Embarking upon her singing career at the tender age of 11, Tanya Tucker grew up fast and hard and wild. She seemed destined for either the highest fame or the worst destruction--maybe even both. From the big time to rock bottom and back again, her life reads like a blueprint for one of the melancholy songs that made her a star in country music, and her revealing memoir, Nickel Dreams: My Life, leaves out little of the nitty-gritty. With the aid of author and friend Patsi Bale Cox, Tucker writes honestly about her many exploits that became tabloid fodder--a fiery public affair with Glen Campbell and a long battle with alcoholism among them--without glossing over them or apologizing. There are plenty of anecdotes and revelations about her music as well, plus a peek at the backrooms of the music business and the shady dealings that occur there. Close attention is paid to her childhood and the overbearing presence of a father/manager who wanted his daughter to be a grown woman and a little girl at the same time.