Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You: A Memoir

This was an education in Southern Gothic that I didn’t expect.

A good and honest memoir.

Straightforward, no-nonsense memoir from the celebrated singer/songwriter. Williams describes her difficult childhood and long road to success without self-pity or blame. Her matter-of-fact description of her mother's mental illness and her father's peripatetic career that moved the family 12 times in Williams' first 18 years doesn't allow for any wallowing, but it kept me from fully engaging with her story. But the emotion is all there in her brilliant songs, which are about to be in heavy rotation on my playlist.