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I Walked the Line
I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny | Vivian Cash
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When Johnny Cash died in September 2003, the world mourned the loss of the greatest country music star of all time. I Walked the Line is the life story of Vivian Cash, Johnny's first wife and the mother of his four daughters. It is a tale of long-kept secrets, lies revealed, betrayal and, at last, the truth. Johnny and Vivian were married for nearly fourteen years. These years spanned Johnny's military service in Germany, his earliest musical inclinations, their struggling newlywed years, Johnny's first record deal with Sun Records (alongside Elvis Presley), his astounding rise to stardom, and his well-known battles with pills and the law. Vivian decided that, near the end of her life and with backing from Johnny, she should tell the whole story, even the parts at odds with the iconic Cash family image such as Johnny's drug problems; Vivian's confrontation with June Carter about her affair with Johnny and, most sensationally, the Cash family secret of June's lifelong addiction to drugs and the events leading up to her death. Also revealed are unpublished love letters between the couple, family photographs and artefacts. I Walked the Line is a powerful memoir of joy and happiness, injustice and triumph and is an essential read for all Cash fans.
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JenlovesJT47
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I picked this up because I adore the movie Walk the Line. I wanted to read Vivian‘s (Johnny‘s 1st wife) side of the story, as I never fully bought into the way she was portrayed in the movie, as some kind of evil shrew who pushes Johnny into June Carter‘s arms. Damn, I hate being right all the time! 😆I will never look at that movie the same way, although I will still enjoy it as fiction sprinkled with about 25% fact. The first 2/3 of the book ⬇️

JenlovesJT47 Are all of the letters Johnny wrote to Vivian during his 3 years in the Air Force in Germany. Not gonna lie, about halfway through the letters it became a bit of a slog because they‘re so repetitive, but after reading the last third of the book, I think they needed to all be included because it shows just how much Johnny was absolutely crazy about Viv and vice versa, and her portrayal in the movie is not even close to accurate. I would ⬇️ 5y
JenlovesJT47 Recommend this book to those who enjoyed the movie and consider themselves fans of Johnny, although diehard fans might look at this completely differently because the idealized versions of Johnny and June turned out not to be true. All this to say I still consider myself a fan of Johnny‘s music, but I‘m glad I read this because I think Viv has been done a huge disservice. It was brave of her to share her story imo. 4⭐️ #memoir 5y
TheAromaofBooks I may check this out, because while I enjoyed parts of the movie, I honestly felt mad about the way his first wife was portrayed. It's always been hard for me to get behind Johnny & June as this big romance because of the way their relationship started while he was still married... I just can't quite think of infidelity as romantic! 5y
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JenlovesJT47 @TheAromaofBooks right? I was always more annoyed by June‘s portrayal as some self-righteous saint. I don‘t come out of this hating her but realizing she was very human like the rest of us. I can see now especially why his daughters were so disgusted with the movie. 5y
Sace I never realized how much Roseanne Cash favored her mother. 5y
JenlovesJT47 @Sace all four of their girls look mostly like her. She was very pretty! 5y
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