Shania Twain was left to raise her siblings on her own with no money

Shania Twain has opened up about the struggles she faced after her parents died and she was left to raise her siblings.

The 58-year-old singer/songwriter has detailed how in 1987 her mother Sharon Morrison and step-father Jerry Twain died in a car accident, leaving Shania to take care of her younger family members.

She told The Sun newspaper: ‘It was a very touch and go period in my life.

‘I had frostbite many times just by not having the right clothes.

‘I’d have to go down to the river and bring back coolers of water to drink and do the laundry down there by hand.

‘I chopped my own wood, piled my own wood. It was a lot of pressure,’ she added.

‘I barely slept.’

And, Shania has talked about the huge changes music stardom brought to her life.

She said: ‘I went from sleeping in cars to travelling first class. But it is really only now where I am enjoying the full lifestyle.’

Meanwhile, Shania is set to play the Legends slot at Glastonbury over the weekend and recently hailed it as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity, following in the footsteps of people like Dolly Parton, Diana Ross and Kenny Rogers.

She told the BBC: ‘They are all people I consider to be music heroes and have been a big influence on my own career, so it’s surreal to have been invited.’

Shania believes her Glastonbury performance will be a landmark moment in her career.

She said: ‘It’s been explained to me that it is a real event, a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Everyone keeps going: ‘Let me tell you about it. Let me tell you about my experiences.’

Shania is ultimately determined to put on a memorable show for her fans.

The ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ hitmaker shared: ‘I’m planning on getting up there and having so much fun.

‘I’d love to be able to sing with everyone and be a part of the journey of the crowd. So, I’m going to do everything familiar. I want to do the hits. I want to do what they know.’

In May she said she has ‘a lot of’ emotional and physical scars,’ she said last week.

The Man! I Feel Like A Woman! hitmaker has been through a lot in her almost six decades on the planet.

Speaking to Elizabeth Day on the How To Fail podcast, the hitmaker said: ‘I have a lot of scars.

‘I have a lot of scars from cooking. I have a lot of scars from working in the bush with sharp tools. I have a lot of emotional scars…. 

‘I’ve been through a challenging childhood and then my open throat surgery. Over time, I have realized that all of those experiences have really made me who I am today and I wear them well.’

She said in the past she grew up poor in Canada as her parents earned little money.

There was often not enough food in the kitchen.

And the crooner added that her mother and stepfather’s marriage was stormy at times, and from a young age she witnessed violence between them.

And when life gets tough, she channels her pain into words.

She shared: ‘I’ll document my feelings, I’ll put things down, they’re very raw, they’re very real, they’re very in the moment, and I live them. I like to live through my suffering.’

Some of the notes will turn into lyrics, but she likes to change them to be more upbeat.

She explained: ‘They’re now reflections of what I’ve been through.

‘But they are on the other side. They are the healed experience with a scar.’

The You’re Still the One hitmaker admits she can be comfortable in her own skin one day and not the next.

She said: ‘I’ve been someone that has been coming into my comfort my whole life. I think it’s just a process. I live it every day.’

Shania also admitted she used to be too timid to show off her body in revealing outfits for years.

She insisted: ‘Now, I’m perfectly fine.

‘But it’s been a process for me. The ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ video was the very first time I’d ever performed with legs at all.’