Customer Reviews

Anchored In Love : An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

My husband and I were anxious to purchase and read several of the books regarding June and Johnny Cash. This book was a surprise. I really didn't expect so much new information and such candid accounts of painful times. The movie Walk the Line was only the love story of Johnny and June, it didn't address his first marriage or children except in light of their relationship and it didn't go past them getting married. This is a much different and personal story than anyone else has told. No doubt, John Carter loved his mother but he also had a need to tell "his truth." Addiction is not beat overnight, it is beaten one day at a time for the rest of your life. June and Johnny didn't pretend to be heros but point the way to strive. Seems like John Carter may be following in their footsteps. Thanks for the book.

I could not put this book down, It was the first book that I could believe to be true because of who it was written by. I have been reading all the books about John and June Cash but untill now did I get the true picture. It was wonderful what life was like for the son of these two people that I have loved all my life and for him to share was it was great even the hard parts! Warm ,witty and heart braking is how I felt reading it and at the end I found I had to put it down to go wipe my eyes. Thank You John Carter and I hope this will not be the last book you write. It was just wonderful!

This book was one of the history of The famous Carter Family singers,and one of tears and laughter.John Carter Cash's book about his mother is one of the most honest stories I have read about this family,ever.The human side that John reveals,in his mother's,father's,and his own life,is sometimes shocking and overwhelming at times,but,neccessary,to tell the complete story of his heritage and legacy.You will admire the family,even more than you do now,because John,with his heart-touching words,exposes them with love and compassion,for all the world to see.The story of both his parents' deaths are particularly poignanat,because they were our "family" too.

What a book! What a story! Like so many others who have followed the life of Johnny Cash, and June when she became a part of that life, I thought I knew more than a little bit about them. How wrong I was. John Carter sheds new and loving light on a true American love story. I have tremendous respect for both his willingness to share this view of his family and his ability to tell the story. It must have been a very difficult undertaking, and one that I hope was also very cathartic. It's hard to think of anyone who could maintain a life and marriage and share so much love with all she came in contact with as June Carter Cash did through so many of life's ups and downs.

Thank you, John Carter. Everyone with even a passing interest in country music and the historical significance of your family owes you a debt of gratitude.

When he set out to write Anchored in Love, John Carter Cash might have been trying to write a heart-felt tribute to his late mother, June Carter Cash.
I will remember this book because it headed right in to the quirkiness and sad, dysfunctional foundation of the House of Cash, its prescription drug use and complex, often nasty, interpersonal relationships.
John Carter, the only son of June and music icon Johnny Cash, paints a picture of family drug abuse -- some prescription, some illegal -- among various members of the clan, rehab stints, awkward interventions, infidelity and bizarre behaviour.
The patriarch of abuse, Johnny Cash, had his foibles documented in the hit movie Walk the Line, for which John Carter was executive producer. Despite the implication in the movie that Cash kicked his drug habits and lived happily ever after in domestic and evangelical Christian bliss after marrying June, it simply wasn't true.
In a scenario likely not uncommon for showfolk, the entire clutch of Cash/Carter family performers seemed to have their drug crutches. According to John Carter, each would carry with them on the road satchels of prescription drugs, from uppers to downers, to make sure the show would go on.
Even June Carter.
Even John Carter.
When it's not about drugs and troubles, Anchored in Love serves its purpose as a valuable history of the Carter family musical legacy and how it intersected with Cash. Tracing the family roots from the mountains of Virginia, June Carter is presented as the least musically talented in a showbusiness clan, yet determined to make it work.
Many of the Cash-Carter stories already familiar to fans are here: the introduction of John Carter on Johnny Cash's variety show in the early 1970s, the car accident that almost claimed John Carter's life and the frightening break-in and hostage-taking at the Cash vacation home in Jamaica.
There are other, more quirky tales of fishing trips to Saskatchewan and Alaska and an odd tale about seeing a bird carrying a glove during a trip to the Holy Land. John Carter says June interpreted this sighting as proof "God had his hand" on her son.
These chapters are the book's most powerful.

