The World at Her Feet

[roger]

Hi Amanda and welcome to the forum. Thank you for your kind words about our website.

Hayley has appeared in Hong Kong but I don't know if it was in the Tsim Sha Tsui area. Maybe she will in the future and I hope you are able to see her.

I hope you enjoy visiting this forum and I look forward to your future posts.

Best wishes,
Roger

[Stephany]

Hi everyone,

I received my copy of 'The World at her feet' this morning!!
Woooooooa I am so thrilled and excited to have it.
A million thanks to Belinda for this wonderful gift. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

See you soon, I've got a book to read

Stephany

[grant]

stephany said:

Hi everyone,

I received my copy of 'The World at her feet' this morning!!
Woooooooa I am so thrilled and excited to have it.
A million thanks to Belinda for this wonderful gift. i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

See you soon, I've got a book to read

Stephany

Hi Stephany

Your Hayley collection is growing steadily isn't it?

If you're anything like me, you'll have a job putting the book down. It is a fabulous read. Then, when you've read it once, you'll want to read it all over again!!

Best wishes
Grant

[Stephany]

Hi Grant,

What a fabulous read indeed.
So interesting to learn about how she grew up and especially how her career is handled by her family and manager. Very well written too.

I particularly loved the prologue - Hayley, nervous before meeting Andrew Lloyd Weber? Not surprising considering the circumstances and yet very surprising knowing Hayley's ability to go through stressful events.

I didn't know she had started karate.

Best wishes,
Stephany, very thankful for Belinda's gift i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

[grant]

Gosh Stephany!! You've read it already?

Best wishes
Grant

[Stephany]

Hi Grant,

Yes, I have.
After reading this book, my respect for Mr and Mrs Westenra is even greater!

Stephany

[Andrew]

stephany said:

Hi Grant,

Yes, I have.
After reading this book, my respect for Mr and Mrs Westenra is even greater!

Stephany

Hi Stephany,

Just wait until you meet them...

Unfortunately these days it's a bit tricky catching them on the road in the UK, but if you are willing to travel to NZ... Who knows??? i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Andrew

[comet]

Hi Folks.

I love the picture of Hayley at the top of the slide.
It just puts a smile on my face

comet

[Stephany]

Hi all,
I just re-read 'The World at her Feet' and there is a small passage p.150 that made me smile.

'The concert was arranged quite a while back, but a lot of it was organised at the last minute', says Hayley. 'I was told I had to sing "Tonight" from West Side Story. I was panicking because it's a big piece and I didn't know how I could learn it in time. Then I got to rehearsal and José Carreras was all, "Oh, you want to sing 'Tonight', do you?" And I'm like, "What!"
[...]
In the end, I sang "All I ask of you" at the last minute to replace "Tonight"

Very ironic

Best wishes,
Stephany

[Stephany]

Hi all,

I know it sounds crazy but Amazon France is selling 'The World at Her Feet' at 278,50 Euros (185 £).
They are also selling 'In her own voice' but at a more reasonable price (25 Euros or 18£).
We are a little bit crazy in my country

Stephany

[roger]

stephany said:

We are a little bit crazy in my country

Is that why you escaped?

As far as we know, Hayley has hardly been marketed in France at all - books, CDs, concerts or anything else. So why are they suddenly stocking both books now? Has there been some publicity that has introduced her to the French audience?

Roger

[Stephany]

roger said:

Has there been some publicity that has introduced her to the French audience?

Hi Roger,

As I explained in the West Side Story thread, there is currently very strong publicity for the 50th aniversary CD and Hayley is highly praised for this in the French press. I have no idea why her CDs and books are suddenly available in France but it is possible that 'West Side Story' played a big part in it. I certainly won't be complaining! The Japanese 'Prayer' CD is also already available at only 17 euros (11 pounds). But offering 'The World at her Feet' at such a high price is really crazy.

Love,
Stephany

[graemek]

stephany said:

Hi all,

I know it sounds crazy but Amazon France is selling 'The World at Her Feet' at 278,50 Euros (185 £).
They are also selling 'In her own voice' but at a more reasonable price (25 Euros or 18£).
We are a little bit crazy in my country

Stephany

No Stephany....its a straight decimal point error.......€ 27.85..... ₤ 18.5
Typical metric system error.
Graeme

[Stephany]

Hello everybody!

