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Arnold Schwarzenegger has just published his new book. “Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life” is a memoir and a self-help book, one that’s packed with some of Schwarzenegger’s most determining life experiences and how he used them to become the man that he is today. The book’s name derives from a phrase that he’s found to be motivational over the course of his life, and is filled with tools that he hopes will be useful for readers of all sorts.
Over the course of its pages, Schwarzenegger makes a few stunning revelations. Here are five of the most notorious ones:
He reveals the impact of his notorious affair
While steering clear of details, Schwarzenegger focused on the aftermath of the scandal. He discusses the moment when the world learned of his affair with his housekeeper, which resulted in the birth of his son, Joseph Baena. The affair threw most of his relationships out of control, including his wife, Maria Shriver, and his children, Katherine, Patrick, Christopher, and Christina.
“I was face down in the mud, in a dark hole, and I had to decide whether it was worth it to clean myself up and start the slow climb out, or to just give up,” he wrote.
He discusses his relationship with his father
Schwarzenegger lived his youth in Austria. His father, a soldier that fought with the Nazis in World War II, was an alcoholic and a tough presence in his life. “I had to do two hundred knee bends every morning just to ‘earn’ my breakfast,” Schwarzenegger wrtote in his book.
He had three open heart surgeries
Following a second heart surgery, Schwarzenegger revealed he had to have a third surgery due to some mistakes made by the doctors. He learned of the surgery after he was waking up after a procedure that was supposed to be non-invasive, which resulted in a mistake that forced doctors to conduct open heart surgery to repair the damage. He wrote that he was “pissed off” at the increased recovery time but that after a few days he shifted his perspective and was able to recover completely and move on with his life.
He had a broken femur as he gave his inaugural speech as governor of California
Schwarzenegger has been the Governor of California twice. During his second inaugural speech, he was in incredible pain after breaking his femur in a ski accident. Schwarzenegger said he wouldn’t cancel his speech and that he wouldn’t be taking any pain medication since that could make him look bad and like he wasn’t present in one of the biggest moments of his life.
He opens up about his January 6th speech
Lastly, Schwarzenegger also discussed the speech he shared following the January 6th riots, where he condemned the attack on the Capitol and the actions of Donald Trump. The speech went viral and gave him many allies. In the book, he revealed that the speech came to him in the tub, where he mapped out some of his talking points.