Mother: Amy Winehouse 'On Road to Recovery'

Mother: Amy Winehouse 'On Road to Recovery'

By Stephen M. Silverman

Originally posted Tuesday February 12, 2008 07:45 AM EST

Amy Winehouse (and mother Janis) at the Grammys

Photo by: Mike Blake / Reuters / Landov

When it comes to Amy Winehouse's progress in rehab, her mother Janis Winehouse is pleased – and relieved.

"She's on the road to recovery," Mrs. Winehouse told the U.K. morning show GMTV, "and that's what it's all about."

The mother added, "She's definitely on the road back."

The worried mom also thinks it was a wise decision for her daughter to perform at the Grammys via satellite from England rather than to leave rehab (where she has been since last month) and fly to Los Angeles for the ceremony – where she ended up winning five awards.

"I think it would have been too much for her because all of the traveling and flying there," she said. "I mean seeing what the Grammys were like, I thought if Amy were there, she'd be a little girl lost in it."

Then again, observed the mother, "It was a case of Amy couldn't get to L.A., and my feeling was L.A. came to Amy."

Stellar Night

Winehouse won five Grammys – including record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. She also rocked the crowd inside Los Angeles's Staples Center with a live-via-satellite rendition of "You Know I'm No Good" and "Rehab."

"We all felt, the family, well everyone that saw her felt that's the best she's performed, definitely," said her mother.

Sunday night (actually Monday morning in the U.K.) Winehouse, 24, addressed the intimate crowd gathered at London's Riverside Studios – including her mother, father Mitch and older brother Alex – and said, "I can't believe I've won five awards. It's a shame I couldn't be there to accept the awards but I'm so proud and happy that I had the opportunity to perform for the Grammys in my hometown of London with my family and friends around me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Amy is as she is," said Mrs. Winehouse. "There's no sort of double standards – what you see is how she is. She's a very, very genuine and sincere girl."

'She Looks Good'

Janis Winehouse also told GMTV, "As you saw, she looks good. She's on the road to recovery."

And a long road it's been. "Where I know about addiction," says Janis, "addiction is something that once it's got hold of the person, it's like whoa, you know – very hard to get the off."

Mrs. Winehouse admitted the entire family had feared for Amy's health. "She was sort of with it but not with it," she explains. "She's got a solid family and we're all there for her," she said.

"I was helpless because there was nothing I could do. Amy had to do it for Amy and that's the way it is."

As for what is still ahead, "She will see a therapist, and she will still be getting help," says her mother, "because she still wants the help."

(Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20177629,00.html)