ME & PATSY KICKIN' UP DUST

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 naïve 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.