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Take Me Home: An Autobiography
In a career that spanned decades, John Denver earned international acclaim as a singer, songwriter, actor, and environmental activist. Songs like "Take Me Home, Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High," and "Annie's Song" have entered the canon of universal anthems, but at his start John Denver was a young man with little more than a fine voice, a guitar, and a dream. Growing up in a conservative military family, he was not expected to drop out of college and head to Los Angeles, where the music scene was flourishing. Nor was he expected to succeed. In Take Me Home, John Denver chronicles the experiences that shaped his life, while unraveling the rich, inner journey of a shy Midwestern boy whose uneasy partnership with fame has been one of the defining forces of his first fifty years. With candor and wit, John writes about his childhood, the experience of hitting L.A. as the Sixties roared into full swing, his first breaks, his years with the Mitchell Trio, his first songwriting success with "Leaving on a Jet Plane," and finally a career that made his a global household name. He also explores his relationships with the women in his life - particularly his first wife, Annie Martell, and his second wife, Cassandra Delaney - as well as his parents, his children, his partners through his life, and his friends. Honest, insightful and rich in anecdotes that only a natural-born storyteller could tell so well, Take Me Home is a highly charged and fascinating book from beginning to end. It's like spending a couple of days with a good friend.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
196 people are currently reading
760 people want to read
About the author
John Denver
221 books31 followersJohn Denver, born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who was one of the most popular artists of the 1970s. He recorded and released some 300 songs, about half of which he had composed, and was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977.
Denver's songs were suffused with a deep and abiding love of the natural world. Songs such as "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (1971), "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Calypso" (1975), "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", and "Rocky Mountain High" (1973) are popular worldwide. Denver has been referred to as "The Poet For the Planet", "Mother Nature's Son" (based on The Beatles song he covered) and "A Song's Best Friend".
Denver's songs were suffused with a deep and abiding love of the natural world. Songs such as "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (1971), "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Calypso" (1975), "Thank God I'm a Country Boy", and "Rocky Mountain High" (1973) are popular worldwide. Denver has been referred to as "The Poet For the Planet", "Mother Nature's Son" (based on The Beatles song he covered) and "A Song's Best Friend".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
October 29, 2018
OK, I'll admit it: I'm a big John Denver fan. It probably has something to do with being exposed to his music during my formative years. Even in the '80s when it was no longer cool to admit that one liked John Denver, I listened to certain songs of his again and again, probably until my mom and siblings demanded that I stop.
Reading autobiographies of artists you admire is always an exercise fraught with peril -- not just because some artists are not particularly good authors (Denver lists Arthur Tobier as a co-writer on this book, and it takes a few chapters before the two manage to settle on a writing style that feels like Denver's authentic voice), but because some artists are not particularly good people. (Ernest Hemingway, call your office.) If you want to be swiftly disabused of the notion that someone you admire is perfect, or at least laudable, there's often no better or faster way to do it than to read an honest, no-holds-barred memoir.
Denver's version of his life story is curious -- he doesn't shy away from topics others might have censored, such as his casual drug use, his DUIs, his inability to share his emotions meaningfully with the people he loved most, and his treatment of his first wife (which swung between frequent neglect and infidelity, harsh verbal fighting and, at least at the end of their marriage, outright physical abuse) -- but while he owns up to these and other failings, he seems not to have learned much from the experiences. He still seems puzzled that things turned out as they did, almost as though he expected the people around him to accept his faults and failings while not being able to do the same for them. It is this attitude, more than the revelations of his imperfections, that I found most frustrating about reading this book. Admission of a personal failing is a good first step, but it's meant to lead to corrective action, not just an oh-well-this-is-how-I-am attitude. In the words of a BoJack Horseman character, "You need to be better."
And perhaps that's what autobiographies are really best at doing -- at showing us the faults of people we admire in such a way that we subtly shift from reading a book to looking in a mirror. At first we ask, "Why did they do that? Why couldn't they have learned something?" and then, if we're really paying attention, come the follow-up questions: "Why do I do that? Can I learn something from this person's life that will improve my own?" Not that everyone will happen to have John Denver's particular set of issues, but we all have issues of our own, some of which are remarkably stubborn to budge. And we all need to be better.
Reading autobiographies of artists you admire is always an exercise fraught with peril -- not just because some artists are not particularly good authors (Denver lists Arthur Tobier as a co-writer on this book, and it takes a few chapters before the two manage to settle on a writing style that feels like Denver's authentic voice), but because some artists are not particularly good people. (Ernest Hemingway, call your office.) If you want to be swiftly disabused of the notion that someone you admire is perfect, or at least laudable, there's often no better or faster way to do it than to read an honest, no-holds-barred memoir.
Denver's version of his life story is curious -- he doesn't shy away from topics others might have censored, such as his casual drug use, his DUIs, his inability to share his emotions meaningfully with the people he loved most, and his treatment of his first wife (which swung between frequent neglect and infidelity, harsh verbal fighting and, at least at the end of their marriage, outright physical abuse) -- but while he owns up to these and other failings, he seems not to have learned much from the experiences. He still seems puzzled that things turned out as they did, almost as though he expected the people around him to accept his faults and failings while not being able to do the same for them. It is this attitude, more than the revelations of his imperfections, that I found most frustrating about reading this book. Admission of a personal failing is a good first step, but it's meant to lead to corrective action, not just an oh-well-this-is-how-I-am attitude. In the words of a BoJack Horseman character, "You need to be better."
And perhaps that's what autobiographies are really best at doing -- at showing us the faults of people we admire in such a way that we subtly shift from reading a book to looking in a mirror. At first we ask, "Why did they do that? Why couldn't they have learned something?" and then, if we're really paying attention, come the follow-up questions: "Why do I do that? Can I learn something from this person's life that will improve my own?" Not that everyone will happen to have John Denver's particular set of issues, but we all have issues of our own, some of which are remarkably stubborn to budge. And we all need to be better.
August 22, 2009
I gave this read a 5-star because of my close feelings for the artist who wrote it. It was a moving confession of a man who has taken his knocks in life, didn't make the best of choices in between the triumphant choices that he did make, and an all around story of success, failure, and "life moves on".
This book was written just before Denver's tragic death. However, after reading the book, you not only understand the reason for the choices and events that led up to his death, you understand the reasons and spiritual origins for his songs, and the course that his life took.
Denver passes no judgment in this book on people who had an interactive part in turning his life to sadness. He has a positive attitude toward those who lived in his life and portrays everyone in a good spirit; something a lesser man could not do.
