The mother of the pop star and the young Nickolodeon actress talks candidly about her family’s successes and set-backs

By Stacey Silberman

Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/17/08 – Lynn Spears sounded sincere and heartfelt in her Southern voice as she spoke in an interview Wednesday detailing the “whirlwind” rise to success of pop-icon daughter Britney Spears, 26, and the struggles she encountered over the last several years.

“Today Show” (NBC) host Meredith Vieira had a sit down chat with the famous mama Spears to discuss her new memoir called, “Through the Storm.” Some critics have said it is a tell-all delivered at a good time to make money, but bad time considering Britney’s fragile mental condition (See related HT stories).

The memoir is not a parenting book and was never intended to be about parenting, Lynne said. But, it’s about her life and the experiences she’s had in the limelight with her girls. It explains a few things about her family and what they’ve been through as a mother.

Plus, there was the added stress brought on by 17-year-old daughter Jamie Lynn Spears’ pregnancy to cope with, as well. According to Lynne, Jamie Lynn (“Zoey 101″) informed her of her pregnancy by writing a note and asking her to read it in the bedroom.

The note, written last December, said she was pregnant by boyfriend Casey Aldridge and that “everything was gonna be OK, mom.” It said that she and Aldridge would raise the baby together.

“I thought it was a joke,” said Lynne. “I kept waiting for the punch line.”

She said she realized it was no joke after Aldridge, a Liberty, Miss. pipe-layer, refused to look her in the face.

“I was truly in shock and then I started to cry. And then she started consoling me at that point,” said Spears. She was beside herself.

“As a mother, don’t we always blame ourselves? I mean, we’re the first one that’s gonna take the blame,” Spears said. “We never get the credit, but we always question ourselves and say, `What did I do? We had this talk just a month ago.’ I mean, I had no idea. I took a lot of the blame. I took all the blame.”

But, a healthy baby girl named Maddie Briann was born in June 2008, and the couple are now engaged.

Most importantly, Britney is again revving up her career, after winning three MTV VMA Awards for her single “Piece of Me.” And on Monday, Britney announced the December 2, 2008, release of her new album “Circus,” which happens to be her 27^th birthday.

“It’s been a wild ride for everybody,” said Spears. “She’s out there, she’s with the crowds and with her peer groups, and she’s doing things. She’s a celebrity, for heaven’s sake…I have sat for hours, thinking about everything that’s happened.”

But, as far as Britney’s meltdown was concerned, it was out of her hands, said Spears. “It was so crazy. We were just trying to do what we could do at that moment in time. We were praying very hard. It seemed like we had no control over what was happening.”

But despite Britney’s many travails over the past few years, she is now in recovery, thanks to her father Jamie Spears’ custodianship that protects Britney from herself. She’s better than she’s been in years.

“She’s strong. She’s resilient. She’s had some big bumps in the road, but Britney’s fine. Britney is headed to the top once again, and I have no fears about Britney.”