Mariah Carey’s heartfelt tribute to her estranged mother and sister sparks renewed interest in the shocking details she revealed in her memoir about her turbulent childhood

“The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” a 2020 memoir written by Mariah Carey, renewed interest in the singer’s complicated relationship with her family following the deaths of her mother, Patricia Carey, and her estranged sister, Alison Carey.

Mariah confirmed the women died in separate cases on the same day over the weekend of Aug. 24-25. Her mother, who was believed to be 84, was in an assisted-care facility in Florida, and Alison, 63, who Mariah calls her ex-sister, was in hospice care in New York.

The reason behind death for every of them has not been confirmed. However, it is thought that Alison struggled with substance abuse and was diagnosed with HIV in 1990.

“My heart is broken because I lost my mother this past weekend. Unfortunately, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life that same day,” Mariah said in an announcement. statementshared by People. “I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to spend one last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time,” she added.

But a glance back at the artist’s memoir, One Sweet Day, reveals that she was mourning the lack of each women long before their deaths. Mariah was born in 1969 to a white mother and a black father, Alfred Roy Carey.

The interracial couple were already parents to Alison and a son named Morgan Carey. “It was disgusting. It was the ultimate humiliation,” Mariah wrote of her white grandmother disowning Patricia.

In an interview with The Oprah Winfrey Show, Patricia said the family struggled with racial hardships while trying to discover a community they might fit in. She revealed that after they bought their first home, that they had to do it without Alfred.

When the couple separated in 1973, Mariah and Morgan lived primarily with their mother, which Mariah described as “dysfunctional”, while their older sister lived with their father.

The Grammy Award winner credits her mother with nurturing her musical talent. Before becoming a mother and vocal coach, Patricia was a Juilliard-trained opera singer. In her book, Mariah writes, “Like so many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother was full of contradictions and competing realities. It was never just black and white—it was a rainbow of emotions.”

She continued, “Our relationship is a bitter string of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration and disappointment” and that “a complicated love ties my heart to my mother’s heart.” She further claimed that her mother’s bruised ego over her daughter’s talent fueled the jealousy.

“There was a distinct change: she made me feel like competition, like a threat. In place of our previous bond, another bond grew, a cord that connected us through shared biology and social obligations,” the singer wrote. Despite their strained relationship, she lovingly dedicated the book to her mother.

Alison had a history of attacking Mariah in the media. For years, she criticized her younger sister for her lack of monetary generosity. In Mariah’s memoir, she claimed, “When I was 12, my sister drugged me with Valium, offered me a pinky nail full of cocaine, gave me third-degree burns, and tried to sell me to a pimp.” Alison unsuccessfully defendant her for $1.25 million.

Morgan didn’t escape the literary endeavor unscathed. His younger sister accused him of abuse and that he was indignant that she apparently had a better life than he and Alison. He also sued the artist for her childhood memories. It’s unclear when Mariah last had contact with either of her siblings.

“I have no doubt that emotionally and physically it will be safer for me to have no contact with my ex-brother and ex-sister,” she wrote of their separation.

Alfred’s bond together with his youngest child was also somewhat strained. Mariah wrote that he felt like an outsider during her adolescence and that she had a tough time understanding his strict parenting. He died of cancer in 2022.

The singer often pays tribute to him on Father’s Day. Last 12 months, she wrote that he “shined like a sunflower in the sky,” and also posted a sepia-toned photo of him while he was serving in the military.