He confesses his passions of art, love, nature, and even his moments of anger. Like his music and lyrics, this book is open and honest, true to the man who never kept secrets of his heart.
This book was written just before Denver's tragic death. However, after reading the book, you not only understand the reason for the choices and events that led up to his death, you understand the reasons and spiritual origins for his songs, and the course that his life took.
Denver passes no judgment in this book on people who had an interactive part in turning his life to sadness. He has a positive attitude toward those who lived in his life and portrays everyone in a good spirit; something a lesser man could not do.
He confesses his passions of art, love, nature, and even his moments of anger. Like his music and lyrics, this book is open and honest, true to the man who never kept secrets of his heart.
April 13, 2025
I grew up with John Denver songs on the radio, laughed out loud when he appeared with the Muppets, and enjoyed the movie “ The Christmas Gift” on t.v., when he portrayed a grieving father with a little girl. So, I would call myself a huge John Denver fan, who pauses to sing along to his songs on the radio.
This book, however, was a huge disappointment. The John Denver who wrote those beautiful songs just never got to me in this autobiography. The photographs were really the only thing to like about it.
This book, however, was a huge disappointment. The John Denver who wrote those beautiful songs just never got to me in this autobiography. The photographs were really the only thing to like about it.
July 13, 2010
My opinion of John Denver changed after reading his words. I would have rather kept my illusions.
November 4, 2013
It’s a total mystery to me how this 1994 title was stored in the brand new release section of my local public library. That’s the only way I would’ve found it some 19 years after it was first published! Long an admirer of John Denver’s music, I couldn’t resist yet another celebrity autobiography. (That brings up a rabbit trail. If you use a ghost writer, in this case Arthur Tobier, and even put his name on the cover, is it still considered an “autobiography” and not a true “biography?”)
“Take Me Home” in my mind documents the fact that Denver was a tortured soul. The older of two sons in a military family, he moved around constantly while his Air Force pilot-father took various duty assignments. Growing up, that made it difficult for Denver to make friends, to put down roots. Compounding that issue for the singer and songwriter was a nearly life-long emotional detachment from his dad. (Although that relationship was apparently reconciled somewhat once Denver shared a common interest with his father in flying.) Not being a psychiatrist or a psychologist, I think those two factors more than any other may have led to Denver’s two failed marriages.
This 250-page retrospective chronicles Denver’s first fifty years and reveals his life-long quest to find himself, first in his music as well as in his numerous sexual affairs, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, environmental causes and New Age religious gurus. The later was a real turn-off to me personally. Denver’s chapter on finding your “inner space,” the philosophy of EST and later his essay on the practice of reiki leading to child fertility, getting in touch with your inner child and soul-retrieving through a shaman “transporting herself to some inner realm” smacks of witchcraft and the occult.
If you research Denver’s interest in aviation, you learn that his Lear 35 jet has gone through numerous ownership changes since his untimely death in the crash of Denver’s experimental plane off the coast of California. The History Channel records, “by the 1990s, Denver was still a popular touring musician, though he was no longer recording new material with significant commercial success. Over the course of his career, he had become an accomplished private pilot with more than 2,700 hours on various single- and multi-engine aircraft, with both an instrument and a Lear Jet rating. On October 12, 1997, however, he was flying an aircraft with which he was relatively unfamiliar, and with which he had previously experienced control problems, according to a later investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. At approximately 5:30 pm local time, after a smooth takeoff from a Pacific Grove airfield and under ideal flying conditions, Denver apparently lost control of his Long-EZ aircraft several hundred feet over Monterey Bay, leading to the fatal crash.” You won’t find that accident report, of course, in this Denver biography, released about three years before his fatal crash.
Don Phillips, a Washington Post staff writer, on January 27, 1999 reported the following:
According to investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, the crash was the culmination of a series of small mistakes. But the key factor seems to have been the decision by the plane's builder to place a fuel valve switch in a hard-to-get-at location behind the pilot.
Denver's final act apparently was to reach behind his left shoulder to switch the plane's engine from one fuel tank to another. The uncomfortable stretch caused his right foot to press against the right rudder, according to a final board report. The aircraft -- a single-engine Long-EZ -- pitched up, rolled to the right and slammed into the ocean.
George Petterson, the board's investigator-in-charge for the Denver crash, appeared in a board video showing what it would be like to turn the fuel switch in the cramped cockpit. His pretzel-like pose, coupled with the involuntary movement of his right foot, proved persuasive to the five-member board.
The plane had no flight data or voice recorder, so investigators had to piece together their account of the plane's final minutes.
Denver's aircraft was the only Long-EZ ever built with the fuel valve in that location. All 1,200 of the others -- based on a design by experimental guru Burt Rutan -- have the switch on the console directly between the pilot's legs.
Texan Adrian Davis, who built the plane from the Rutan plans, told investigators he put the switch behind the pilot because he did not want to have fuel lines running into the cockpit, especially down where they might rupture in a belly landing. In truth, investigators said, Rutan had accounted for that possibility by strengthening the fuselage below the fuel switch.
Some of the links in the accident chain were not Denver's fault. One was his stature: He had to have a cushion behind his back to allow him to reach the rudder pedals. This also meant he had to stretch farther to reach the fuel switch.
The plane also was new to Denver; he had just bought it from its second owner. And investigators believe he was unaware that he was so low on fuel.
"He must have exhausted the fuel in his left tank," said investigator Ron Price.
Witnesses reported the engine sputtered as he climbed away from one of his practice landings. Denver likely made his final stretch in an effort to switch to the right tank, which had fuel remaining.
Experimental and amateur-built aircraft like the Long-EZ are not subject to all the rules of the Federal Aviation Administration. The safety board recommended that the FAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association and insurers cooperate to "strongly encourage" pilots of new experimental planes to undergo formal training, which is not now required.
The board also recommended better markings: The plane that Denver flew did not even have a marking on the fuel selector switch to indicate in which position the engine was drawing from the left tank, which from the right tank, and which shut the fuel lines altogether.
Other reports I read indicated that Denver knew he was low on fuel but planned to fly for only about an hour. As the wreck badly disfigured Denver's head and body, making identification by dental records impossible, records of his fingerprints taken from his arrests for intoxicated driving were used to confirm that the fallen pilot was indeed the singer. In fact, he was not supposed to be flying because of prior DUI convictions. People magazine reported at the time, “Two days after the accident, officials announced that (Denver) had been flying without the medical certificate necessary for all approved pilots. According to wire reports, though, it had been suspended because Denver had twice been arrested on drunk-driving charges. Before the accident, the FAA had learned of his failure to abstain entirely from alcohol subsequent to drunken driving arrests, and since his medical certification was conditional on this, a determination was made that due to his drinking problem, he was not qualified for any class of medical certification at the time. At least a third-class medical certification was required to exercise the privileges of his pilot certificate. However, there was no trace of alcohol or any other drug in Denver's body at autopsy.
