Michael Douglas is pulling back the curtain on his celebrated career and turbulent private life in his memoir, One Helluva Ride.

The 496 page book, released October 6th, explores Hollywood success, drug use, infidelity, family regrets and romances that remained hidden for decades.

According to Page Six, Douglas does not avoid the most uncomfortable periods of his past.

Instead, he revisits the choices and relationships that complicated his marriages, career and family life while he became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars.

Among the book’s biggest revelations is Douglas’ relationship with Kathleen Turner, his costar in the 1984 adventure comedy Romancing the Stone. Douglas writes that they “fell hard for each other” while filming the movie in Mexico and began a secret romance.

People reported that Douglas and Turner kept the relationship private for roughly 40 years.

At the time of the affair, Douglas was separated from his first wife, Diandra Luker, but the couple remained legally married.

The relationship ended after Luker visited the set and confronted Turner about the situation.

Turner has since responded with a lighthearted attitude, saying there was too much “fuss” over something that happened four decades ago.

Douglas also addresses the speculation that surrounded his 1992 thriller Basic Instinct. Although Sharon Stone was frequently linked to him through Hollywood speculation, Douglas writes that his actual secret relationship during production was with Jeanne Tripplehorn.

People highlighted that Douglas and Tripplehorn intentionally concealed their romance from the movie’s cast and crew.

The hidden relationship became another example of Douglas’ personal life becoming closely entangled with his work.

The memoir includes additional accounts of infidelity, including Douglas’ involvement with screenwriter Diane Thomas.

He also describes other occasions when romantic relationships and his film career collided, adding to the strain already present in his private life.

Douglas’ recollections extend beyond affairs and Hollywood intrigue. Before becoming a major star, he experimented with LSD and marijuana, while cocaine later became part of his life during his years in the movie business.

Page Six reported that Douglas’ substance use and repeated infidelity eventually placed enormous pressure on his marriage to Luker.

At one point, she reportedly presented him with a severe choice between entering rehab and facing divorce.

Some stories in One Helluva Ride are less reflective and considerably stranger. Douglas recalls “sexiling” his longtime friend and roommate Danny DeVito, and he describes an embarrassing drunken encounter with Julia Roberts during a Golden Globes party.

Yet the memoir is not limited to secret romances, substance use and awkward celebrity encounters. Behind its biggest Hollywood revelations, the book offers Douglas an opportunity to examine his family relationships and the regrets that followed him beyond the screen.

Good Morning America noted that Douglas writes about growing up in the shadow of his father, Kirk Douglas.

He also discusses his regret over being an absent father to his son, Cameron, as his career and personal struggles consumed his attention.

Douglas reflects on his marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones and the family life they eventually created together. Those memories provide a more personal counterpoint to the affairs, addiction struggles and career stories that dominate some of the memoir’s most startling passages.

His battle with stage IV throat cancer also changed his perspective. Surviving the disease gave Douglas a renewed appreciation for his family and for the parts of life that mattered beyond Hollywood success.

One Helluva Ride therefore finds Douglas doing more than collecting the wildest episodes of his long career.

He looks back at the decisions that shaped his life, including painful choices, private relationships and family failures that he now wishes he had handled differently.

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