Joy and Pain Fuel Memoir of June Carter Cash

June Carter Cash

July 3, 2007 — When editors at Thomas Nelson Publishers asked John Carter Cash to write a book about his mother, June Carter Cash, he was hesitant at first, he tells The Tennessean.

"I knew that I'd be deciding to talk about some things I'd never talked about before," he said. "I knew if I did that, I'd have to explain the darkness, and make the point the light."

John's book, Anchored in Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash, is now in stores, as is the tribute album, Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash, which he produced.

The book touches on the turmoil that existed beyond the spotlight, including Johnny Cash's depression and addictions, which had an enduring impact on the family. Passages about June's late-life addiction to pills also help to provide a clearer picture of her depths and complications than has previously existed.

"I was concerned about writing something that would be taken as sensationalist, and I wasn't going to do it," John said. "But I also knew that it had to be truthful, and that the essence of the story had to end sadly, in some ways. I had to go back through my mother's dying, step by step. I'm hoping that the reader will gain a greater understanding of her pain and suffering and see the joy that was there, too."

In the book, John also details some of his own struggles with addiction and depression and writes about family dynamics that were problematic at times, particularly involving sister Rosey Nix Adams, who died in 2003. Since their parents' death, John and his surviving sisters have drawn closer, he said. "After our mother and father died, we cling to each other tighter in many ways."

As for the revelations in the book, "I believe we're all fallible human beings," John said. "We're all going to struggle. We're all going to hopefully get back up and keep going. As my mother would say, 'Press on.' And I don't have any problems with being an open book. It's in my blood to let the world know."