Born Eilleen Regina Edwards, she grew up in Ontario with a violent alcoholic stepfather who was frequently unemployed. She claims that around a third of her family members committed suicide. Others died from drinking too much or at the hands of neglected parents. She once witnessed her stepfather knock her mother unconscious and shove her head in a toilet. On another occasion she saw her mother break a chair over his back. As a child she used to sneak into the bedrooms of everyone else in the house to make sure they were still breathing. She also alleges that her stepfather abused her, emotionally, physically, and, beginning at age 10, sexually. The last of these is something that she has never discussed in public before the recent interview, but she feels comfortable speaking about it now because, she says, “It’s important that people understand you can survive these things.”

Last summer it was considered major news that the creators of Stranger Things shouted at members of the crew, some of whom happened to be women, on the set of their hit television show. Only a few months later the bestselling female artist in musical history admits that she was raped by her stepfather and it hasn’t made a single headline. Instead she is forced to draft robotic-sounding pseudo-apologies (“My path will always be one of inclusivity”). Is the fact that Twain holds a meaningless political position really more important than the story of how she was able to overcome a horrific childhood, the pitfalls of success, a nearly career-ending health crisis (she was diagnosed with Lyme disease some years back), and continue to make music that ordinary people care about, all while continuing to be a mother?