Photo: Danny Clinch
Kenny Chesney spent hundreds of hours reminiscing and combing through photos as he chronicled his life story for his upcoming book. The autobiographical project captures the megastar’s path from his childhood in East Tennessee to headlining massive stadium tours and more.
Chesney announced the book, titled Heart Life Music, earlier this year. The 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee teamed up with journalist and longtime friend and collaborator Holly Gleason to write his story. Chesney reflected on the process of writing his book in a recent press release.
“What they don’t tell you,” Chesney said with a laugh, “is how much goes into polishing, how many times you’ll read it… or how many moments you’ll have to leave out. But for me, I really wanted to send a love letter to all the places and characters along the way that made this journey such an incredible ride. When I look back, I can’t believe the people I’ve met, the stories I’ve heard and the music I’ve been able to hear from songwriters, other artists, as well as all the songs I’ve been fortunate enough to cut. …For anyone who sees Heart Life Music sitting somewhere, not only is it a whole lot of love, adventure and things I loved thinking about all over again, it’s a huge chunk of my last year. So if you were wondering, now you know.”
The eight-time Entertainer of the Year previously admitted he “always said I’d never write a book,” but ultimately changed his tune. Chesney wanted his dedicated fans, known as the No Shoes Nation, “to share the magic.” He said in an interview with CBS Mornings when he announced Heart Life Music that he describes the book as a series of “very intimate postcards, if you will, of my life in this business, on the road, in the islands,” rather than a memoir.
“We were trying to create snapshots of my journey, vignettes of my soul,” Chesney said in the press release issued earlier this month, “and lots of my friends since I started on this magic carpet ride. I moved to Nashville in January 1991, and here we are, talking about it in this book. Sitting here looking at the ocean, hearing these waves crashing, we can’t wait. Especially if you’ve been part of this journey, I can’t wait for you to relive it…and for those who weren’t part of this journey, we hope you take something from this and apply it to your life, we can’t for you to…read it.”
Heart Life Music will arrive on November 4.