I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny [Hardcover]

Vivian Cash (Author), Ann Sharpsteen (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2007

I Walked the Line is a chronicle of first love, long-kept secrets, betrayal, forgiveness, and the truth--told at last by Johnny Cash's first wife, the mother of his four daughters. It is a book that had the full support of Johnny Cash, who insisted it was time for their story to be told, despite any painful revelations that might come to light as a result.

Many myths and contradictions regarding the life of Johnny and his family have been perpetuated for decades in film and literature. Vivian exposes previously untold stories involving Johnny's drug addiction, his fraught family life, and their divorce in 1968, as well as the truth behind the writing of two of Johnny's most famous songs, "I Walk the Line" and "Ring of Fire."

Supplemented by a never-before-published archive of love letters and family photos, I Walked the Line offers a deeper look at one of the most sig- nificant artists in music history. Here, fans and readers can experience the extraordinary account of love and heartbreak between Johnny and Vivian, and come to understand Vivian's dignified silence over the years. Through this elegant, revealing, and powerful memoir, Vivian Cash's voice is finally heard.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A little-known prequel to the late great Man in Black's famous life is adoringly revealed by his first wife and mother of his four daughters. Before there was June, there was Vivian, the 17-year-old girl from San Antonio, Tex., who met Cash in the summer of 1951 as he was headed overseas in the army. Three years of ardent letter writing sustained them—indeed, a good part of this book consists of Johnny's aching letters from 1951 to 1954, revealing his attempts to keep himself away from drinking and loose women, while begging her to wait for him and pray together. Finally wedded, the couple set out for Memphis, where Cash worked as a door-to-door salesman. After Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two began to travel, Vivian, pregnant from year to year, moved with him constantly, sewed his performance clothes and scribbled lyrics for I Walk the Line as he drove in the car. By 1961, as Vivian Cash tells it, when Johnny was drinking and popping pills heavily, June Carter joined Johnny's tour and tenaciously pursued him. Johnny and Vivian divorced in 1966. Vivian, who died in 2005, has told her story candidly to TV producer Sharpsteen, disclosing myriad tender details and an affecting ability to forgive. (Sept.)
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Review

"This book is the greatest part of my mother's legacy as a wife, a grandmother, a matriarch, a mother, and most important, a woman in love."

-- Kathy Cash

"Vivian was there from the beginning with Johnny. I loved reading I Walked the Line. It brought back memories of our good times together and how crazy it was back then."

-- George Jones

"Just when you thought you had a good idea who Johnny Cash was, in this book we get inside the heart of the Man in Black. Only a very few knew Johnny Cash like his beloved Vivian. Now for the first time we get the full picture of who Johnny Cash really was. His pen and heart expose this very complicated man. If you think you knew Johnny Cash, think again. You see the side he never let anyone on the outside see. The love letters of Johnny Cash will make even the biggest man sneak a tear."

-- Jimmy Carter, host of The Jimmy Carter Entertainment Report

"Here's a love story that encompasses ten thousand pages of love letters. I'm glad I was there to see a lot of that love in the early years in California. Vivian was a very special person in my life."

-- Johnny Western

"We all thought we knew everything about Johnny Cash, but this book clearly reveals more secrets than ever before. In an age of email and IMs it is sweet to read the tender love letters a heartsore young man wrote to his very young girlfriend. They are full of tenderness and sweetness and caring. It is sad to see how once success, alcohol, and drugs enter the picture, everything changes. We live through the heartaches of their shattered marriage, his addictions, and a turbulent life. Vivian, the first lover and wife of this musical legend, tells the tale in a powerful way, and I am sure that all the readers will get as much from reading it as I did."

-- Ivana Trump --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416532927
• ISBN-13: 978-1416532927
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Cash, Johnny
  • #33 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Composers & Musicians > Country & Folk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking, September 6, 2007

By 

H. Johnson (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny (Hardcover)

First of all, keep in mind as mentioned before....that %90 of this book consists of love letters from Johnny to Vivian. I almost found it uncomfortable to read these letters,like I was sneaking a peak in someones diary or desk drawer, but they are a window into the mans soul...a rare window into pre-drug afflicted J.R. Cash's soul at that...and utterly heartbreaking to read when you know how the story ends.

I don't see anything hateful here,Vivian Cash kept silent for all her life and the shots taken here are not all that harsh when you consider all things. Her waiting until June passed to tell these stories can be looked at two ways, it was done mercifuly or to someone not around to defend herself. Either way, it's a drop in the ocean for a woman who swallowed a lot of pain and lets not forget that bottom line is June was sleeping with her husband.

I don't hold any of the three main characters up to sainthood, any more than I do myself. I find lessons and inspiration from all 3 of them.

I don't find it hard to believe that Johnny would endorse this book, especially that late in his life. Johnny Cash never lied or hid from his sins, he lived with a lot of guilt from hurting many people, and he also helped a lot of people. Listen to his American Recordings Era music, watch the vidoe to "Hurt" and you'll see/hear a man trying to make peace with himself,his past and his faith.

There is nothing shocking about any of this, other than finally hearing Vivians voice, which is something many of us wanted to hear and I for one, actually expected much worse things to come out of this. Aslo nice, are the rare pictures of Vivian, she was incredibly beautiful.

If you've read, Johhnys autobiography, Marshall Grants book and John Jr's book, then you already know that these were real people, with complex feelings, emotions and times. Imperfect, just like the rest of us.

If you want fairy tales, watch the blockbuster movie, live in LaLa land and in denial.

I'm giving it 3 stars, only because it's more a collection of love letters than a full writing by Vivian Cash. But a great book for any die-hard Cash fan or romantic.

82 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life is life...truth is truth., September 5, 2007

By 

Kathleen Cash-tittle (Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny (Hardcover)

Okay, I realize you may think I'm prejudiced, but I WAS THERE and also lived this story.

Even Dad (JOHNNY CASH) and June made it public in one of their last interviews that this story IS TRUE...they admitted to it.

This is my MOTHERS story...like it or not, she tells the truth and I applaud her for her courage.

Not only did she completely keep her story to herself for almost FORTY years, I was there when Dad gave her the go ahead, and HE asked her to not leave anything out. Her intention was NOT to slam June...it was simply to tell the truth.

It happened, take all 3 of my parents off the pedistal and remember they were human beings.

Dad lived because he wanted to. God is what got him through the worst times.

My parents were married 13 years and had 4 children together. IT wasn't exactly a one night
stand! They were together from 1950 to 1966!!

I expected some people to have a negative reaction, but some of these reviews are pretty hate filled..

THREE of our 4 parents are gone. Please remember, your words are hurtful for the ones here left behind that grieve for them daily. VERY HURTFUL.

If you want to critique the BOOK, that's one thing, just don't critique my Mother who you didn't know at all. She was an amazing and very loving woman that had her heart broken, and loved a MAN for over 50 years!
A MAN...MY DAD...not Johnny Cash. He was a HUMAN BEING, Okay?

You aren't required to like the book, but show a little kindness in regards to my Mother , please.
~Kathy Cash

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Touching, September 9, 2007

By 

Nora Beers (Hurst, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Walked the Line: My Life with Johnny (Hardcover)

I found this book to be a very poignant telling of a remarkable love story. It is obvious from Johnny's letters to Vivian that he was deeply in love with her and she with him. Unfortunately, like all things, situations change. It is a tale of a story of love, hope, and faith. After Johnny's addiction to pills, it became a story of deceit, dishonesty, and unfaithfulness. I'm sure it was a very painful for Vivian to tell her story. I was in tears by the end of the book. I am thankful that she found the healing and the peace she obtained by writing it.