I have been wanting to read Still Woman Enough by Loretta Lynn for awhile now, but just got around to it. Loretta wrote the book with Patsi Bale Cox. Now I wonder why I waited so long. I have been on a reading frenzy lately and have found that I want to spend most of my time lost in a book. I enjoy non-fiction books, especially biographies.

Background Info:

In 1976 Loretta Lynn wrote her autobiography, Coal Miner’s Daughter. It was a huge success and was even made into a movie in 1979. Since then so much has happened in Loretta’s life that she wanted to share. After reading her first book she kept remembering stories and things that she wished she would have included. She wrote this book to tell the things she forgot before, to share the new things and to set some of the stories from the first book straight.

Most everyone has heard of Loretta Lynn, who is a country music legend. She admits that some of the stories from her first book may overlap into this book. She wanted to write the book so that if you had not read the first book reading this book wouldn’t confuse you. This book is a Part Two to her life story.

About the book:

By the age of thirteen Loretta Lynn was married. By the age of eighteen she had four small children. By the age of twenty-nine she was a grandmother. Loretta spent the first thirteen years of her life growing up in a shack in Butcher Holler, Kentucky.

She shares what her life was like is Butcher Holler. Loretta had seven brothers and sisters. The family was poverty-stricken and did what they could to survive. At the age of thirteen Oliver Venetta Lynn whisks her off her feet. Friends called him “Doolittle”, but Loretta shortened it to “Doo”. She spent the next forty-eight years loving a man who was a womanizer and a violent drunk. They had their ups and downs along the way. Loretta believed that once you married a man you were married for life. You didn’t get divorced no matter how terrible it got. Loretta had an undying love for Doo and stood by him through all of life’s struggles.

Doo heard of a job opportunity in Washington State and he took Loretta from her family in Kentucky to pursue it. Doo pushed her to sing in taverns because he thought she had what it took to become a great country singer. She didn’t want to sing in front of people, but he convinced her to do it. After awhile Loretta had a hit record with “Honky Tonk Girl”.

When Loretta first came to Nashville she met Patsy Cline who became her best friend. She shares a little bit about Patsy. When Patsy was killed in a plane crash, Loretta’s world was crushed. Loretta was so touched when Ernest Tubb picked her to sing some duets with him. She remembered listening to him on the radio while growing up. Loretta grew to love Ernest as one of her dearest friends.

She shares how violent her husband could be and how he ran around with women. She talks about her friendship with Tammy Wynette. She talks about Conway Twitty and things about her days singing with him. Loretta shares the pain of death. Since her last book she has lost so many friends and family including: her husband, a son, her mother, two aunts, four uncles, Ernest Tubb, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette and Owen Bradley.

She tells of the battle her husband had with alcoholism and how it led to him getting diabetes. She tells the reader of his last days and the special times they spent together. After his death she had a nervous breakdown and basically shut down to the world. She tells how she made it through the most horrible loss of her life and how today she is Still Woman Enough.

Questions the book will answer for you?

When she was close to being a teenage what is the first words Loretta ever heard her Grandpa say that nearly crushed her? How did Loretta’s aunt almost kill her? What was Loretta’s honeymoon night like? Why did Doo throw the meals Loretta cooked out to the dogs many times? Why did Doo leave Loretta when she was four months pregnant and how did he end up getting her back? How did Doo get caught running around with one of Loretta’s brother’s wife? Why did Loretta knock out Doo’s two front teeth one time? What was Loretta’s first job for cash? Who did Loretta first try to sing like? How did Loretta meet Patsy Cline? When Loretta was to perform one night why did the audience think she was drunk? How did Doo save George Jones’ life? How is Tanya Tucker like Patsy Cline and why is Loretta such good friends with her? What two ladies does Loretta want to record an album with today? Why did Doo break 100 quarts of green beans that Loretta had spent the day canning? How did she feel about all of the awards she won and why was Doo not there to share them with her? Why did Loretta always stick by Doo? How did her son, Jack Benny, die at the age of 33? What former President does Loretta love like family? Who was the greatest teacher Loretta ever had and how was she honored at the White House? What were Conway’s last minutes like? How did Loretta get through the biggest loss of her life, her husband Doo? What plans does she have for her future?

My Thoughts:

I hope that my questions have gotten you interested in reading the book. I must say that this is one of the best books that I have read in awhile. If you have ever heard Loretta sing or talk you know that she is just about one of the most country sounding folks out there. She writes her book the exact same way she talks. While I was reading it I could just picture her saying the words. There wasn’t a page in the book that wasn’t interesting to me. I read it within a few days because I picked it up and was reading every chance I got.

I loved reading about her life. She is painfully honest as she writes. I did not read her first book, but did not have any problems picking up this book and getting lost. It was written so that you could follow it whether you had read the first book or not. Since it had been twenty-five years since the first book Loretta thought it was time she told what’s happened since. I felt like I really got to know her in this book. She seems like such a down to earth, normal person. She is one of those people that are just like you and me. She doesn’t think of herself as some glamorous star. I can tell what a kind and loving person she is.

In the middle of the book Loretta included 25 assorted pictures. There are pictures from her childhood, early singing days, some with Doo, other family photos, one with Tammy Wynette and another with Conway Twitty. I enjoyed looking at the pictures. My husband doesn't read books so I had the best time telling him things from the book and showing him the pictures. He has met Doo a few times from a job that my husband had years ago. He always thought he was a likable man.

She shared some about her museum that she has in Waverly, TN. I am planning to go there in the spring and check it out. Maybe Loretta will be there that day. It would sure be an honor to meet her. I admire her for her strength and her courage. She is a strong woman who grew up with struggles we can’t imagine today. She proved to the world that no matter what struggles you have along the way that you can be successful. She is an inspiration to me and I hope that in another twenty years she will write her life story part three.


Recommended: Yes