February 24, 2020
A crackling good storyteller, Grammy Award–winning songwriter and singer Lynn reminisces on her friendship with country music legend Patsy Cline (1932–1963) in this humorous and loving memoir. Holding nothing back, Lynn (Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner’s Daughter) shares stories of Cline’s generosity—she sewed curtains for Lynn’s first house—and her fierce way of speaking her mind. By the time the two met in 1961, Cline was already a star, while Lynn’s career was just beginning. When Lynn signed with Decca Records that year, she felt like just one of many singers trying to make it in country music, and it never crossed her mind that she could become famous. After she learned that Cline was nearly killed in a car accident, Lynn performed at the Grand Ole Opry and sang a song Cline had just released titled “I Fall to Pieces.” When Cline heard Lynn on the radio, she sent for Lynn, and they soon discovered how much they had in common: they were the same age, they both grew up poor, and both had to grow up too fast. Over the course of their friendship, Cline taught Lynn how to handle grabby men like bluegrass musician Bill Monroe, as well as how to take control of her own business affairs, how to drive, and, ultimately, how to stand up for herself. Recalling Cline’s death in a 1963 plane crash, Lynn writes, “Reliving all the times Patsy and I had together for this book has been good, but it’s also reopened that feeling of empty sadness.” As in her songwriting, Lynn imbues her tribute with honesty and tenderness.
March 20, 2020
When Lynn, the octogenarian Queen of Country Music, moved to Nashville in 1959, she was a 27-year-old mother of four who had been married for 12 years. Two years earlier, living in Washington State, she had watched Patsy Cline sing "Walkin' After Midnight" on TV. Watching Cline perform what would become one of her signature standards, Lynn was transfixed; it was as though Cline were singing only to her. The intuitive connection Lynn felt that night would soon be actualized in Nashville. The two met when Cline, in the hospital following an automobile accident, asked Lynn to visit her after hearing her sing a cover of Cline's "I Fall to Pieces" on the radio. This meeting changed Lynn's life and has been documented numerous times and in various media. Now Lynn, with her daughter Patsy, has written a beautiful, heartbreaking valentine to Cline, who was a mentor and passionate and devoted friend--all of which is manifestly conveyed through Lynn's uniquely distinct eastern Kentucky voice and seemingly endless cascade of stories. A foreword by Dolly Parton will further endear this work to country and western fans. VERDICT Add this to Lynn's longer-than-a-country-mile list of accomplishments, and, while you're at it, add it to your collection.--Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX
Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 1, 2020
Country music legend Lynn shares personal moments about her friendship with Patsy Cline (1932-1963), another musical icon. Lynn has sold more than 45 million albums worldwide and has earned countless accolades. But as she reveals in this warm memoir, if she hadn't had the support and friendship of Cline, who died tragically in a plane crash in 1963, her rise to stardom might have been a lot harder to achieve. Lynn was a talented singer and songwriter when she first arrived in Nashville in 1959, but she was na�ve in many ways: about show business; men, and husbands in particular; and elements about her own body, such as how to shave her legs or have an orgasm. But thanks to Cline's forthright advice and tutelage, Lynn was able to navigate it all. She learned how to dress and wear makeup for her performances, how a piece of lingerie could keep her philandering husband at home, and why another woman's sincere friendship was and is one of the most valuable assets a woman can have. "[Patsy] came into my life and changed everything," writes the author. "And I know I meant a lot to her, too. She'll always be a part of me. That's what real friendships do. We made each other better." Written in her hearty, straightforward, authentic voice--Lynn is a storyteller and country singer, not necessarily a prose stylist--the author shares an inspiring story of working in Nashville and on stages across the country that's interwoven with moments spent with Cline where each encouraged the other to keep moving forward toward yet another successful album and achievement. Lynn reveals her sincere, heartfelt emotions throughout the narrative, giving readers a true sense of the depths of their friendship as well as the haunting pain of Cline's death. A touching memoir filled with the emotional highs and lows of a deep bond.
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Starred review from March 1, 2020
Lynn's countless fans will be delighted to find that she writes the way she talks in this memoir about her all-too-brief friendship with Patsy Cline, who died at age 30 in a 1963 plane crash. When they first met in 1957, there was an instant connection when Cline took newcomer Lynn under her wing. They were as close as sisters, perhaps even closer. When Cline and her brother were involved in a serious car accident in 1961, Lynn comforted Cline as she expressed fears that her career was over ( She said her face was busted up so bad, there was no tellin' how long it'd take to recover ). With the help of her coauthor daughter, Lynn also writes about her turbulent relationship with her husband, Doolittle Doo Lynn, notorious for his roving eye. She leaves little doubt about her feelings as she recounts dumping a bowl of beans on Doo's head when he forgot their fifteenth anniversary and challenging the sexism of men running the country music business. As she writes, I'm sweet until you give me reason not to be. Lynn's fans will absolutely adore this as much for her typical no-holds-barred style as for her country warmth and the loving description of a deeply missed friendship.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Fans will pounce on beloved country superstar Lynn's memoir about her bond with sister icon Patsy Cline.WOMEN IN FOCUS(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)