Memoirs of Mental Health: Joanna “JoJo” Levesque

I learned of Joanna “JoJo” Levesque in 2004 when her debut song, “Leave (Get Out)” blew up on the charts. I was eleven at the time, so seeing a twelve/thirteen-year-old make such a splash at damn-near the same age as me was inspiring.

I BEGGED to get JoJo’s debut album when it came out and, thanks to Grandma’s Kmart employee discount, I was successful! As I removed the plastic and popped the disk into my boom box, I couldn’t have known how that CD would save my life during those tumultuous middle school years.

I felt so seen by that line in “Keep On Keepin’ On” that I’d weep! Twenty years later, it still packs a punch*.

That said, I was a JoJo fan from the very beginning. I wore that CD OUT and was first in line to purchase her second album when it came out a few years later…

Then it felt like JoJo fell off the face of the earth.

Over the Influence: A Memoir takes readers behind the scenes of what happened before, during, and after those first influential albums.

Mental Health Themes Covered

• Addiction
  • Her parents met in AA and her father struggled with pills while her mother battled alcoholism.
  • JoJo dabbled in various substances as well, hence the book’s title.
• Sex
  • JoJo shares about being the target of and the perpetrator of coercive behavior.
    • Trigger warnings: sexual assault and date-rape
  • A cycle of infidelity
• Mental illness
  • Mom threatening suicide to manipulate her
  • Codependency
  • Panic attacks
  • Binge eating disorder
• Bullying, poverty, self-sabotage, and religious manipulation

Healing

Though this book is heavy, JoJo also shares about her victories:

• Breaking free from her oppressive record deal and going independent
• Starting therapy and psychiatry
• Writing this book to process it all.

Noteworthy Quotes

• “It wasn’t lost on me how far I’d pushed the limits of my own systems. Just like Dad had done many times. The only difference was that for some reason, I was lucky enough to walk away without making a trip to the hospital first.”
• “I quickly realized that my favorite drink was the next one. Alcohol made me not give a fuck. Without it, I gave so many fucks that it physically hurt.”

Conclusion

I pre-ordered Over The Influence months in advance and devoured the story within a day of its release. Having written my own memoir, I know how hard it is to tell your story of struggle and triumph while still not having all the answers, which is why JoJo’s story resonates so much with me. That said, I highly recommend you check this book out.

Thanks for reading.

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*I actually quote this song in my own memoir!