by Michael Douglas with Shane Salerno
First published 2026
Michael Douglas opens his life story with brutal honesty about growing up in the shadow of superstar father Kirk Douglas. The actor and producer chronicles his journey from dismissed "TV actor" to Oscar winner at 31 for producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Douglas structures his memoir around twelve iconic films that shaped both his career and American culture, from Wall Street's Gordon Gekko to Behind the Candelabra. He details his transformation from handsome celebrity son into international movie star through hits like Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Romancing the Stone. The book exposes his personal battles with alcohol, drugs, and rehab alongside Hollywood's biggest names. Douglas recounts his turbulent first marriage, affairs with famous actresses, and his son's devastating addiction and imprisonment. He describes his instant attraction to Catherine Zeta-Jones and their enduring 25-year marriage that proved skeptics wrong. The memoir concludes with his fight against stage IV cancer and reflections on fatherhood, friendship, and survival in Hollywood's unforgiving spotlight.
Genres: biography, american, autobiography, contemporary, memoir, non-fiction
Vibes: candid, dramatic, inspiring, intimate, reflective
Tropes: family-conflict-resolution, overcoming-adversity, redemption-arc
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
496 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: addiction, alcohol-abuse, drug-use, mental-illness, substance-abuse, terminal-illness