"A Sick Life: TLC 'n Me: Stories from On and Off the Stage", the new memoir from Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, was released on September 12 -- appropriately, right in the heart of Sickle Cell Awareness Month. More than a year in the making, this book details T-Boz's experiences of coping with sickle cell, while simultaneously making a living as a member of the highest-selling girl group.
In an exclusive interview with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, T-Boz revealed the significance of her memoir's title. "It's a strong word, 'a sick life,' 'cause I've had it all," she said. "I was told I would never live past 30; I would be disabled my whole life and never have kids." Obviously, she beat every odd stacked against her and then some: She's now 47 years old, she birthed a child at age 30, and she managed a hectic schedule and traveled the world as a member of TLC. Surmounting those obstacles didn't come without setbacks, however.
According to People magazine, which landed the rights to publish excerpts of the memoir in their latest issue, T-Boz told them that after giving birth to her daughter Chase, her body began to shut down and she was in a coma for three days. “Often, it’s hard to breathe or walk,” the magazine reports T-Boz wrote in her memoir. “Some days I wake up consumed by pain. It’s like knives stabbing me over and over again in my joints. Chase gave me a reason to keep pushing through.”
"A Sick Life" is on sale now, and you can even get a signed copy of the book by clicking here.
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T-Boz Releases New Memoir Just in Time for Sickle Cell Awareness Month
September 19, 2017 by AndreaCategory: Chronic Health Conditions in Children and Adults, Sickle Cell Disease Tags: A Sick Life memoir, sickle cell awareness month, T-Boz, TLC | Comments Off on T-Boz Releases New Memoir Just in Time for Sickle Cell Awareness Month
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T-Boz Does Not Hold Back on Her Call for Us All to Get Involved in Sickle Cell Awareness
July 3, 2017 by Andrea
Photo: Instagram/@therealtboz
After Prodigy's passing late last month, celebrities and fans alike flocked to social media to express condolences and shock at the news. Many people even inquired as to what sickle cell was and how someone got it -- another clear sign that this disease does not even come close to getting the attention and research support it needs.
One celeb, though -- T-Boz of the R&B girl group TLC -- sent off a series of tweets that were perhaps the most impactful, as they came from a place of true understanding and passion for awareness. A sickle cell warrior herself, T-Boz has had a few near-death experiences, which she shares in her upcoming book, "A Sick Life" (out in September, which is also Sickle Cell Awareness Month). Never one to keep quiet on the issue, T-Boz hosts annual fundraisers for sickle cell, speaks on it regularly in interviews, and writes about it in her books and poetry.
In the following tweets, she calls out the SCDAA for not doing enough and calls on the Black Lives Matter movement to do more in regard to sickle cell awareness. Read what she has to say, heed the call, and get involved in any way you can.I tweaked My Back 2Day so been later out 2Day!!! It Saddens me to hear about #Prodigy My ❤️& prayers go out to his family! I've been trying
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017My BEST to Raise Awareness & Find A Cure With not much Help from those like the SCDAA who should be utilizing artist like me with a platform
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017We have to be our own ADVOCATES Regardless of those who don't support have no compassion or understanding of this deadly disease
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017I HATE it takes the death of a celebrity to bring even more notice to something I talk about almost in every interview for 25years
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017#BLM THIS disease is PREDOMINATELY an African American Disease so Black Lives Have Mattered over more than just one topic or issue
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017WE NEED TO SUPPORT 1 ANOTHER OVER ALL compassion for people as HUMAN BEINGS not objects and lab rats but help to FIND A CURE SAVE OURSELVES
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017Lastly I will continue to spread the word I HOPE THIS WILL URGE MORE OF U TO HELP ME DO SO!!! I also opened up in my book about it for the
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 20171st time ever and this is one of the reasons why!!! People have NO IDEA HOW UGLY THIS DISEASE IS! Adults and children die allllll the time
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017But you NEVER hear about it! Doctors FONT UNDERSTAND THIS DISEASE THEY TREAT US LIKE CRAP IN THE ER AND HOSPITAL anyone can read a book and
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017Recite it bk but that doesn't mean u are KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT SICKLE CELL WAKE UP ITS A PROBLEM
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017With that being said I'll stop my rant but ITS SERIOUS and SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE FOR US SICKLERS WE NEED ALLLLLL THE HELP WE CAN FET
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017So much! This is WHY I started #TbozUnplugged to 1.Raise Awareness 2.Find a Cure a solution a something I'm fighting for myself as well as U
— Tionne T-Boz Watkins (@TheRealTBOZ) June 21, 2017Category: Sickle Cell Disease Tags: Prodigy, sickle cell awareness, T-Boz | Comments Off on T-Boz Does Not Hold Back on Her Call for Us All to Get Involved in Sickle Cell Awareness
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Celebrity Sickle Cell Warrior and Advocate T-Boz is Back at it Again with a Benefit Concert for SCD
December 19, 2016 by Andrea
Photo: tbozunplugged.com
Your love of '90s hip-hop and R&B is just as strong as your desire to give back, and now, you can combine the two for the ultimate Christmas gift: tickets to T-Boz's third annual Unplugged benefit concert. The legendary recording artist will be joined on stage by Da Brat and Naughty by Nature for a performance of throwback hits during Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.
Scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 at the Avalon Hollywood, this concert will raise funds for the MLK Sickle Cell Outreach Center of Los Angeles and for the Sickle Cell Support Group of Atlanta. The MLK Center just opened a sickle cell clinic this past summer to make up for the loss of treatment centers for adults, a loss which has caused the life expectancy of sickle cell warriors in L.A. to drop to just 40 years old. Donations to the Sickle Cell Support Group of Atlanta will help with continued community outreach, health care seminars, nutrition workshops, and more.
“I’m humbled to be in Los Angeles to continue to support Sickle Cell Disease awareness with some of my close friends and musical colleagues. This event is inspirational for me because I can openly share my experiences living my life with Sickle Cell Disease while I perform for my fans in a personal way,” T-Boz said in a recent press release. “I want to create awareness through T-Boz Unplugged, I want to educate people about the disease, help save lives and ultimately find a cure for Sickle Cell Disease.”
Get your tickets here, and as an added bonus, you can treat yourself to a meet-and-greet with T-Boz, herself!Category: Fundraising, Sickle Cell Disease Tags: Da Brat, Naughty by Nature, sickle cell benefit concert, T-Boz, TLC | Comments Off on Celebrity Sickle Cell Warrior and Advocate T-Boz is Back at it Again with a Benefit Concert for SCD
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TLC’s T-Boz Details Her Sickle Cell Journey in New Memoir
May 17, 2016 by Andrea
Photo: Instagram
Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins of TLC fame has never been quiet about her sickle cell warrior status. She addressed it back in 1999 in her first book, a collection of poems entitled "Thoughts"; she's discussed it in numerous interviews over the years; she held a benefit concert last December; she's the national celebrity spokesperson for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America; and now, she's prepping to pen a memoir that is set to be released in September of 2017 by Rodale Books.
Called "A Sick Life," this memoir will delve deeper into the singer's sickle cell journey and how it has impacted every aspect of her life, from her singing career to her relationships to motherhood and everywhere in between. Told by doctors that she'd never live past 30 (she's now 46) and that she'd never have children (she has a 16-year-old daughter), among other things they claimed she'd never be able to do, T-Boz has surmounted every obstacle and then some.
"I want to hopefully get stuff off my chest and inspire someone at the same time," she told People magazine in an exclusive interview last week. "There's a lot that people don't understand about sickle cell anemia. I want to really clear it up and hopefully give everyone a better understanding ... I haven't really talked about all the times I could have died, my ICU visits," she continued. "I was really a young girl who had a dream, who wanted to do something they told me I could never have."
Click here to read the full article.Category: Sickle Cell Disease, Sickle Cell Education Tags: A Sick Life, sickle cell, sickle cell awareness, T-Boz, T-Boz memoir, TLC | Comments Off on TLC’s T-Boz Details Her Sickle Cell Journey in New Memoir
