Naomi Judd is getting ready to reveal her struggle with mental illness in her new memoir, “River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope,” in the hopes of spreading awareness and inspiring others with the disease.
Judd, who regularly struggled with depression and panic attacks, opens up about her flashbacks of childhood sexual abuse, her psychiatric treatments and pharmaceutical drug poisoning.
“I wanted to be completely honest that if someone took out a gun and killed me on stage, they would be doing me a favour,” the singer-songwriter recalls in an except from the book. “But I didn’t. I was there to inspire them and I could not let them down. I gathered every ounce of strength I had, straightened my shoulders, adjusted my suit jacket, found the will to smile, and strode out on stage.”
RELATED: Source: Ray J Wrong, Naomi Judd Never Called Grits ‘Slave Food’
After penning eight best-selling books, Judd is certain that her year of recovery and ongoing perseverance will inspire many more of her loyal fans.
“My story isn’t one of a victorious recovery from debilitating mental illness, but of a wary and humble gratitude for persevering through thirty terrifying months,” she writes. “I’ve gained an appreciative hope and, in the past year, an ongoing purpose for living once more. And, because I have survived and found peace, I feel a responsibility, as a messenger, to share what brought me hope and what’s kept me alive.”
Judd’s latest book is available for pre-order now and will hit shelves December 6.
