Rosanne Cash: Composed: A Memoir

Rosanne Cash
Composed: A Memoir
Viking
[Rating: 3.5 Stars]

Like her father’s soulful Cash: The Autobiography, Rosanne Cash’s new memoir, Composed, sidesteps the sensationalist backstage dish that dominates so much pop autobiography. Rosanne focuses more on her personal development from being simply Johnny Cash’s privileged daughter, to an iconic countrypolitan star in her own right. Raised in Southern California, Rosanne spends her young-adult years juggling identities: literature student, actress, A&R assistant. Drifting around Europe in the late 1970s, she finally settles into life as a singer-songwriter on a small German label before signing to Columbia in the early ‘80s. Although Cash takes a frustratingly tight-lipped approach to her romantic life—most notably in (not) dealing with her famous failed marriage to Rodney Crowell – she’s more forthcoming about the creative process behind her 14 albums and numerous hit singles. And despite its occasional non-linear, navel-gazing tendencies, Composed remains a compelling testament to the power of individuality in finding one’s own vocation and voice.