“HE THOUGHT HE WASN’T GOING TO MAKE IT.” 💔📖 — NOW WILLIE NELSON IS SHARING THE LOVE STORY THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING Country music legend Willie Nelson is opening his heart in a powerful new book, reflecting on creativity, life, and the deeply personal moments that shaped his later years. The 93-year-old icon reveals how a near-fatal battle with C*VID changed his outlook forever, while paying an emotional tribute to the woman he says saved his life. More than a memoir, Nelson describes the book as a remarkable l*ve story filled with gratitude and hope. But it’s his heartfelt message about the person who refused to give up on him that is already touching fans everywhere.

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Willie Nelson Reflects on Creativity and Love in New Book The Last Leaf — See the Cover! (Exclusive)

The country music icon describes the book, out this fall, as a “love story”

Willie Nelson; the cover of 'The Last Leaf'
Willie Nelson; the cover of ‘The Last Leaf’.Credit : Pamela Springsteen; Penguin Press / Penguin Random House

NEED TO KNOW

  • Willie Nelson will publish a new book, The Last Leaf, this fall
  • PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the cover of the book, which sees the country music legend reflecting on creativity and his decades-long marriage to wife Annie D’Angelo
  • “The backbone of this book is a love story,” Nelson says

Willie Nelson is ready to share new wisdom with readers.

The country music legend, 93-year-old, will publish a new book titled The Last Leaf this fall, PEOPLE can exclusively announce.

The cover of 'The Last Leaf' by Willie Nelson
The cover of ‘The Last Leaf’ by Willie Nelson.Pamela Springsteen

In the book, Nelson looks back on his artistic journey, particularly within the last decade. Over the past 12 years, the prolific songwriter has created 21 studio albums and 50 new songs, and performed hundreds of live shows.

How does he do this? “Looking to the future as I look to the past,” Nelson writes in the book, per its synopsis. “I stay in the present.”

Nelson, however, also takes on mortality within the pages of The Last Leaf. The musician reflects on his “almost-certain death” during the COVID-19 pandemic — and how his wife, Annie D’Angelo, kept him grounded.

“The backbone of this book is a love story,” Nelson tells PEOPLE. “The heroine is my wife, Annie, who kept me alive when I was sure I was gone. COVID nearly got me. I was hurting so bad I wanted out. But Annie wouldn’t let me go. The years I’ve lived since then are because of Annie. And so is this book.”

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Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson.Pamela Springsteen

Nelson has published several books over the last few years, including 2021’s Willie Nelson’s Letters to America, his 1988 autobiography Willie: An Autobiography and the 2022 memoir Me and Paul: Untold Stories of a Fabled Friendship. Nelson and his wife collaborated on 2024’s Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook.

“In every great book, at least ideally, the last chapter is the best chapter,” the book’s synopsis reads. “The Last Leaf shows how true that can be.”

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The Last Leaf will be published on Nov. 10 by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.

SOURCE: PEOPLE