cheered her up. It was a very special song for her,” he father told Digital Spy, perFar Out Magazine.
It’s unclear whether the Frankie in this poem is Frank Sinatra, however.
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Amy Winehouse’s Goals for 1996
Amy Winehouse List.Courtesy Estate of Amy Winehouse
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‘Amy Winehouse: In Her Words’ Book Cover
“Amy Winehouse: In Her Words” Book Cover.Courtesy of HarperCollins
Courtesy of HarperCollins
Royalties from the book will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, the charity her family created 12 years ago on her birthday, Sept. 14, weeks after she died of accidental alcohol poisoning. With projects in the U.S., U.K. and the Caribbean, it aims to educate young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and to support the recovery of those who struggle with substance abuse.
Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
source: people.com
