Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life Paperback – June 2, 2020

I had seen several interviews with Randy & Mary promoting this book, & I had heard really good things about it, so I went ahead & bought a copy.My main concern of interest going into it was how it was going to be voiced & structured given that Randy has very limited ability to speak & communicate clearly ever since his debilitating stroke in 2013. I had heard the author, Ken Abraham, discuss how he pulled together all these hours of footage of interviews & what not of Randy’s over the years to try to write in & maintain his voice. & I know Randy’s second wife, Mary, was certainly a huge contributor, & reading through the acknowledgments section at the end of the book, they did seem to interview a lot of people close to Randy along the way to gain their perspectives. There was also a footnote at the very beginning of the book acknowledging how heavily others recollections of the stories within would be relied upon.Yet, I have to say, by the completion of this book, I was still rubbed the wrong way throughout that it was always written as if Randy, himself, were sitting there, telling a ghost writer his life story, yet we know for a fact that that’s an utter impossibility. & I felt that at times, that was definitely noticeable too through different holes or pieces left out of stories that only Randy, himself, could’ve actually filled in. & by the repetitiveness of several pieces of the book too, that didn’t blend with someone sitting down, sharing their life story.I’m not saying in any way that they shouldn’t have still done this book! I know it was well & hard researched, & that Randy certainly seems to approve of it to the extent that he can - what bothered me was the writing structure & voice of making the entire book sound as though each word’s coming out of Randy’s mouth & onto the paper, when we all know that isn’t possible.It could still even have been an autobiography rather than a biography! Pull in pieces of what he has actually said in past interviews & to different people, while also putting in Mary’s point of view on things, or Jeff Davis’ point of view on things, or what not. But don’t make the whole book sound like it came from Randy, when it couldn’t have. That especially bothered me during the end chapters post-stroke. Clearly, he didn’t write or say anything of that time, & we don’t know how he truly feels about any of it.I don’t know. It might seem frivolous & silly to some, but that aspect just really bugged me the whole book through.That being said - Wow. I certainly never realized the truly difficult aspects of Randy’s life & how sad it is to grow up with an alcoholic, abusive, controlling father, just to literally leave the womb & move in with a controlling, abusive woman for the next 30+ years of your life, & once you FINALLY get out & have your own, personal complete & total freedom for pretty much the first time in your entire life & you’re in your 50’s, I think he didn’t even know what to do with it, had his drunken/naked, fall from grace fiasco, & a very short time later, a horrendous illness / hospital stay / stroke, which would deprive him of many personal freedoms & the ability to take care of himself, speak for himself, do what he wants to do, etc for the remainder of his life. He pretty much has never gotten to be his very own person his whole life through.Lib - Oh my goodness. I knew his first marriage wasn’t ordinary, & I realize this is only one side of the story, (Randy, Mary, etc), but I actually felt they were decently generous to her throughout the book considering all she’s stolen from him/them & put him through as really an abusive spouse for what? 30+ years. He still complimented all she did for his career & to get him started in the business early on. But even still, wowza!She’s 18 years older than Randy. They met when he was 16 years old. She took legal custody of him WITH her then-husband Frank, by the way, when he was a minor so he could move to Charlotte. They were cheating on her husband sleeping together when Randy was 17. Ended up getting married & actually staying together for 33 years from the time he was 17 to 51 UNTIL she finally got bored of him & his career, & then started using all of his money & notoriety to make her new project, a young, impressionable, Irish singer named Eamonn, (who she was also sleeping with having an affair even though he was in his 20’s & she was in her late 60’s by this point), a star. If that’s not the ultimate cougar story, then I don’t know what possibly could be!Also, as a side note, finding out the whole Eamonn/Lib story & how she forced his duet with Randy, “Someone You Never Knew”, (a quite evilly ironic song), onto the 25th anniversary album, really bummed me out because I used to love that song, & now it’s so creepy, I don’t even know if I can stand listening to it.Their entire marriage she controlled Randy like crazy & she’d done it so meticulously for so long, that he didn’t even really notice it much at the time & just allowed it. She controlled what he ate, wore, did. She didn’t allow him to have any friends or go out & do anything with anybody but her. She made up fake allergies he never even had so he’d only eat the perfectly healthy food she picked out for him. She fed him lie after lie about people & situations.And it just gets so sad when you get to the end of the book & learn all that she stole from him, lied to him about, & used him for legally & otherwise for so many years. She cleaned him out & literally left him nothing. His voice wasn’t even insured. She was his manager forever, & in the end, after all of it, she only did what benefited her & she flat out stole everything that was rightfully his. Someone quoted in the book said something like, she made Elvis’s manager, Tom Parker look tame... THAT’s saying something.Even after the stroke - what she did at the disposition with the lawyers, playing the video of his naked/drunken/rambling arrest just to humiliate him? I don’t know. I think hell has a special place for people that low down there anyways.NOT that I condone anything from his infamous arrest though! Even though I forgive and understand his side of the massive mistake much more clearly now, & he did tell a truly touching story of a firefighter on duty who had spoken to him that night, & wrote him a beautiful letter years later encouraging his faith & saying that he’s “still a fan.”& I AM sorry that he lost the court battle to respect his privacy & keep the video from being released publicly - but it still has always definitely been difficult for me to forgive him for the vilely wicked words he muttered to the police & paramedics doing their job & trying to help him that night, even however inebriated he was. And I felt like he could have been more apologetic specifically to them, for that, & his own actions, then just explaining it all away in the book as basically a religious experience where he learned from his sins & Jesus paid for them or whatever.While I’ve explained what took away from the book for me, I will for sure say this - Reading this book REALLY got me back in touch with loving & adoring the music & voice of Randy Travis again! I’m a child of 90’s country music, & although I have always listened to & loved his hits, I had forgotten how many of his albums I had known every single song on word for word growing up & how much I loved them & still do today. Throughout reading this book, I listened & re-connected to his entire discography, & found a concert dvd of his from the early 2000s that I just cannot stop watching.So even only liking & not loving this book, I do love & appreciate it for the simple fact alone that I am fully reconnected with the timeless traditional country music recorded by the classic true country voice, artist, musician, & writer that is, was, & will always be Randy Travis... forever & ever, amennnnn!

