B. Brown Williams

Myra Gale Lewis Williams, born Myra Gale Brown in 1944, is an American author known for her writings about her life, particularly her marriage to rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis. Their union, beginning when she was 13 and he was 22, was controversial due to their familial relationship (first cousins once removed) and the age difference. This marriage, which involved a scandal during Lewis's 1958 tour in London, significantly impacted his career. The couple divorced in 1970 following allegations of abuse and infidelity on Lewis's part. Williams later remarried and had a career in real estate. She co-authored "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis" in 1982, which was later adapted into a film. In 2016, she published her memoir, "The Spark That Survived," aiming to share a story of female resilience.

Born Myra Gale Brown in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1944, her family later relocated to Memphis, Tennessee. Her father, J. W. Brown, a lineman, started a band with his cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, after an injury. Lewis even lived with the Brown family for a time. At the age of 13, on December 12, 1957, Myra married Jerry Lee Lewis, who was 22. The marriage became public knowledge during Lewis's 1958 tour in London when it was revealed she was only 13 and they had been married for five months. This revelation, compounded by the discovery that she was his first cousin once removed and that Lewis was not yet divorced from his previous wife, caused significant scandal and led to the cancellation of his tour. After Lewis finalized his divorce, he remarried Williams on June 4, 1958.

The marriage to Jerry Lee Lewis, marked by his alleged drug addiction, alcoholism, and infidelity, ended with Williams filing for divorce in 1970, citing abuse. Following their divorce, she married Pete Malito, the private investigator she had hired to investigate Lewis, though this marriage was brief. Williams then worked as a receptionist and later as a real estate agent. Her first major literary work was "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis," co-written with Murray Silver and published in 1982. This book, detailing her tumultuous life with Lewis, was adapted into a 1989 film. Dissatisfied with how her story was portrayed in the film, she published her own memoir, "The Spark That Survived," in 2016, intending to convey a message of female strength and survival.