Nickel Dreams: My Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Patsi Bale Cox (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Embarking upon her singing career at the tender age of 11, Tanya Tucker grew up fast and hard and wild. She seemed destined for either the highest fame or the worst destruction--maybe even both. From the big time to rock bottom and back again, her life reads like a blueprint for one of the melancholy songs that made her a star in country music, and her revealing memoir, Nickel Dreams: My Life, leaves out little of the nitty-gritty. With the aid of author and friend Patsi Bale Cox, Tucker writes honestly about her many exploits that became tabloid fodder--a fiery public affair with Glen Campbell and a long battle with alcoholism among them--without glossing over them or apologizing. There are plenty of anecdotes and revelations about her music as well, plus a peek at the backrooms of the music business and the shady dealings that occur there. Close attention is paid to her childhood and the overbearing presence of a father/manager who wanted his daughter to be a grown woman and a little girl at the same time.

From Library Journal

Tucker reveals a frank yet sensitive and vulnerable side in recalling her roller-coaster ride of a life. Her family had a hard time financially while she was growing up, but they had a core of love and support for one another. When Tucker decided as a young child that she wanted a country-music singing career, her parents did all they could to help her achieve her goal. Ultimately, Tucker realized her dream and has won many awards and accolades. Unfortunately, a love of wild partying, alcohol, and drugs almost cost Tucker her career, but a stay at the Betty Ford Center helped reset her priorities. She takes advantage of the autobiography format to set the record straight on her rocky relationships with men, yet not all is love and war. She cherishes her family life and adores her children, and she makes many references to people in the entertainment business. Tucker looks forward to a lot more living and even hints in the last few pages that in a few years there just might be a second volume. Recommended for public library and country music collections.?Kathleen Sparkman, Baylor Univ. Lib., Waco, Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 345 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Books; 1st edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786863056
• ISBN-13: 978-0786863051
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #299,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nickel Dreams: My Life, June 4, 2000

By	Karen (Crystal Lake, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nickel Dreams: My Life (Paperback)

I recently bought this book off of a sale table at a book store, and I was pleasantly surprised at what a good book this was. Tanya Tucker has definitely had a very interesting life and career, so far, although it seemed to me while reading this book that she is always skating very closely to edge, no matter what she undertakes, and it seems as if she enjoys pushing the envelope as far as she can, without thinking of the consequences until AFTER the fact. I would be very interested in reading an addendum to this book in another 5-7 years, to see how her life has progressed and also to see how the lives of her children (I've read that she now has a third child) have progressed, as well.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating reading!, November 29, 1999

By	Robert Furrer (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

I very much liked reading this book, though not all parts of it are equally interesting. I was particularly fascinated to read about the historical background and the early living conditions of Tanya Tucker's family and the way she got both pushed by her father and at the same time pushed herself, as well, to get into a singing career. Then, there is a part that I considered rather lengthy with a lot of name dropping. I very much liked the story again as she got to the part when she had to seriously treat her drug problems. Again, it seems, she had to be pushed into it, and she foiled the system in a way, yet the goal seems to have been reached, anyway. There is quite a bit of self analyzing, unless it's her co-writer who contributed those parts. Anyway, the books is very good reading, and it's been quite some time since I finished a book so quickly.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars appears to be a honest autobiography, July 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Nickel Dreams: My Life (Paperback)

I bought this book at the airport out of desperation for something to read and was pleasantly suprised that I really liked it. I have read many autobiographies and feel that this is one of the rare ones that "rings true". It was a bit corny at times, but I liked the fact that Tanya ,at all times, took responsibility for her own actions. I'm about the same age as Tanya Tucker and although I am not a big country western fan, have followed her music through the years. I also felt that she went out of her way not to purposely slander anyone in an effort to set record straight. A great read. You go girl!!