Imagine your dad is Johnny Cash. You’re just starting to figure out who you are, what you care about, and what you actually want to do with your life.

But she doesn’t just walk up to a microphone and demand a record deal. She actually starts as a wardrobe assistant on his road show. She worked her way into the ecosystem slowly. She transitioned from wardrobe to background vocals.

• Because if you only know her as the famous daughter of the man in black, you are missing the real story
• She was born in Memphis in 1955, the eldest of four daughters to Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto
• I know her father’s story is endlessly documented, obviously, but I am far less familiar with Vivian’s background
• Here’s where it gets really interesting for me, because this is the part of the story that always just breaks my brain