This is a good book giving one an insight into a person who uses her faith to triumph over personal pain. However I believe June Carter Cash's addictions should have remained a private matter. Dealing with an addictive personality in one's life can sometimes lead a person to resort to addictive medicines to cope. June Carter Cash is an inspirational person in the way she had the faith and strength to keep going in the face of much adversity.

John Carter has done a wonderful job, giving us a look into the life of June Carter Cash. She was truly a kind and giving person. A good mother to all of her children, always there for them in happy and sad times. I would have loved to have met her. She was probably the type of lady that would have met you and talked to you, like she had been your lifelong friend.
I loved her and Johnny. The music will last all of our lifetimes.
Thank you,John Carter Cash.

grannysue

I enjoyed learning more about Maybelle, Ezra and the whole extended Carter family. The love John Carter Cash has for his mother, June, is evident throughout the book. It is also obvious he had a lot of issues with his parents. I'm sure it was very cathartic for him to write this. But I take issue with John's claim that his mother abused drugs later in life. This accusation casts such a dark shadow on June's memory. Who is left to argue with him? At the time he found his mother in her dressing room (lying on the floor, fully dressed with her eyes closed "meditating") she was in her late 60's. A middle-aged woman, getting ready to perform in spite of chronic back pain, arthritis and painful legs. And he was surprised to find her lying down and using pain medication? She was probably tired and her back hurt! Maybe the reason Johnny Cash never confronted June; or that she refused to "admit" she was addicted, was because it just wasn't true! Sometimes prescription pain medication is actually used for the purpose it was intended...for pain. Her not being as mentally sharp as when she was younger, doesn't prove she had a drug problem. She "never got angry, fell down, or picked a fight with her loved ones when she was under the influence of narcotics." But "she simply stopped speaking in full sentences and went off into her own world." John was 27 years old, recently out of drug rehab and frustrated by his mother's "emotional abandonment" of him at the time. It is quite possible, John's own chronic drug use, distorted his perception of what really happened. I see June as an aging, emotionally exhausted wife, mother and entertainer, coping as best she could. And since she's not here to defend herself, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt.

According to John, his mother was thin until the last two years of her life. Then, due to her love of cheesecake, she became very overweight. She was so heavy they "couldn't" use any of the pictures they took of her with her beloved flowers for her CD cover. Was it really necessary for him to say that about his mother? His dad, Johnny Cash, was quite heavy near the end of his life, but nothing was mentioned about his weight. John also attributes his mother's heart disease to her overindulgence of cheesecake. I doubt very much that it was, DEATH, BY CHEESECAKE! More likely, what shortened June's life was the unrelenting stress she endured over the last three decades of her life. With her mother, father and sisters all gone, June Carter Cash was left with a sporadically addicted, chronically ill husband and a handful of spoiled, addicted adult children. Besides her faith and her music, food was probably a great comfort and solace to her. June, I'm glad you enjoyed your cheesecake, have another piece on me!

June's picture is on the cover which might lead you to believe that the book is just about her. The book is about the whole family. It was written by June and Johnny's son John Carter. You must know before you read it that it involves things about June that many many fans do not want to hear.

Johnny was always open and honest about his life and troubles but not June. Many people are very upset with John Carter. You learn that June was as much an addict as Johnny. She had many troubles in her life. But even after hearing this I hope you will feel as I do that IT DOES NOT MATTER...YOU STILL LOVE HER ANYWAY. Nothing changes.

John Jr tells of his teen years, stays in rehab and getting straight. He tells of the death of his sister Rosey. June spoiled her family and no one ever had to do anything for themselves. He tells you about his marriage and his children. He tells about his parents death. Some parts are sad. But thru it all you know that he was ANCHORED IN LOVE.

It is a good book and I enjoyed it. Don't be to mad at him. It is a what I call a keeper and a re-read.

June 6/23/29---5/15/03
Johnny Cash 2/26/32---9/12/03
Rosey 7/13/58--10/24/03

This book was very enjoyable to read. If you love the history of bluegrass and country music, you will enjoy this book. I was impressed by the conversational style of the writing. It was like John Carter Cash was sitting there next to you discussing his mother, her family, and her life with his father. It just added more to my love of the Cashes. Nicely done. Worth the time to read.