Eminem at his Oct. 15 book party in N.Y.C.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
"I have never felt so much pain in my life," he writes in The Way I Am, which hits stores Oct. 21 and features dozens of personal photos, handwritten lyrics and sketches. "It was tough for me to even get out of bed, and I had days when I couldn't walk, let alone write a rhyme."
Eminem, 36 – who has been working on a new album in his hometown of Detroit – also opens up about how he and ex-wife Kimberly Mathers are co-parenting daughter Hailie, 12, teenage niece Alaina, and 6-year-old Whitney, Kim's daughter from a previous relationship.
"Kim and I have had our differences, sure, but things are good between us now," says the rapper (real name Marshall B. Mathers III), adding that the two have forged a "seamless" back and forth between their homes. "She's there holding the fort down – and she does an amazing job."
For more on Eminem's The Way I Am – including an except, 14 exclusive photos and Eminem's comments from the book, and coverage of the book launch – go to EW.com
