“I spent my 18th birthday in jail. Charges were dropped as long as I promised never to return to the state of Kansas. My parents took me home to Louisiana. I lasted there a week. Then I ran away.”

American folk singer-songwriter and author

Mary Veronica Gauthier is an American folk singer-songwriter and author. She is known for writing songs that have been recorded by a range of performers, including Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Kathy Mattea, Vince Gill, Boy George, Jimmy Buffett, Bettye Lavette, Candi Staton, and Amy Helm. Her work sits in the folk tradition and has reached audiences through other artists as well as her own writing. The fact that her songs have been taken up by singers from country, pop, and soul suggests a body of work that travels well across styles and voices.