Loretta Lynn: Coal Miner's Daughter

I have to admit, I knew next to nothing about Loretta Lynn before reading this book. I was aware she was a famous country music singer, but I couldn’t have named any of her songs off the top of my head or even give a general description of what she looks like. However, after reading this book and watching the film based upon it, I have to say I really admire the woman. Loretta grew up in a very poor mining town, pretty much cut off from and ignorant of the greater world. She married very young and her (abusive) husband drove her to become a star. She still retains a lot of her youthful naiveté as well as her rather folksy delivery; she has not been corrupted by the wide world and being a Famous Person. She stays true to her (abusive) show more husband and stands strong in her beliefs, and really doesn’t give a crap who knows it. She tries to be nice to people, but will fight like a wildcat if someone close to her is mistreated. She’s really a remarkable woman, and I look forward to reading her second memoir, published more than 25 years later. show less

Book on CD narrated by Sissy Spacek
3.5***

This autobiography takes the reader from Loretta’s birth (sometime when FDR was president – she refuses to reveal how old she really is) to stardom.

I found this very interesting. She tells her story in a forthright and honest manner, relating both the good and the bad. She doesn’t apologize for her life or her choices (she married at age thirteen and was a grandmother by the time she was 29), but allows that she may not have had the education or life experience to do things differently at the time.

There were times when I winced at her ignorance but there’s no denying her talent and hard work. This memoir was first published in 1976. I had to keep reminding myself how different life was show more then. The audiobook I listened to was for the 30-year anniversary edition and included a forward with some additional information.

Sissy Spacek does a marvelous job narrating the audio. She was Lynn’s hand-picked choice to portray her in the movie, and has Lynn’s voice down pat. Most of the time I completely forgot it was Spacek performing it. I have never seen the movie, but having listened to Spacek’s performance on the audio, I know want to. Brava! show less

3.75 stars

Originally published in 1976, this is country music star Loretta Lynn’s autobiography.

She’s pretty old-fashioned, but of course that could also just be that she’s a product of her time. I loved her “storytelling” style – it read like chatting with a friend as she tells stories of her life. I was not as interested in the other celebrity stories, and was more interested in her home life. Some interesting celebrity tidbits, though: I didn’t know Chrystal Gayle was her sister; she and Patsy Cline were friends; she felt badly for Olivia Newton John when people were “against” her winning country music awards because she wasn’t from Nashville.

I liked the first half of the book much better, as it focused more on show more her home life – growing up poor, her father working in a coal mine; marrying at 14-years old... Sissy Spacek was perfect to narrate the audio! So, overall, I’m rating it good (3.5 stars) with an extra quarter star for Sissy Spacek. show less

In 1970, country music legend Loretta Lynn released "Coal Miner's Daughter," a song that tells the story of her life. I read the book a number of years ago but kept hearing good things about the audiobook version, narrated by Cissy Spacek. Loretta tells us the story of her upbringing in the coal mining town of Butcher “Holler” Kentucky where she grew up dirt poor. She married at a young age and had four children by the time she was twenty. Her husband, Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn bought her a cheap guitar and she taught herself how to play. Eventually she broke into the country music business where she became a role model for every other woman who wanted to become a country music star.

I found this audiobook to be quite compelling. I show more read that Loretta wanted the writing to sound just like she does, so if you're looking for a book where the pronunciation is always correct and the editing is pristine, you might not enjoy this book. She wrote songs dealing with cheating husbands and persistent mistresses, inspired by issues she faced in her marriage. I was surprised to find out that many of Loretta's early songs were banned by country music stations like “The Pill” (birth control) and “One's On the Way” (repeated childbirth).

I thought this book was a fascinating story of her life, family, poverty stricken childhood and of course, her famously tumultuous marriage. The style of writing, an oral history, might be difficult for some to read but Cissy Spacek does a wonderful job of narrating. I think I'll see if I can find the movie now and see how the two compare. show less

In 1970, country music legend Loretta Lynn released "Coal Miner's Daughter," a song that tells the story of her life. I read the book a number of years ago but kept hearing good things about the audiobook version, narrated by Cissy Spacek. Loretta tells us the story of her upbringing in the coal mining town of Butcher “Holler” Kentucky where she grew up dirt poor. She married at a young age and had four children by the time she was twenty. Her husband, Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn bought her a cheap guitar and she taught herself how to play. Eventually she broke into the country music business where she became a role model for every other woman who wanted to become a country music star.

I found this audiobook to be quite compelling. I show more read that Loretta wanted the writing to sound just like she does, so if you're looking for a book where the pronunciation is always correct and the editing is pristine, you might not enjoy this book. She wrote songs dealing with cheating husbands and persistent mistresses, inspired by issues she faced in her marriage. I was surprised to find out that many of Loretta's early songs were banned by country music stations like “The Pill” (birth control) and “One's On the Way” (repeated childbirth).

I thought this book was a fascinating story of her life, family, poverty stricken childhood and of course, her famously tumultuous marriage. The style of writing, an oral history, might be difficult for some to read but Cissy Spacek does a wonderful job of narrating. I think I'll see if I can find the movie now and see how the two compare. show less

This book is a reprint of the 1976 original autobiography of Loretta Lynn. There is additional new information at the back of the book. It also shows that there were a lot of differences between the movie (at least what I can remember of it) and what indeed occurred.

I must admit that I didn't really know anything about this artist until I watched the movie back in the 1980's. I have always love "Coal Miner's Daughter" and the movie, so I took a chance with this book. I'm so glad I did because it shows a deeper side of Loretta, her music, and her relationship with Doolittle. I can't always s get behind Loretta's outlook on marriage, but then again, I'm not an 88-year-old woman who was born before the depression and married at 13!

I love show more looking at the lives of the people in the hollers, how they survived, and how they Loretta dealt with them as she rose in the record industry.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves that intense country music, who wants to learn more about the industry at that time, or wants to know more about some other artists that Loretta adored...or even liked the movie!

*ARC supplied by the publisher, author, and NetGalley. Thank you. show less

This was a great audio book, read by Sissy Spacek, who played Loretta Lynn in the movie version of this book and recreated Lynn's voice and accent so that it sounds perfectly natural and believable. This was easily one of the best readings I've heard yet. The story itself is fascinating and uplifting, as it covers Lynn's rise from poverty to fame. She keeps a level head and displays a charming sense of self. She isn't afraid to do what needs to be done - she both holds to her values and changes when the time is right and life has shown her that change is needed. Very inspiring.