Woman Walk The Line: How The Women in Country Music Changed Our Lives, written by our very own HITS Nashville Correspondent and all 'round Force of Nature, Holly Gleason, has just been awarded the Belmont Book Award, to go with its many other laurels.

“I was startled and thrilled for all of the writers and the artists they celebrated,” Gleason said of the news. “I know how academically accomplished those judges are, and it speaks volumes about the work each of these women did. How music impacts a life, changes a person or even empowers an individual is something we don’t pay enough attention to. At a time when #MeToo and TimesUp matters, this book–and the response to it–is proof that positive women do listen to women’s art, and find within that art a sense of strength, comfort, inspiration and validation. What’s amazing is how many men did, too.”

A 10-gallon hats off to Holly for creating the anthology of 27 essays by women, on women that tells stories of inspiration drawn from the women who helped to shape country music.