This is not to excuse Jim or anybody else but you also must look at the context of the times. States had various laws regarding the age of legal consent, plus culturally teen girls were often paired even in Hollywood movies with men old enough to be their fathers. I cite the example of "Susan Slept Here," starring Debbie Reynolds, who played an underage teen who captures the heart of Dick Powell.
Jim's philandering was VERY, VERY prevalent at the time not only amongst Nashville performers but celebs generally. So don't judge him by a different standard.
We may look back at this behavior and regard it as exploitative but it's also true there were mothers who brought their teen daughters to Jim in the hopes they'd get pregnant. Shocking though that may be.
From all the accounts I've collected Jim was not abusive toward women in the way that Streissguth/Alex Zanetis misportrayed him. One of Reeves' young paramours, Judy Ford, benefitted greatly from her friendship with Jim, who even taught her how to fly an airplane and was a solid rock on which she could lean. To this day she speaks of him with love in her heart.
Lastly, I don't want to leave the impression that my book is full of smut. It is NOT. It's an honest, balanced account of Jim's life, including his ignominious moments. I didn't worry about protecting his "image." I felt fans were more interested in learning about the REAL MAN. Interestingly, scores of people who have read the book say that my depiction of Jim did not diminish their opinion of him. He WAS in many ways a man of high principles, and his weaknesses of the flesh troubled him greatly.
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