John Denver. A very tragic figure in American entertainment indeed. One wonders what might have been had he lived all of his too-short life as Henry John Deutschendorf, Junior.
“Take Me Home” in my mind documents the fact that Denver was a tortured soul. The older of two sons in a military family, he moved around constantly while his Air Force pilot-father took various duty assignments. Growing up, that made it difficult for Denver to make friends, to put down roots. Compounding that issue for the singer and songwriter was a nearly life-long emotional detachment from his dad. (Although that relationship was apparently reconciled somewhat once Denver shared a common interest with his father in flying.) Not being a psychiatrist or a psychologist, I think those two factors more than any other may have led to Denver’s two failed marriages.
This 250-page retrospective chronicles Denver’s first fifty years and reveals his life-long quest to find himself, first in his music as well as in his numerous sexual affairs, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, environmental causes and New Age religious gurus. The later was a real turn-off to me personally. Denver’s chapter on finding your “inner space,” the philosophy of EST and later his essay on the practice of reiki leading to child fertility, getting in touch with your inner child and soul-retrieving through a shaman “transporting herself to some inner realm” smacks of witchcraft and the occult.
If you research Denver’s interest in aviation, you learn that his Lear 35 jet has gone through numerous ownership changes since his untimely death in the crash of Denver’s experimental plane off the coast of California. The History Channel records, “by the 1990s, Denver was still a popular touring musician, though he was no longer recording new material with significant commercial success. Over the course of his career, he had become an accomplished private pilot with more than 2,700 hours on various single- and multi-engine aircraft, with both an instrument and a Lear Jet rating. On October 12, 1997, however, he was flying an aircraft with which he was relatively unfamiliar, and with which he had previously experienced control problems, according to a later investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. At approximately 5:30 pm local time, after a smooth takeoff from a Pacific Grove airfield and under ideal flying conditions, Denver apparently lost control of his Long-EZ aircraft several hundred feet over Monterey Bay, leading to the fatal crash.” You won’t find that accident report, of course, in this Denver biography, released about three years before his fatal crash.
Don Phillips, a Washington Post staff writer, on January 27, 1999 reported the following:
According to investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, the crash was the culmination of a series of small mistakes. But the key factor seems to have been the decision by the plane's builder to place a fuel valve switch in a hard-to-get-at location behind the pilot.
Denver's final act apparently was to reach behind his left shoulder to switch the plane's engine from one fuel tank to another. The uncomfortable stretch caused his right foot to press against the right rudder, according to a final board report. The aircraft -- a single-engine Long-EZ -- pitched up, rolled to the right and slammed into the ocean.
George Petterson, the board's investigator-in-charge for the Denver crash, appeared in a board video showing what it would be like to turn the fuel switch in the cramped cockpit. His pretzel-like pose, coupled with the involuntary movement of his right foot, proved persuasive to the five-member board.
The plane had no flight data or voice recorder, so investigators had to piece together their account of the plane's final minutes.
Denver's aircraft was the only Long-EZ ever built with the fuel valve in that location. All 1,200 of the others -- based on a design by experimental guru Burt Rutan -- have the switch on the console directly between the pilot's legs.
Texan Adrian Davis, who built the plane from the Rutan plans, told investigators he put the switch behind the pilot because he did not want to have fuel lines running into the cockpit, especially down where they might rupture in a belly landing. In truth, investigators said, Rutan had accounted for that possibility by strengthening the fuselage below the fuel switch.
Some of the links in the accident chain were not Denver's fault. One was his stature: He had to have a cushion behind his back to allow him to reach the rudder pedals. This also meant he had to stretch farther to reach the fuel switch.
The plane also was new to Denver; he had just bought it from its second owner. And investigators believe he was unaware that he was so low on fuel.
"He must have exhausted the fuel in his left tank," said investigator Ron Price.
Witnesses reported the engine sputtered as he climbed away from one of his practice landings. Denver likely made his final stretch in an effort to switch to the right tank, which had fuel remaining.
Experimental and amateur-built aircraft like the Long-EZ are not subject to all the rules of the Federal Aviation Administration. The safety board recommended that the FAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association and insurers cooperate to "strongly encourage" pilots of new experimental planes to undergo formal training, which is not now required.
The board also recommended better markings: The plane that Denver flew did not even have a marking on the fuel selector switch to indicate in which position the engine was drawing from the left tank, which from the right tank, and which shut the fuel lines altogether.
Other reports I read indicated that Denver knew he was low on fuel but planned to fly for only about an hour. As the wreck badly disfigured Denver's head and body, making identification by dental records impossible, records of his fingerprints taken from his arrests for intoxicated driving were used to confirm that the fallen pilot was indeed the singer. In fact, he was not supposed to be flying because of prior DUI convictions. People magazine reported at the time, “Two days after the accident, officials announced that (Denver) had been flying without the medical certificate necessary for all approved pilots. According to wire reports, though, it had been suspended because Denver had twice been arrested on drunk-driving charges. Before the accident, the FAA had learned of his failure to abstain entirely from alcohol subsequent to drunken driving arrests, and since his medical certification was conditional on this, a determination was made that due to his drinking problem, he was not qualified for any class of medical certification at the time. At least a third-class medical certification was required to exercise the privileges of his pilot certificate. However, there was no trace of alcohol or any other drug in Denver's body at autopsy.
John Denver. A very tragic figure in American entertainment indeed. One wonders what might have been had he lived all of his too-short life as Henry John Deutschendorf, Junior.
January 20, 2025
I got this book from my dads library of books after he died . It has sat on my shelf the last 7 years . I finally decided I needed to read it and am so glad I did . John Denver was a huge part of my growing up years ago. I just want to go stare at the mountains and listen to john Denver now .
October 25, 2019
Rating this book is kind of hard! It’s not brilliantly written, and it would probably only be interesting to someone highly invested in John Denver’s music... which I am, so it was. John Denver was a perennial part of the soundtrack of my parents’ home when I was growing up. Being from West Virginia and the ubiquity of Country Roads is also a factor, but I think my folks were fans long before they moved to WV in the late 80s. Hearing his voice makes me feel simultaneously at home, longing for home, and homesick for places I’ve never even seen yet.
