Between each line of pain and glory

For as far back as Gladys can remember, she has always been a performer. A true child prodigy, she was born in Atlanta in 1944 and has been earning her way as a singer since the tender age of four. By the time she was in high school, she was belting out doo-wop ditties and torch songs in juke joints and nightclubs on the "chit'lin' circuit" as the opening act (with The Pips) for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ike & Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, B.B.

King, Jackie Wilson, and Little Richard, among others. And then there were the legendary Motown years - and the multi-Grammy-Award-winning ones that have followed.

Along the way her life has been filled with enormous ups and downs, details of which Gladys shares for the first time in this book. Between the lines of her life story, you'll find her bravely facing many of life's most difficult challenges, including racism, sexual assault, addiction and recovery, and her struggle to break free from disappointing romantic relationships while maintaining a strong sense of personal pride and independence.