An exclusive extract from his memoir
• Read an interview with Willie Nelson here
Longevity is a blessing and also a burden. A blessing because you get to hang around to see your grandkids and maybe even your great-grandkids. But a burden because every day it seems like another friend has passed. Grieving becomes a full-time job. The last man standing can be lonely. Loss is something you don’t get over. That idea hit me hard when a friend’s wife died and he came to me for comfort. He saw me as a guy who might understand. The thing I know most, I told him, especially after my son Billy died in 1991, aged 33, is that you don’t get over it, but you will get through it. Best I can do is write a song.
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