His dad was a decorated Air Force pilot so he spent his childhood living all over the place - an experience that certainly contributed to his songwriting style. He was a very sensitive kid who felt things deeply, but also seemed to absorb his father’s mode of never talking about feelings and also occasionally talked negatively in the book of how “high strung” and “emotional” his mother was. A recipe for disaster!
He dropped out of college to start his music career in the late 60s, right at the time that rock n roll was taking off, so he followed the folkies to carve out a different niche for himself. He wrote Leavin’ On a Jet Plane when he was still very young. Peter, Paul and Mary covered it, and that set his career off in the direction it took. He writes of how his success came to be, the places his touring took him, the spiritual experiences he sought along the way through all manner of healers, shamans, and dieticians, and about starting an environmental foundation. Looking back it’s funny how he did all this environmental stuff, while spending his life crisscrossing the globe on airplanes for business and pleasure. He also compares himself to Columbus in talking about the nature documentary he did in Alaska, and was maybe more right about that than he realized.
He met Annie at a show when he was 22 and married her at 23, and since she didn’t like to go on the road with him, his way of dealing with that was to cheat on her at pretty much every possible opportunity on the road. As with reading Anthony Bourdain’s memoir, it left me feeling like I really needed his wife’s side of the story. Then there’s the matter of the chainsaw incident after she asked for a divorce which... I will not detail here but, yikes.
He writes of his second divorce, first DUI and breakups with his managers as if they were all things that just *happened* to him rather than in any way resulting from his choices and behavior. He was in kind of an alcoholic tailspin at the time he wrote this book, it seems, and was still when he died in the plane crash not much later. If he had lived and gotten sober, he may have had the chance to reckon with it all better... but alas, he did not.
John Denver leaves behind a legacy of beautiful music, the writing of which was informed by many years of internal and external turmoil. It’s one thing to know an artist’s work and another to know the context it came from, and I understand that a little better now.
His dad was a decorated Air Force pilot so he spent his childhood living all over the place - an experience that certainly contributed to his songwriting style. He was a very sensitive kid who felt things deeply, but also seemed to absorb his father’s mode of never talking about feelings and also occasionally talked negatively in the book of how “high strung” and “emotional” his mother was. A recipe for disaster!
He dropped out of college to start his music career in the late 60s, right at the time that rock n roll was taking off, so he followed the folkies to carve out a different niche for himself. He wrote Leavin’ On a Jet Plane when he was still very young. Peter, Paul and Mary covered it, and that set his career off in the direction it took. He writes of how his success came to be, the places his touring took him, the spiritual experiences he sought along the way through all manner of healers, shamans, and dieticians, and about starting an environmental foundation. Looking back it’s funny how he did all this environmental stuff, while spending his life crisscrossing the globe on airplanes for business and pleasure. He also compares himself to Columbus in talking about the nature documentary he did in Alaska, and was maybe more right about that than he realized.
He met Annie at a show when he was 22 and married her at 23, and since she didn’t like to go on the road with him, his way of dealing with that was to cheat on her at pretty much every possible opportunity on the road. As with reading Anthony Bourdain’s memoir, it left me feeling like I really needed his wife’s side of the story. Then there’s the matter of the chainsaw incident after she asked for a divorce which... I will not detail here but, yikes.
He writes of his second divorce, first DUI and breakups with his managers as if they were all things that just *happened* to him rather than in any way resulting from his choices and behavior. He was in kind of an alcoholic tailspin at the time he wrote this book, it seems, and was still when he died in the plane crash not much later. If he had lived and gotten sober, he may have had the chance to reckon with it all better... but alas, he did not.
John Denver leaves behind a legacy of beautiful music, the writing of which was informed by many years of internal and external turmoil. It’s one thing to know an artist’s work and another to know the context it came from, and I understand that a little better now.
February 12, 2019
Don’t read this if you love John Denver’s music and remember him as a gentle, country loving boy who wrote and sang the most beautiful songs. I used to think that and am now completely disillusioned to the point where I’m not sure I can even listen to his music anymore.
I love autobiographies, warts and all, but this one feels like it’s just warts and little goodness. John writes with incredible detail about everyone who’s crossed his path, where they were and the trivia of what they did. This made for dull reading but then it just got irritating. John befriended many people who were considered friends to him but fraudsters and charlatans to others. There were gurus, shamans and Werner Erhard, founder of EST. John constantly mentions EST (Erhard Seminars Training) but doesn’t once explain what it is. Only that he is evangelical about it and was constantly trying to get friends and family to be part of it. It sounded more akin to the ‘programming’ that Scientologists believe in. Another person who John followed, and became evangelical about the teaching of, was Michio Kushi who believed that a macrobiotic diet could cure cancer and save you from getting it in the first place. Someone ironic as Michio’s daughter died from cancer aged 41, as did he and his wife later on.
His writing is interspersed with lyrics from the songs he wrote in response to events in his life. Somehow his music and lyrics will never evoke such beauty as they did before for me now I’ve read this.
He comes across as being extremely difficult to work with and to live with. There were constant hostile partings with people previously trusted which he invariably blamed on the wrong-doings of the other party. When this pattern repeats endlessly in your life you have to ask if the problem is really ‘them’.
He glosses over his womanising and alcohol dependency but surprisingly tells of the time he got into such a rage that he burst into Annie’s (of the song’s fame) house with a chainsaw and proceeded to take the chainsaw to the dining table, bed and other bits of furniture while Annie looked on wondering if she was next. That incident alone, and the fact he thinks it is sensible to recall it in an autobiography for posterity, sums up his personality. Sad, very sad. Annie and Cassie (his second wife) had a very lucky escape.
I love autobiographies, warts and all, but this one feels like it’s just warts and little goodness. John writes with incredible detail about everyone who’s crossed his path, where they were and the trivia of what they did. This made for dull reading but then it just got irritating. John befriended many people who were considered friends to him but fraudsters and charlatans to others. There were gurus, shamans and Werner Erhard, founder of EST. John constantly mentions EST (Erhard Seminars Training) but doesn’t once explain what it is. Only that he is evangelical about it and was constantly trying to get friends and family to be part of it. It sounded more akin to the ‘programming’ that Scientologists believe in. Another person who John followed, and became evangelical about the teaching of, was Michio Kushi who believed that a macrobiotic diet could cure cancer and save you from getting it in the first place. Someone ironic as Michio’s daughter died from cancer aged 41, as did he and his wife later on.
