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Amy Winehouse’s music inspired a journalist to leave finance for journalism
In 2006, while driving to a job she hated, the writer heard Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” and recognised how unhappy and isolated she had become. The song and Winehouse’s candid music helped her imagine a different future, prompting her to study journalism, reconnect with friends and address inappropriate behaviour at work.
The writer was two years out of university and working early shifts in a cold, windowless Docklands office monitoring stock exchanges, while a male colleague sent unwanted comments about her clothes. She used her wages to take journalism classes and began night shifts at newspapers alongside her day job, eventually leaving finance to become a journalist. Nearly 20 years into that career, she has written a book about how female singer-songwriters, including Winehouse, have helped people through heartbreak.
In short
- “Rehab” helped the writer recognise how unhappy she was.
- She studied journalism while working two jobs.
- She later left finance for a journalism career.
Explained simply
Amy Winehouse was a British singer-songwriter whose candid lyrics often dealt with difficult experiences and relationships. Her 2006 song “Rehab” became widely known for its account of resisting pressure to seek treatment.
The writer was working in finance after university, in a job where she felt unhappy and faced unwanted comments from a male colleague. She later trained in journalism while working shifts at newspapers, and went on to build a career writing about music and other subjects.
The story connects Winehouse’s influence with the role songs can play in helping listeners make sense of their own lives. The writer’s book looks more broadly at how female singer-songwriters have accompanied people through heartbreak.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Guardian as “Amy Winehouse inspired me to quit a soul-crushing job”.