Long before June Carter came along, there was Vivian. Johnny Cash and Viv were deeply in love, and had four daughters together, before... well, you probably know the rest. But you might not know the heartbreaking story of a young woman who went through hell to save her family, whose racial identity became a scandal emblematic of mid-century American strife, and who made it through the dark times, only to be insulted and written out of history.

Sources for this episode can be found on our website.

For more info on About a Girl and other great shows, visit the Double Elvis website and follow Double Elvis on Twitter and Instagram.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.