Somebody posted a new review of 'The World at her feet' last week and I find it extremely interesting. I thought you might be interested to read it so you can view it here or below. It appears that the author is not aware of the existence of a new autobiography.

Hayley Westenra: the world at her feet
Monday February 18, 2008

Teen international classical cross-over sensation, Hayley Westenra, has been an influential person in our lives. We've never met her in person, though I've chatted with her in the forums of hayleywestenrafans.com during its heyday (and before its demise). She's never spoken to us, though she's answered one of my girls questions on her website. We have seen her perform live when she toured with Celtic Woman last year, and we've studied her life with great scrutiny. Even with such sparse contact it is though she has directly advised us every step of the way in fostering our children's talents and ambitions.

I was, therefore, predisposed to like this book. Published in 2005 in New Zealand and written by Paul Little, this book was an official peek into the life of this amazing girl. Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to read at first because the author is too busy strewing petals in Hayley's path. Hayley, the perfect child. Hayley, the Saint. Hayley, the Immaculate. Yes, this girl, apparently, has sun shining out of her Kiwi caboose.

Once I donned sunglasses, and got past the first few chapters, the book became a very insightful inside look at how Hayley and family managed her life and career. This was important to me because I have a daughter who aspires to be an entertainer. She actually tours local county fairs and performs year round. We are working on her first album and are excited about her future. Thanks to Hayley's example we understand better how to balance my daughter's career goals. We floundered three years ago, but once I discovered Hayley I had a better roadmap to follow.

Since the book is a biography and not a "How To" manual, by looking for nuggets here and there I was able to find the information that I needed. Hayley isn't perfect, but she's fabulous, and the book captures an exciting part of her budding career. You will follow her from her early days performing in school plays and busking in the streets of Christchurch to her serendipitous introduction to the music industry. All performers, actors, authors, etc. get a lucky break, but the successful ones have the legs to take the ball and run with it. Hayley was one of those people that had talent and drive to make the best of her opportunities.

Sun doesn't illuminate the path behind her, but Hayley's a high class act. Her future is bright and, up to this point, doesn't involve vomiting in the streets outside London clubs, cruising around LA without her panties on, or retreating to rehab repeatedly. She's twenty and plenty old enough to flush her career down the loo like her counterparts in England and America. I found plenty to enjoy in this book's pages, especially the final chapter written by Hayley's mum for "stage parents" all over the world. I was happy to see I was doing all the proper things already and not doing the improper things.

(I should mention that my daughter and I fully realize what a difficult business this is to get into. We have no delusions of grandeur. We just needed advice on beginning steps. The rest takes care of itself. I look forward to being able to share her music with you one day soon.)


Why you should read this book:
You could read this book because you want to read about a young girl who's been on top of the charts who actually appreciates the enviable position she is in and works hard to further her craft. You could read it because you find "How they did it" stories inspirational. I read it because I wanted to glean practical information on how her parents managed Hayley's career and prevented the music machine from turning their daughter into a painted trollop who sold her body for fame. (Their secret? Hayley's parents were the managers and when time came to get a pro, they demanded the pro co-manage with them.) Unfortunately, you will have to search for this book. It may be out of print, and Amazon.com sellers seem convinced that this book is printed on gilded pages. I only paid about $40 for it, however.

Why you shouldn't read this book:
You are a cynical sot who blanches at the thought of reading inspirational stories of squeaky clean girls who manage to become millionaire International singing sensations without getting a tramp stamp and being filmed sniffing lines at a trendy nightclub. If you want dirt, grit, and grime this book is not for you. Not only because Paul Little writes as if Hayley is a modern manifestation of Divine Providence, but because Hayley hasn't acted out. There's no dirt to dig up. If you don't have experience already managing a child entertainer, you may not be able to find this book helpful. The final chapter is certainly not worth paying collector prices for. In fact, you won't find a checklist on how to make your child a superstar in this book. If that's what you are looking for this book may bore you.


This is an easy read, broken up into small chapters. It's not a thin book by any means, but it's layout is simple, clean, and pleasant to digest. I could even read it out of order.

Stephany

[Bamafan]

Hey yall! Got a very nice pre-loved copy of this book today. I quite like it so far; since I've already read "In Her Own Voice," this book to me is like an expanded version of the first few chapters, or perhaps a prequel, which is good for me since I'm a detail person.



I'll have to finish reading it later, but first there are US History finals to slog through.

-Taylor