Willie Nelson will reflect on aging, creativity, and his relationship with his wife in a new book coming later this year.
Penguin Press will publish the country music legend’s The Last Leaf: Reflections on Late-Life Creativity–and My Longest Love Affair in the fall, it announced in a news release. In the book, the press says, Nelson “shares his well-earned wisdom about reaching an astonishing creative flourishing, and not coincidentally, an even deeper union with the love of his life, Annie.”
Nelson, one of the world’s biggest country superstars, began his career in music in 1956 with the single “No Place for Me,” which wasn’t a hit. He worked as a radio announcer, dishwasher, and sales manager before finding success as a songwriter, and later, following a move to Austin, Texas, a performer, where he was associated with the popular outlaw country movement.
His hit singles, still country music staples to this day, include “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “Whiskey River,” “On the Road Again,” and “Always on My Mind.” He has recorded more than 100 albums, most recently Dream Chaser, which was released in May.
He is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Facts of Life and Other Dirty Jokes; Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings From the Road; and Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs, co-written with David Ritz and Mickey Raphael.
In The Last Leaf, Penguin Press says, Nelson “flashes back to life-altering moments, including facing almost-certain death during COVID and what he gained from that” and writes about “how the fiery spirit of Annie [D’Angelo], his wife and best friend for four decades, has matched his own.”
The Last Leaf is scheduled for publication on Nov. 10.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