His writing is interspersed with lyrics from the songs he wrote in response to events in his life. Somehow his music and lyrics will never evoke such beauty as they did before for me now I’ve read this.
He comes across as being extremely difficult to work with and to live with. There were constant hostile partings with people previously trusted which he invariably blamed on the wrong-doings of the other party. When this pattern repeats endlessly in your life you have to ask if the problem is really ‘them’.
He glosses over his womanising and alcohol dependency but surprisingly tells of the time he got into such a rage that he burst into Annie’s (of the song’s fame) house with a chainsaw and proceeded to take the chainsaw to the dining table, bed and other bits of furniture while Annie looked on wondering if she was next. That incident alone, and the fact he thinks it is sensible to recall it in an autobiography for posterity, sums up his personality. Sad, very sad. Annie and Cassie (his second wife) had a very lucky escape.
May 5, 2010
It was a surprise to me that John Denver had written an autobiography not too many years before his death. If you like his songs, it will be interesting to read about his personality. I don't think I would have liked him. Whenever he discussed a mistake he made, he always insinuated that others were at fault, too, which mitigated his error - at least in his own mind. His ego shows through at these times.
It was always interesting to read about the many people he knew and played with. In the end, it got too much and he was just dropping names - almost like he wanted to please those he knew by including them in his book.
Some of the stories he tells are a surprise. He should have omitted them or at least be embarrassed to write them. After he and Annie were divorced, he went to their home in Aspen and rang the doorbell. Annie answered and he put his hands around her throat as if to kill her, but pulled back at the last instant. He then took a chainsaw to the kitchen table and dining room table. because he wasn't invited to the societal dinners that Annie threw. A very immature action. since he was on the road most of the time.
At the end of the book, he gets more into his spiritualism which is New Age-ish. He was very emotionally driven and not very much into deep analysis and understanding of life.
Interesting FYI - His foundations and Annie's investments were tied up in the Bernie Madoff fund.
It was always interesting to read about the many people he knew and played with. In the end, it got too much and he was just dropping names - almost like he wanted to please those he knew by including them in his book.
Some of the stories he tells are a surprise. He should have omitted them or at least be embarrassed to write them. After he and Annie were divorced, he went to their home in Aspen and rang the doorbell. Annie answered and he put his hands around her throat as if to kill her, but pulled back at the last instant. He then took a chainsaw to the kitchen table and dining room table. because he wasn't invited to the societal dinners that Annie threw. A very immature action. since he was on the road most of the time.
At the end of the book, he gets more into his spiritualism which is New Age-ish. He was very emotionally driven and not very much into deep analysis and understanding of life.
Interesting FYI - His foundations and Annie's investments were tied up in the Bernie Madoff fund.
June 15, 2017
I loved John Denver's music, knew of some of his difficulties, but this book lays most of them out. I found the writing to be a bit tedious at times, and some of it was rather superficial. The beginning was better, learning of his childhood and teen years, the beginning of his career. The later part, the seeking spiritual enlightenment, did not engage me as much. He seems to have let a lot of people walk all over him, management and spouses. He talks about the joy of adopting and having children, but never mentions them beyond that for the most part. It is as if he had no part in raising them at all, he does not mention the pain of being apart from them, criticizes Annie for having a life of her own when he was never there, says he came home to not feel a part of the family. But never mentions how or if he tried to fix it. So, the book was interesting, but also a little disappointing.
April 11, 2009
I usually enjoy reading celebrity biographies, but this autobiography by one of my favorite perfomrers, was not to my taste. The details about the business were not there, for example...How did it feel to sing with Placido Domingo? What was it like working with the Muppets? How did it feel to walk out on stage in Madison Square garden ( a concert I attended) Details about things like that were left out while minute details about the percentages his manager was getting were given way too much attention. Once the book got into his personal philosophies, shamens and EST and macrobiotics, I had lost all interest. I'm not surprised that Annie left him and that his second marriage failed too, the book came off extremely self-centered. But I will always love his music.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2014
Being a John Denver fan for many years I knew I would enjoy this book. What I really appreciated was his honesty - and I really didn't expect anything less from him. I feel he really opened up in this book and I imagine it may have been a cathartic experience for him to write it. I now have a deeper appreciation of his music and his talent. And by the end of the book the reader has a deeper understanding of who Henry John Deutchendorff (hope I spelled that right) was as well as John Denver. This is a must read for any Denver fan.
Read
December 29, 2020I kind of wish I had not read this book. There were quite a few times that I was surprised at how arrogant he came across in his story, especially in regards to his ex wife, Annie. He was almost flippant about his infidelity! Also very sad to read of his constant search for meaning in empty spiritual practices, yet he seemed to get confident about how to drive all the world's problems?? However, I love his music.
March 9, 2010
I read this when it first came out. John did a signing here in Denver at the Tattered Cover and there was a huge crowd for it. I really enjoyed the book as he didn't try to whitewash his many shortcomings. I got hold of an audio version shortly after he passed away and liked it even more since he was the reader. If you were a Denver fan this book would probably interest you.
July 22, 2018
I have been a fan of John Denver's since the Aerie album, Rocky Mountain High and Country Roads. Actually, to say I am a fan trivializes my feelings about him. His music has been a huge part of my life, and through it, I've developed my values, my love of the earth and its creatures, and my hope and optimism for the future. Even though he has been dead for ten years now, I can still be moved to tears when I hear "Poems and Prayers and Promises," "The Eagle and the Hawk," or "I Want to Live" or any of his other emotion-laden songs, all of which seemed to speak directly to me.
I had put off reading his autobiography for a long time because I wasn't ready to learn that one of my idols was human. I knew he'd had problems with alcoholism, but I didn't want to know the sordid details. I needn't have worried. Certainly John was human, and his autobiography was full of his own soul searching as he tried to figure out where he was going in life and how he had ended up where he was. He was very honest in admitting his shortcomings, and, while not excusing them, struggled to understand why he had reacted in that particular way in that particular time.
I came away from the book, having a more clear understanding of him, and a still deeper admiration of his songs. He wasn't just a country singer, a pop singer or a folk singer-- he was the troubadour for the post-Viet Nam generation, people like me who were too young to have been hippies, but who still embraced the ideals of love, peace and freedom.
He seemed to have finally been putting his life together when he died, reaching an acceptance and understanding of himself that I think had been lacking, which makes his death doubly sad-- who knows what he might have gone on to do with his Windstar Foundation, with his political voice, with his worldwide connections, and with his music?