As someone who worked in country music radio at the time Randy Travis began his career, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have long been a fan and this book provided depth to the information I already knew.

Great book!

Very enjoyable read, was sorry when finished. Its too bad he put his trust in someone he thought loved him, seems she was just out for herself.

I’m generally a 70s rock-and-roll kind ‘a guy, but I can appreciate music from pretty much any genre, as long I can make out a melody and someone isn’t screaming at me the whole time. :-)One genre I didn’t like as a kid, but grew to enjoy, was a country…especially traditional country. If there is anyone the last few decades who is the epitome of traditional country, it’s Randy Travis. When he announced on Twitter he had an autobiography coming out, I immediately pre-ordered it on Amazon. Boy, I am glad I did.I give Forever and Ever, Amen 5 stars based on:5 – Pay for both the electronic and paper versions4 – Pay for the electronic or paper version (whichever is your preference)3 – Pay for it if it is heavily discounted2 – Read it if it is free1 – Unless you need a cure for insomnia, skip itI’m more of a non-fiction technology or leadership book reader, but Forever and Ever, Amen, was a tremendous, inspiring break. Within its pages you learn how one of the greatest country voices ever grew up, how his career took off, and how he battled back from a debilitating stroke (a battle he is still fighting). It is an honest work, admitting his humanity while still “telling it as it is” when he was wronged (in a diplomatic way).Perhaps what was most inspiring character trait obvious from the autobiography was Randy’s humility. This is my favorite passage in its pages:“L.D. and I were talking one night after a show about another artist we had recently seen. The artist seemed almost rude and uncaring about the fans and so arrogant. I was certain I must have gotten the wrong impression, so I asked L.D., ‘Did that artist seem cocky to you?’L.D. nodded and said, ‘Yeah, Hoss, an ego is a heavy thing to carry.’I thought that was a simple yet profound statement. After that, any time I felt tempted to get cocky, I recalled, ‘An ego is a heavy thing to carry.’”Randy, based on your book…you have lived the wisdom in J.D.’s statement all your professional career.Which leads me to the final thing I’d like to note. Considering what he’s gone though (and it’s far more than just his stroke), Randy could have a negative attitude about life…but, he and his wife Mary have the opposite. He wraps up “Acknowledgements” with:“Most of all, I am grateful to the Lord Jesus, who never gave up on me, and who continues to bless my life. He is the final ‘Amen!’”Great perspective Randy! Thanks for the music! Thanks for the book!

This was a very well written memoir of the country star's life, but has wider interest in its frank depiction of the unhealthy controlling relationship with his first wife, an older woman who began sleeping with him when he was a 17 year ol and she was in her 30s and his court appointed guardian. If the genders were reversed the abusive nature of the relationship would have been more widely acknowledged.Loses a star for a bit too much boring medical detail, but an excellent read.

Is a wonderful read. Having been a huge fan for a long time, it was great to be able to read about his life, where he came from and how he became a star. Very inspirational and uplifting despite all he went through. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Only read part of this book so far as I got fed up with the authors attitude. I will eventually get around to reading it but not a great buy.

Everything was good

This book tells of a young man controlled by an older woman who thought only about herself and used him for her gain. Then it talks about a woman who gave Amazing Grace and genuine love to a man who needed it at his lowest time. Randy’s story is very honest and humbling. Must read.