Naomi Judd opens up on depression struggle

Naomi Judd found an "ongoing purpose for living" that helped her battle depression.

The 70-year-old musician is gearing up to release her memoir ‘River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope’ in December, which she hopes will spread awareness about the illness she has suffered with since she was a child, and inspire others who suffer from it too.

Depression is an illness which affects people in different ways and causes a wide variety of symptoms, but it can be most simply categorized as lasting feelings of sadness and loneliness that don’t go away.

In her book, the former ‘Can You Duet’ judge wrote: "I wanted to be completely honest that if someone took out a gun and killed me on stage, they would be doing me a favor. But I didn’t. I was there to inspire them and I could not let them down. I gathered every ounce of strength I had, straightened my shoulders, adjusted my suit jacket, found the will to smile, and strode out on stage."

And the ‘Mama He’s Crazy’ singer is certain that her story of recovery and perseverance will help inspire others to carry on living even when things are "terrifying". She admits that she now has an "appreciative hope" that has "kept her alive".

She wrote: "My story isn’t one of a victorious recovery from debilitating mental illness, but of a wary and humble gratitude for persevering through thirty terrifying months," she writes. "I’ve gained an appreciative hope and, in the past year, an ongoing purpose for living once more. And, because I have survived and found peace, I feel a responsibility, as a messenger, to share what brought me hope and what’s kept me alive."

‘River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope’ is Naomi’s ninth book, and will hit shelves on December 6.