I think anybody who has enjoyed his music will like reading this autobiography, and hearing in John's words what emotions he was trying to capture with a particular song. We are all searching, trying to find our way in the universe, and we could do worse than having John Denver's songs guide us along the way.
I had put off reading his autobiography for a long time because I wasn't ready to learn that one of my idols was human. I knew he'd had problems with alcoholism, but I didn't want to know the sordid details. I needn't have worried. Certainly John was human, and his autobiography was full of his own soul searching as he tried to figure out where he was going in life and how he had ended up where he was. He was very honest in admitting his shortcomings, and, while not excusing them, struggled to understand why he had reacted in that particular way in that particular time.
I came away from the book, having a more clear understanding of him, and a still deeper admiration of his songs. He wasn't just a country singer, a pop singer or a folk singer-- he was the troubadour for the post-Viet Nam generation, people like me who were too young to have been hippies, but who still embraced the ideals of love, peace and freedom.
He seemed to have finally been putting his life together when he died, reaching an acceptance and understanding of himself that I think had been lacking, which makes his death doubly sad-- who knows what he might have gone on to do with his Windstar Foundation, with his political voice, with his worldwide connections, and with his music?
I think anybody who has enjoyed his music will like reading this autobiography, and hearing in John's words what emotions he was trying to capture with a particular song. We are all searching, trying to find our way in the universe, and we could do worse than having John Denver's songs guide us along the way.
August 16, 2025
Though the book progresses at a comfortable pace and is an overall enjoyable read, certain flaws stick out to me. For example, shortcomings in Denver’s own life are touched upon relatively unapologetically without further explanation or consideration, such as the confrontation of his ex-wife following his first divorce, as well as his casual drug use. The reader is left to make their own deliberations on these incidents, though, as aforementioned, Denver appears not to have considered the true gravity of his mistakes and instead focuses on a spiritual healing mindset that leaves something to be desired. In the second half of the book, the prose on spirituality and inner discovery becomes somewhat dense, and its conclusion feels timely to the narrative’s best interests. Nevertheless, the auto is an engaging read for fans of folk music and for those looking to take an honest look at one of the twentieth century’s most impactful personalities.
July 25, 2020
This is my second time reading this autobiography. I now own a copy of it. My first time, I was young and had not experienced much life. This time, from my vantage point with life experience, I have a greater appreciation of Mr. John Denver. I enjoyed his attention to detail and his honestly. He tells his story as a deeply flawed human being who is still growing and evolving. I can especially appreciate his deep spirituality and his desire to understand himself. I think on that last point, he seems to camp out a little too long. But those are my own judgements. I really admire Mr. Denver’s songs and lyrics, and appreciates that I could learn more about who he was as an individual.
August 19, 2022
DNF - I'm 20 pages from the end and I kinda just don't want to finish it.
For a guy who wrote gorgeous love songs, he sure was a pretty terrible husband. I needed to read this to remind me that the artists I connect to are just people too - it's been a humbling experience.
For a guy who wrote gorgeous love songs, he sure was a pretty terrible husband. I needed to read this to remind me that the artists I connect to are just people too - it's been a humbling experience.
June 25, 2023
I really enjoyed this chance to learn of John Denver’s life though I have to acknowledge that some people were born to be writers and others not. John Denver wrote great songs but not the best memoir. The writing was oddly formal and stilted but not in any way that put me off finishing it. If the man and his music meant a lot to you, I recommend it.
August 4, 2025
Good book. I wanted to learn more about John Denver, and this was a good way to do it.
December 8, 2023
Confusing and not really a ‘tell-all’ Autobiography
I had hopes that I’d enjoy this book, as John Denver is my second favorite singer/songwriter (after Paul Simon). I had seen John in concert three times in the 70s, and the concerts were great. John was very warm and open with his fans. I was very sad when he died. I had hopes this book would be much like John as he was during his concerts and on TV.
But, when I got past the chapters about his family and his upbringing, I began to wonder what the heck was the point of the book.
Over and over, John brings up subjects—just a mention—then he doesn’t go into any sort of explanation; he just drops the subject.
I could give many examples…for instance, John mentions frequently that he and his first wife, Annie, grew apart after they moved to Aspen, Colorado. John didn’t say anything in depth that would help the reader to understand their relationship-except that he was away a lot, and they didn’t talk much. So, what was going on? Did they sit down and talk at all? What, specifically did they talk about? Other than John’s affairs, what was happening between them? Other than the EST ‘training’ (which, from what I gathered didn’t seem to work) did they go to therapy? Considering that Annie has a degree in Psychology -- (before or after their divorce, I’m not sure, but in Aspen, she has a professional listing as a Psychologist)-- I find it odd that he and Annie had so much trouble communicating. And, later in the book, discussing his divorce from his second wife, Cassandra, John wrote "She made a fool of me from one end of the valley to the other." Really? What happened to make John say that? Again, no explanation of his ex-wife's behavior.
My feeling is, why bring up subjects that he wasn’t willing to dig into?
John also mentions his infidelity, but then also wrote that to him, sex with women other than Annie was not that big of a deal. So then, why cheat? There's no explanation.
John teased about personal subjects, then gave little clarity, but wrote a chapter or more to his views on ecology and what he felt needed to be done, as well as his views on world hunger.
John also wrote about a situation between him and John Summers, a member of John D’s band. John wrote that John Summers threw musical instruments around in a room one day, in a sudden fit of anger; and the men had words. What exactly happened? The reader isn’t told. Then John wrote that everything that John Summer did was quickly forgiven. John devoted maybe a half of a paragraph to this fight. Again, why bring it up if it’s not fully explained?
John Denver had a perfect opportunity to explain to readers exactly what life on the road is like. He could have told his fans about his relationship with his band mates, about his process of preparing for a concert, what his road crew did; yet John didn’t explain anything at all about life on the road. He didn't say much about missing Annie and wanting to be with her — BUT, he missed Aspen and the mountains! (They seemed more important).
While I was reading the book, I felt that John perhaps wanted to discuss many things more in depth, but then pulled back, fearing he was divulging information that his bandmates, family, friends, etc. didn’t want revealed. With so little explanation of the events that affected his life, it didn’t seem like there was much of a reason to write this book.
I didn’t finish the book. I put it down in disgust when I came to the unnecessary chapter toward the end of the book, on his views on ecology. John put more explanation into that than any other subject.
In all, a disappointing read.
