Me and Sister Bobbie

July 27, 2020
Country music legend Willie Nelson and his sister Bobbie invite fans into their lives in this humorous, nostalgic dual memoir. While Willie has told much of his story before (It’s a Long Story: My Life), this is the first time Bobbie has shared her experiences of growing up with Willie. Telling their story in alternating chronological anecdotes, they begin with their childhood in 1930s Abbott, Tex., where they were raised by their grandparents after their parents left them. Willie writes that Mama and Daddy Nelson gave Bobbie and him two gifts that saved their lives: love and music. The siblings performed in their Methodist church (Bobbie played the Hammond organ, with Willie on guitar) as well as at tent meetings. The two worked on farms alongside Black and Latino workers; when they invited their fellow field workers to a church performance, they weren’t welcomed (Bobbie says that “the incident did get me to thinking about challenging conventional church dogma”). Bobbie recalls Willie’s trouble with the IRS for not paying taxes: “Willie was blindsided by the whole thing. He was told he had to declare bankruptcy. But Brother wouldn’t do that because he wasn’t about to burn anyone he owed money to.” Nelson’s many fans will enjoy these cheerful and loving stories.

August 1, 2020
A brother-and-sister memoir celebrates more than eight decades of love, family, and music. Willie and his older sister, Bobbie, are clearly grateful for each other, and readers will be almost as grateful that they decided to share their story together. Most of the details are already familiar for fans of Willie and country music in general, and some are legend. Far less is known about Bobbie, the keyboard player who says little onstage but who has long provided the backbone of Willie's band, which he has dubbed the Family ever since she joined. The chapters attributed to "Brother" and "Sister" alternate, showing how their lives and destinies have intertwined, even during the extended stretches when they weren't playing music together. Willie builds a strong case that Bobbie is the musical virtuoso in the family, that her range has allowed him to extend and expand his own, and that she was the "missing piece of my musical puzzle" that made him a beloved institution as a recording and touring artist rather than just a songwriter. Bobbie testifies to how Willie's innate poetic sensibility and irrepressible likability were present from childhood and how his determination to follow his own instincts eventually paid dividends. Their split narrative covers their many marriages (four for Willie, three for Bobbie) as well as the challenges and heartbreak that Bobbie has faced, information that will be new to most readers. For example, she discusses how she lost custody of her children because of the belief that women shouldn't be playing music where alcohol was sold; how she was abused by husbands and lovers; and how racism, sexism, and depression would have tragic consequences for her. She also shows how forgiveness, faith, and personal resilience carried her through. Early on, Willie calls her a "heroine," and readers will agree with that assessment. A shift in perspective makes a familiar story seem fresh all over again.

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August 7, 2020

Willie Nelson and his sister, Bobbie Nelson, take turns chapter by chapter telling the story of their lives, both together and apart. Raised by their grandparents in a small town in Texas, Willie and Bobbie remember a hardscrabble life but also one of love, church, and music. Grandma and Grandpa Nelson bought Bobbie a piano and Willie a guitar, and the two formed a band when both were only teens. The rest is history for Willie (and he told his story in his 2015 memoir It's a Long Story), but Bobbie faced challenges in not only relationships (failed marriages, losing custody of her children) but also her music career, though she eventually joined Willie's band later in life. Coauthored by David Ritz (On Time, with Morris Day), this is a deeply personal and familial look at Willie that may surprise (his deep religious faith, the revelation that he thinks Bobbie is the stronger, more talented one), but though Willie weighs in, this memoir is really about Bobbie, as she tells her story for the first time, an often tragic tale that reads like an old Tammy Wynette song. VERDICT Country fans, especially Willie Nelson devotees, will devour this down-to-earth yet inspiring account of an unbreakable bond between brother and sister. [See Prepub Alert, 4/1/20.]--Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

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