Pattie Mallette

Patricia "Pattie" Mallette (born April 2, 1975) is a Canadian author. She is also known as the mother of singer-songwriter, Justin Bieber. In September 2012, her autobiography, Nowhere but Up was published by Christian book publisher, Revell. During the first week of release, it was listed at #17 on the New York Times Best Seller list. The book has received international press and has been reviewed positively by media outlets around the world.

Personal background
Pattie Mallette was born on April 2, 1975, in Stratford, Ontario, of French-Canadian descent. She is the daughter of Michael Mallette and Diane M. (née) Henry. She has one older sibling, brother Chris. Her sister, Sally, just five years old, she was killed instantly when she was struck by a vehicle while crossing the street to go to the babysitter's house. Mallette's parents divorced when she was two years old. In 1981, her mother married Bruce Dale. Mallette welcomed her stepfather's children when they came to live with her family after the wedding. Mallette's new stepsister, Candie, was 13 years old at the time, while her new stepbrother, Chuck, was 11.

Abandonment
In her 2012 autobiography, Mallete recalls various touchstone events that shaped her life, encompassing both pleasant and tragic memories. Her earliest memory centers around an alcoholic and abusive father. While only two years old at the time, she vividly recalls the day when her father abruptly left, abandoning the family. She says of the day, "When my dad left us, it ripped a hole in my heart—one that began filling with thoughts and feelings that would challenge and ultimately damage my identity and self-worth. The wound of being abandoned travels deep and forever changes you."

In 1984, Mallette was unexpectedly reunited with her father when she arrived home from school to find a stranger sitting on the living room couch. While she was initially apprehensive, she went out to dinner that night with him, along with her brother, Chris. Together, the three of them went to the mall afterwards and made promises to keep in touch. Just a few months after their visit, Mallette's brother made plans to spend the summer with his father, but the senior Mallette died of a heart attack the night before her brother was to travel to his home in nearby Timmins, Ontario.

The loss of her father left Mallette with a sense of emptiness throughout her life. While her parents raised their children as Catholics, the family never attended mass or church on Sundays. Mallette often attended the local church with one of her childhood friends. She liked the Sunday School classes, where she sang songs, heard stories, and enjoyed snacks, games, coloring, and crafts. When she was five years old, she was invited by one of the teachers to "ask Jesus into her heart", to which she responded enthusiastically.

Sexual abuse
Mallette's life, for the most part, was dominated by sexual abuse and violence. She was first molested around the age of three. Her offenders include a (male) babysitter, the grandfather of one of her friends, and neighborhood children mature beyond their years. The sexual abuse continued to age 14, followed by an incident of date rape at age 15. She says of the sexual abuse and violence, "I was sexually violated so many times that as the years went by it began to feel normal. It's a strange marriage–knowing something is wrong yet at the same time finding it familiar and commonplace." As a child, Mallette showed an interest in acting and singing. When she was nine years old, she began appearing on local television programs, including Romper Room and Big Top Talent, which was a local television children's talent show, hosted by Corey Mystyshyn. When she was ten years old, she was cast in two theatrical productions in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, which brings over half a million tourists to the town every year. Throughout middle school and high school, she took every drama and choir class available, along with seven years of dancing. After earning numerous trophies and awards for her singing and acting, she caught the attention of a Toronto-based talent agent. While she was accepted into the talent agency, auditions required her to travel one-and-a-half hours to Toronto every weekend, which her parents were unable to do. Mallette was devastated.

Rebellion
While Mallette readily gave her life to Christ at an early age, she never maintained a personal connection to God throughout her youth. When she was 14 years old, she began acting out by experimenting with drugs and alcohol, including marijuana and LSD. She also started shoplifting, along with vandalizing school property. Once, she even started a fire in a school bathroom, for which she was suspended from school. When she was 15 years old, she began a tempestuous on-again-off-again relationship with her childhood sweetheart, Jeremy Bieber, which lasted for four years. When she was 16, she left home, supporting herself through petty theft and drug dealing. During this time, she often experienced loneliness, depression, and suicidal ideation. When she was 17 years old, she attempted suicide by throwing herself in front of a truck. Her actions led to a stint in a mental ward. While there, she embraced Christianity.

Teen pregnancy
Following her release from Stratford General Hospital, Mallette rekindled old friendships that failed to support her new-found faith. She also returned to her former relationship with Bieber. Six months later, she found herself pregnant. At that time, she moved into a Stratford home for unwed mothers. In a September 2012 interview on The Today Show, Mallette spoke about teenage pregnancy and her personal struggle as a young unwed mother. While pregnant, many of those around her tried to talk her into getting an abortion, but she refused.

Mallette gave birth to her son, Justin, on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario. While Mallette and her son's father maintained a relationship after the birth, they split up after ten months. Mallette raised her son in Stratford, with the help of her parents. While Bieber was a hands-on father, he went on to marry, with his new wife giving birth to two children. As a single mother, Mallette worked part-time jobs, while raising her son on government assistance in low-income housing. While she never graduated with her high school class, a neighbor provided a year of free daycare, so Mallette could return to school to earn her diploma. As a recipient of a scholarship, she continued on to college, where she learned how to design websites.

Music
Her son began showing musical talent by the age of two. By the age of four, he had taught himself to play the drums. Through the guidance of the church worship team, he continued to develop his skills in drumming, while also learning to play the guitar, piano, and trumpet. When Justin was six years old, he began performing on the street, in front of the Avon Theatre. His singing, drumming, and guitar playing earned him $3,000, which he used to take a vacation to Disneyworld in Florida.

In 2007, Mallette entered her 12-year-old son in the local "Stratford Star" talent show, where young Justin sang Ne-Yo's song, "So Sick". He finished second in the competition. Afterwards, Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. As she continued filming his performances, Mallette would also upload the videos online, so that family members who lived far away could see her son's progress.

As Mallette continued to upload videos of her son singing covers of various R&B songs, her son's popularity on the site grew. Chris Hicks, Bieber's A&R at Island/Def Jam, explained Bieber's huge online following to HitQuarters, stating:"'He was doing something different. He was an attractive white kid singing very soulful R&B hits. That set him apart immediately from anyone in his range because no one was covering or singing these kind of records. But equally important was that you believed in these songs–it was real. And you wanted to hear more.'"

Published works

 * Mallette, Pattie; and A.J. Gregory (2012). Nowhere but Up: the Story of Justin Bieber's Mom, Revell, 220 pages. ISBN 978-0800721893