I had hopes that I’d enjoy this book, as John Denver is my second favorite singer/songwriter (after Paul Simon). I had seen John in concert three times in the 70s, and the concerts were great. John was very warm and open with his fans. I was very sad when he died. I had hopes this book would be much like John as he was during his concerts and on TV.
But, when I got past the chapters about his family and his upbringing, I began to wonder what the heck was the point of the book.
Over and over, John brings up subjects—just a mention—then he doesn’t go into any sort of explanation; he just drops the subject.
I could give many examples…for instance, John mentions frequently that he and his first wife, Annie, grew apart after they moved to Aspen, Colorado. John didn’t say anything in depth that would help the reader to understand their relationship-except that he was away a lot, and they didn’t talk much. So, what was going on? Did they sit down and talk at all? What, specifically did they talk about? Other than John’s affairs, what was happening between them? Other than the EST ‘training’ (which, from what I gathered didn’t seem to work) did they go to therapy? Considering that Annie has a degree in Psychology -- (before or after their divorce, I’m not sure, but in Aspen, she has a professional listing as a Psychologist)-- I find it odd that he and Annie had so much trouble communicating. And, later in the book, discussing his divorce from his second wife, Cassandra, John wrote "She made a fool of me from one end of the valley to the other." Really? What happened to make John say that? Again, no explanation of his ex-wife's behavior.
My feeling is, why bring up subjects that he wasn’t willing to dig into?
John also mentions his infidelity, but then also wrote that to him, sex with women other than Annie was not that big of a deal. So then, why cheat? There's no explanation.
John teased about personal subjects, then gave little clarity, but wrote a chapter or more to his views on ecology and what he felt needed to be done, as well as his views on world hunger.
John also wrote about a situation between him and John Summers, a member of John D’s band. John wrote that John Summers threw musical instruments around in a room one day, in a sudden fit of anger; and the men had words. What exactly happened? The reader isn’t told. Then John wrote that everything that John Summer did was quickly forgiven. John devoted maybe a half of a paragraph to this fight. Again, why bring it up if it’s not fully explained?
John Denver had a perfect opportunity to explain to readers exactly what life on the road is like. He could have told his fans about his relationship with his band mates, about his process of preparing for a concert, what his road crew did; yet John didn’t explain anything at all about life on the road. He didn't say much about missing Annie and wanting to be with her — BUT, he missed Aspen and the mountains! (They seemed more important).
While I was reading the book, I felt that John perhaps wanted to discuss many things more in depth, but then pulled back, fearing he was divulging information that his bandmates, family, friends, etc. didn’t want revealed. With so little explanation of the events that affected his life, it didn’t seem like there was much of a reason to write this book.
I didn’t finish the book. I put it down in disgust when I came to the unnecessary chapter toward the end of the book, on his views on ecology. John put more explanation into that than any other subject.
In all, a disappointing read.
June 18, 2019
As a fan of John Denver I was impressed with the depth of his personality and his commitment to relationships and causes. While marriages failed the continued concern and involvement with wives (ex-wives) and children remained an important factor in his life. Even relationships with managers, promoters, band members, and others were important to him. For example, he took on the responsibility of paying off all the debt incurred by the Mitchell Trio even after the group broke up and he went on to a successful separate career.
On a personal note, I first saw him perform as the lead singer of the above mentioned Mitchell Trio when they played a show at the college I was attending. Obviously, I had no idea at the time just how far his career would take him. The only other time that I saw him perform in person was in the early 1970s at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
On a personal note, I first saw him perform as the lead singer of the above mentioned Mitchell Trio when they played a show at the college I was attending. Obviously, I had no idea at the time just how far his career would take him. The only other time that I saw him perform in person was in the early 1970s at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
July 4, 2021
I've been listening to a lot of John Denver's music lately on my playlist.
Beautiful voice, beautiful sentiments, poetry, seemingly full of love love love.
Imagine my surprise when I read his autobiography and learned how little he cared for others' feelings.
Annie Martel, his first wife, had to have saint like patience.
Second wife, Cassandra, didn't put up with the bull crap nearly as long.
When his wives had enough of his vanity he'd get so lonely he'd run off to other shores, Shamans, "healers", etc. EST (some sort of silly introspective silliness that seemed in vogue in his day).
He could not understand why Annie didn't want to go on the road with him to sit around and worship him while he practiced and performed..
so he felt it was fine to betray her again and again with the gaggle of celebrity seeking women who gathered round the stage door.
He even talked about one affair where the woman opened his mind sexually and did things "Annie would never be capable of". I had to laugh seeing as John Denver simply was not virile. I'm sure a more virile man could easily have shown her much she "was capable of".
When she finally got her divorce he went to the house, strangled her (luckily stopped before she died), then cut up the dining room table and bedroom furniture with a chain saw. Later he felt that they had "become friends". Yes, I know those kind of "friends" you try not to anger to keep the evil beast at bay.. "yes yes, whatever you say".
That episode made me wonder about when Randy Sparks studio burned down along with all his instruments. It was right after Randy Sparks had stopped having interest in John. (John had been gone from LA for a month: first to Florida for Christmas with his parents, then to a gig in Texas where they held him over for a full month). John mentions he coveted some of those instruments: I would love to know if these instruments were in his possession after his death.
Cassandra and he had an "open marriage". Without talking about it he expected her to change after they had a baby. He was furious at her then paid dearly when her lawyers put him through the wringer.
John got his parents to try his "clean" way of life: Macrobiotic diet, got Dad to quit smoking and drinking. Seems the diet made Dad very ill (as macrobiotic diets are wont to do), so he went back to his old ways. He did a lot for the environment and donated to world hunger organizations. He tried to be a good person, I think (just don't be his wife!)
Like many celebrities he was a man child who needed the applause to feel whole. He talked about feeling like an interloper when he did go home: whined about the "rich food" that Annie cooked; was ridiculously jealous of her circle of friends, and belittled the therapies she was trying like TA, while himself being hooked on his "healers". He even talked about one who "retrieved" the many parts of John's "soul" throughout his life.
When he died he had lost his license to fly because of all the DUI's. He knew he was low on fuel and knew he had to reach behind himself to see the fuel gauges and operate the lever the switch over the tanks. Some thought maybe he crashed the plane on purpose. Sad when a person is so lonesome but still cannot figure out why
Beautiful voice, beautiful sentiments, poetry, seemingly full of love love love.
Imagine my surprise when I read his autobiography and learned how little he cared for others' feelings.
Annie Martel, his first wife, had to have saint like patience.
Second wife, Cassandra, didn't put up with the bull crap nearly as long.
