When musician Warren Zevon was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2002, he asked his ex-wife, Crystal, with whom he remained close, to write his biography upon his passing.  On May 1, her book I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life And Times Of Warren Zevon was published by HarperCollins.  Filled with stories of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll over the course of 452 pages and told in the voices of many of those who knew him best, the book is an unflinching look at the life of a brilliant but troubled artist.  Earlier this week, I spoke with Crystal Zevon about her book and the life of her ex-husband.  Below are excerpts from that interview.

How did you come to write the book?

Warren asked me to write the book.  It's not something I think I would ever have thought to do on my own, but almost immediately after he was diagnosed the subject came up. According to Warren, it was Carl Hiaasen's idea. 

There wasn't a lot of back and forth discussion, so over the last year of his life we talked – a lot of reminiscing.  He let me know things that he would want included, and then, a week before he died, he called and said, "So you're gonna do this, right?"  And I said, "Well, I guess so," and he said, "Well, you've gotta tell the whole truth, even the awful, ugly parts, because that's the Excitable Boy who wrote them excitable songs."  I said, "I don't even know what the whole truth is," and he laughed and said, "You'll find out."  Which I did.

Were you worried that, because you're his ex-wife and putting these stories that don't portray him in a flattering light, that the book might be seen as exploitative?

Absolutely.  I worried about it from the time he first asked me to do it, and we talked about that.  I didn't really know what to do about it, because telling the truth was what it was, and I think I had to keep focusing on a larger picture.  I believe -- I know -- Warren was a genius.  I know that he had a lot of torment.  My hope was that, in presenting the salacious details or the troubling times or the poor parenting or the abuse that I suffered, what would come through was a larger picture of someone with an incredible heart, who suffered greatly, who just by his nature put his art first, regardless of the consequences.