Valerie Bertinelli Makes Reveal She Didn't Intend to in Memoir

Valerie Bertinelli says her new memoir turned into something she didn't plan: a public reckoning with childhood sexual abuse. In an exclusive cover story for People, the 65-year-old actor and TV host reveals she was sexually assaulted at age 11, a disclosure she says took at least a decade, with the help of therapy, to make. The book, Getting Naked, out on Tuesday from Harper Wave, is framed as an emotional unpeeling—Bertinelli even opens the chapter that details her abuse with a photo of herself at that age to confront what happened to such a young child. "It boggles my mind that this little girl was taken advantage of that way," she says. "It boggles my mind because it's still happening ... and I'm furious about it."

Bertinelli says she no longer feels scared of diving deep into the topic—instead, she's angry and wants others to feel empowered to say "enough." The former One Day at a Time star traces years of body shame and self-criticism back to that trauma, describing how she used food and alcohol as comfort until she chose to face what was underneath. Now, she says, she sees herself as "a survivor," crediting therapy, her son Wolfgang Van Halen, cooking, and her work on The Drew Barrymore Show with helping her heal. TMZ notes that Bertinelli will also soon be debuting a Getting Naked podcast. More here.