When his wives had enough of his vanity he'd get so lonely he'd run off to other shores, Shamans, "healers", etc. EST (some sort of silly introspective silliness that seemed in vogue in his day).
He could not understand why Annie didn't want to go on the road with him to sit around and worship him while he practiced and performed..
so he felt it was fine to betray her again and again with the gaggle of celebrity seeking women who gathered round the stage door.
He even talked about one affair where the woman opened his mind sexually and did things "Annie would never be capable of". I had to laugh seeing as John Denver simply was not virile. I'm sure a more virile man could easily have shown her much she "was capable of".
When she finally got her divorce he went to the house, strangled her (luckily stopped before she died), then cut up the dining room table and bedroom furniture with a chain saw. Later he felt that they had "become friends". Yes, I know those kind of "friends" you try not to anger to keep the evil beast at bay.. "yes yes, whatever you say".
That episode made me wonder about when Randy Sparks studio burned down along with all his instruments. It was right after Randy Sparks had stopped having interest in John. (John had been gone from LA for a month: first to Florida for Christmas with his parents, then to a gig in Texas where they held him over for a full month). John mentions he coveted some of those instruments: I would love to know if these instruments were in his possession after his death.
Cassandra and he had an "open marriage". Without talking about it he expected her to change after they had a baby. He was furious at her then paid dearly when her lawyers put him through the wringer.
John got his parents to try his "clean" way of life: Macrobiotic diet, got Dad to quit smoking and drinking. Seems the diet made Dad very ill (as macrobiotic diets are wont to do), so he went back to his old ways. He did a lot for the environment and donated to world hunger organizations. He tried to be a good person, I think (just don't be his wife!)
Like many celebrities he was a man child who needed the applause to feel whole. He talked about feeling like an interloper when he did go home: whined about the "rich food" that Annie cooked; was ridiculously jealous of her circle of friends, and belittled the therapies she was trying like TA, while himself being hooked on his "healers". He even talked about one who "retrieved" the many parts of John's "soul" throughout his life.
When he died he had lost his license to fly because of all the DUI's. He knew he was low on fuel and knew he had to reach behind himself to see the fuel gauges and operate the lever the switch over the tanks. Some thought maybe he crashed the plane on purpose. Sad when a person is so lonesome but still cannot figure out why
February 13, 2014
This gets a five star rating partly to my affinity for the artist and the openness he shares of his life. He takes us inside both of his Marriages the first to Annie Martel who we all know from Annie's song and the other to Cassandra Delaney.
He discusses his good and bad business partnerships and those agreements that though often feeling like he was used may have helped further a cause he believed in.
We get a full coverage of Johns singing career, his family history and most of his love of life and that of the land.
He describes his first encounter with Alaska, the resentment many native Alaskans felt and his falling in love with what he considered our last chance to do something right in the beginning with a wilderness and he was instrumental in helping get passed the Alaskan Land bill, something of which he was very proud of, we learn of Windstar a project though not named he had thought of since he was a youth.
Most of all we learn of a man making mistakes, finding love success, losing one or the other, the trials he goes through as he grows. It is a story of finding one's self and the process that may take.
This is a great read whether you are a fan of his music or not, I would highly recommend giving this a chance.
He discusses his good and bad business partnerships and those agreements that though often feeling like he was used may have helped further a cause he believed in.
We get a full coverage of Johns singing career, his family history and most of his love of life and that of the land.
He describes his first encounter with Alaska, the resentment many native Alaskans felt and his falling in love with what he considered our last chance to do something right in the beginning with a wilderness and he was instrumental in helping get passed the Alaskan Land bill, something of which he was very proud of, we learn of Windstar a project though not named he had thought of since he was a youth.
Most of all we learn of a man making mistakes, finding love success, losing one or the other, the trials he goes through as he grows. It is a story of finding one's self and the process that may take.
This is a great read whether you are a fan of his music or not, I would highly recommend giving this a chance.
June 3, 2019
Is John Denver a good singer & lyricist? Yes. Is he a good person? Probably not. I don’t normally judge books based on whether or not I agree with the author’s viewpoints, however when the book is an autobiography, you can’t really get past it! When good things happen to Denver in the book, it’s because he deserved it, but when he makes some not-so-wise decisions (if you read this you’ll see that he made many of them), it’s because he’s “a Capricorn” and can’t help himself. Throughout the book, it is clear that Denver would rather blame others than take accountability for any of his actions. It was interesting to read about Denver’s upbringing, how he got his start, his time spent in Los Angeles, and his marriage to Annie...but as a whole, “Take Me Home” felt boastful and arrogant. I’ll still listen to Denver’s music, but would not recommend this book.
June 4, 2017
I have been a John Denver fan forever. I have to say that while I "liked" this book I was disappointed in him as a person. He even mentions how he was worried at one point that people would be disappointed in him but decided to come clean so to speak. It makes me sad that he cheated on his wife over and over like it was nothing. It makes me sad that he had a few DUI's. It makes me sad that he was above the law and flew when his license was revoked and dies. (This wasn't in the book obviously, I looked it up.) What a loss of a great talent.
November 22, 2020
Not sure why I continue to read autobiographies. They always irritate me with the glossy version that the subject wants you know. But I love John Denver's music, so I was drawn in once again. And, once again annoyed with an endless list of peoples and gripes and slights.
Don't get me wrong, he led an interesting life, filled with highs and lows. And I do think he was a brilliant song writer with a calming, melodic voice that was silenced much too soon (plane crash in 1997) - but, in this instance, prose was not his forte.
Don't get me wrong, he led an interesting life, filled with highs and lows. And I do think he was a brilliant song writer with a calming, melodic voice that was silenced much too soon (plane crash in 1997) - but, in this instance, prose was not his forte.
October 6, 2019
I learned a lot about John Denver. It did not appear that he became a Christian before his death. This saddened me greatly. I loved his music as a teenager and listen to it even now. If you want to understand the man behind the music, the book will do a good job of that. He was very honest and open in this book and it may end up disappointing you to know more of his struggles, but I was glad to know and still love his music.
November 5, 2015
Lovely insight into a difficult journey
Well written and articulate story of a man with many sides, many joys, and many daemons, I had no idea. I wish I could have met him.
Well written and articulate story of a man with many sides, many joys, and many daemons, I had no idea. I wish I could have met him.
January 6, 2017
Oh, what we lost. This was hard for me to read, I had him on such a high pedestal and his own words made me accept he was a "mere mortal" as all men.
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