NEED TO KNOW
Charlie Sheen’s bombshell new memoir, The Book of Sheen, goes on sale Sept. 9In it, he recounts his entire dramatic story, from his childhood to drug and alcohol abuse to his recoveryListen to an exclusive audio excerpt read by the actor himself
Charlie Sheen has lived one heck of a life, and now he’s ready to tell the world all about it. The actor, who turned 60 on Sept. 3, has slowed way (way) down from his hard-partying days. Now that he’s eight years sober, he’s looking back on his wild ride.
His debut memoir, The Book of Sheen (out Tuesday, Sept. 9), and a two-part Netflix documentary aka Charlie Sheen (streaming Sept. 10) will take readers and viewers back to his childhood, when he and his three siblings would tag along with dad Martin Sheen on the set of his movies, including spending months in the Philippines while he shot Apocalypse Now.
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‘The Book of Sheen’.
Gallery Books
It also covers the actor finding fame in a small role in 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off before larger parts in Platoon and Wall Street shot him to superstardom just a few short years later. And of course, it gets into the darker underbelly of Hollywood that Sheen became enmeshed in: booze, easy access to cocaine, fast cars and sex.
Today, Sheen tells PEOPLE he thinks much of his early partying came from fear that the fame and money was all temporary. “There was always that voice of doubt, that it was only a matter of time before it all went away, so to enjoy it as heartily as you can,” he says.
And while he’s spending more time these days looking forward than back, Sheen does still think about the road he traveled to get here. “Forgiveness is still an evolving thing,” he says.
Sheen explains, “I still get what I call the ‘shame shivers.’ These are the moments that hit me, of the heinous memories and choices and consequences. They’re getting farther in between, so I guess that’s progress. What has been interesting about making amends is that most people have been like, ‘Hey yeah, we’re good man, but we hope you’ve also forgiven yourself.’”
Jennifer Grey and Charlie Sheen in 1986.
CBS via Getty
Listen to PEOPLE’s exclusive excerpt of Sheen’s story, in which he and “moody sister” Jennifer Grey share a moment.
Listen to Charlie Sheen read an excerpt from ‘The Book of Sheen’
Excerpted from THE BOOK OF SHEEN by Charlie Sheen. Copyright © 2005 by Charlie Sheen. Reprinted by permission of Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
The Book of Sheen hits shelves on Sept. 9 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold. aka Charlie Sheen is available to stream on Netflix starting Sept. 10.