Mariah Carey. Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage
Mariah Carey used her memoir as a way to shine a light on her mother, Patricia Carey, years before her death.
When The Meaning of Mariah Carey was released in September 2020, the “Obsessed” singer addressed the complicated relationship she had with her mom in the opening dedication.
″And to Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could,” Mariah, 55, wrote. “I will love you the best I can, always.”
On Monday, August 26, the Grammy winner announced that she was grieving the deaths of both her mother and her sister Alison Carey after they died on the same day.
“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend,” Mariah said in a statement to People. “Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day. I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”
The singer did not provide any additional details. A cause of death has not been announced for either woman. Patricia was 87 while Alison was 63.
In her memoir, Mariah further discussed how much she respected her mom as a Juilliard-trained opera singer-turned-vocal coach. At the same time, the “We Belong Together” singer felt an unhealthy desire to make Patricia proud.
″I loved her deeply, and, like most kids, I wanted her to be a safe place for me,” she wrote. ″But ours is a story of betrayal and beauty. Of love and abandonment. Of sacrifice and survival. I’ve emancipated myself from bondage several times, but there is a cloud of sadness that I suspect will always hang over me, not simply because of my mother but because of our complicated journey together.”
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At one point in the book, Mariah thanked her mother for the exposure, encouragement and ″lifelong lessons″ she provided as her musical dreams became a reality.
At the same time, she learned to create some space from her mother as they developed a relationship she described as “a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment.”
“I have reserved some room in my heart and life to hold her — but with boundaries,” Mariah wrote in her book. “Creating boundaries with the woman who gave birth to me is not easy — it is a work in progress.”