A Different Life - Book Review

"A Different Life" by Rhonda Nelson is a deeply evocative memoir chronicling the memories and rare artifacts of Rhonda Nelson's life and as the wife of rock and roll legend, Wayne Nelson. Rhonda’s husband was the lead singer and bass player of the "Little River Band." This was a band of true musicians, true troubadours, who lived on the road and met the people where they lived. Rhonda wasn’t the stereotyped groupie wife perceived by so many, but a grounding force in her husband's life and career. Their courtship spanned continents and faced many challenges of being separated for extended periods of time, but persevered. During these trials, Rhonda would hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and lover.  Sometimes it takes that certain other person to make another person whole and the relationship between Rhonda and Wayne worked that way.

The book navigates through her years on the road with Little River Band. Rhonda reminisces about where the band played, the life on the road, the friends they made and the fans they met. Rhonda paints an astonishing picture of the life on the road and the fun that filled her many years as a member of the Little River Band's inner circle. Telling never-before-heard stories about what life on the road with the Little River Band was really like, she offers intimate portraits of the band members and the adventures they lived.

Rhonda writes about growing up on a farm and losing two very special men in her life. As you read her book you discover she is an entrepreneur at heart; she created a wedding business as a very young woman and then in recent years bought and successfully ran a 30 room Bed and Breakfast, the Woodfield Inn. The wife of a rock star comes with a lot of perks but at the expense of stability or normality. Rhonda reflects that they moved on average every two years which was always difficult leaving behind cherished friends.

The book, "A Different Life," is rich with pictures that represent a pure distillation of what Rhonda's' life encompassed. It includes never-before-seen photographs from Rhonda's personal collection. It also contains many of the Nelson’s family recipes and details of the making of their favorite drinks.

The book, "A Different Life," is a portrait of the times, the places, and the people who became a part of the Nelson’s life. Rhonda is open about her personal life with Wayne: their passionate love affair, the demands of being married to a professional musician and singer and coping with living on a bus with 9 men. “A Different Life," is a compelling piece of rock 'n' roll history from a woman who had an intimate view of the band’s touring bus life and a perpetual backstage pass to the legendary "Little River Band." Enchanting, candid, and moving, this page-turning fairy tale of fame and fortune has the best of both the many euphoric and difficult moments within its pages.