Mariah Carey says writing "saved" her as she used poetry and music as an escape. The 52-year-old star has penned new children's book 'The Christmas Princess' about a 12-year-old girl called Mariah who is rescued by her music, and she has noted some parallels with her own life.
The 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' hitmaker explained while the story is "a fairy tale", there are some similarities. As well as the character's "shack", her mum is called Diva, while Mariah's actual mother Patricia was an opera singer.
The age of the protagonist is also relevant, as the singer told PEOPLE magazine: "That's the age when I learned I was definitely 'other. ' " She added: "It would've been great to actually be a chameleon, but I didn't have the tools for it.
Meaning we didn't have money. " Instead, Mariah turned to poetry and music as an excape, with her childhood inspiring the lyrics for tracks like 1997's 'Outside'.
Read more on msn.com