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Brandy Recounts 2006 Fatal Crash in New Memoir 'Phases'

Her account traces survivor's guilt into therapy-fueled healing.

Overview

  • The singer’s new book, Phases, recounts the December 2006 four-car crash on Los Angeles’ 405 that preceded Awatef Aboudihaj’s death.
  • She writes that her memory breaks into fragments, from a scream to sudden silence, and that she saw rescuers pull Aboudihaj from a car before learning she died the next day.
  • Aboudihaj, 38, left two children, a fact Brandy says deepened the survivor’s guilt that kept her at home for months.
  • A $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit from the family ended in a settlement after investigators concluded she should not face criminal charges.
  • Published by Hanover Square Press, the memoir adds first-person detail to the public record by focusing on grief, perceived fault, and gradual self-forgiveness.