Singer and songwriter Jessi Colter never imagined she’d write a book about her life. After all, she spent 33 years married to country music star Waylon Jennings, who, she said, was a master story-teller that “overwhelmed nearly everyone around him" with his energy and honesty, both onstage and off.

“I don’t say that begrudgingly. I say that lovingly,” she writes in the introduction to her memoir An Outlaw and a Lady: A Memoir of Music, Life with Waylon, and the Faith that Brought Me Home (Thomas Nelson, Apr.).

Several books have been written about Jennings, and outlaw country music—the sub-genre he’s credited with creating, alongside iconic singer-songwriters like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. There was also Jennings’s own book Waylon: An Autobiography (Chicago Review Press, 2012). Given the collection of titles on the subject of her husband, Colter figured “everything that needed to be said about Waylon and our loving relationship” had already been said. Then, David Ritz, who has written autobiographies about such stars as Janet Jackson and Smokey Robinson, called to interview Colter for a television tribute on Jennings. The conversation led to a discussion about faith, and the idea for An Outlaw and a Lady was born.

“[Ritz] asked why I made certain turns in my life and wanted to follow my life through my songs; he said he’d like the book to also be about my spiritual journey,” Colter told PW.

Faith became a part of Colter’s life at an early age—her mother, Helen D. Perkins Johnson, was a traveling evangelist who often had Colter sing at her church revival meetings. “It’s been a dream in my heart for over 30 years that my mother’s story be known,” said Colter, who was born Mirriam Johnson in 1943 in what she calls “the breathtaking landscape of Arizona.”

Mirriam remains her legal name, whereas Jessi Colter is a stage name chosen at producer Chet Atkins’ urging while working on her first studio album, A Country Star Is Born, in 1970. The name change worked—five years later, Colter’s first solo single, I'm Not Lisa, topped country music charts and reached the top 5 in pop. And in 1976, Colter became one of the first and few female outlaw country stars in the world after she was featured on the album Wanted! The Outlaws with Jennings and Willie Nelson.

In addition to her childhood and career, An Outlaw and a Lady explores Colter’s marriage to Jennings and details about their life together, including friendships with iconic musicians such as Johnny Cash and George Jones. The couple endured trying times together, and Colter is forthright about Jennings’ drug abuse and his struggle to overcome it. “He never stopped working, and [that was] the deceit of the addiction to pills, and later cocaine—at first, it seemed like a lot of fun to push the work,” she said. “It didn’t seem abnormal. The pills just helped him stay awake longer.”

Her beloved Waylon died, several years after kicking his drug habit, in 2002, and “it took a long time to recover—a long, long time,” said Colter. She kept writing songs, and released albums Out of the Ashes in 2006 and Love from Cain’s Ballroom in 2014.

At 73-years-old, Colter’s life has slowed down today, although she is still writing songs and recording music. Her album The Psalms released in March. “The album and my book are the culmination of my life right now,” she said. “I love to live simply, to be present in the day. This is a time of nourishment for me, to see what life is about without working on the road and constantly writing.”

Webster Younce, Nelson Books associate publisher/executive editor, referred to Colter as a “singular figure in music,” and that An Outlaw and a Lady captures why. “The book delivers the story of Jessi’s career as a hit-maker, an entertaining look at Nashville in the ‘70s, an intimate portrait of the love of her life, Waylon Jennings, and a profound story of the sustaining power of faith in God,” he told PW.

Publicity for An Outlaw and a Lady includes an appearance on The 700 Club and coverage on NPR, CMT, Fox News, and Rolling Stone (online). Marketing includes a pre-order promotion featuring a never-before-released song from Colter and four digital chapters, as well as ad placement on SiriusXM Radio’s Outlaw Country Music station.