Barbara Walters has been on television since 1961 and while she’s interviewed hundreds of celebrities, criminals and world leaders, she’s managed to keep her own life private…until now. Her 613-page memoir, Audition, is coming from Knopf. PW’s starred review called it “compulsively readable” and said, “this mammoth memoir’s energy never flags.” PW Daily turned the tables on Walters and got a few answers about her decision to tell all.

PW: Your memories are so vivid, did you keep a journal?

Walters: No, I never did. And its been my biggest regret that I never kept a diary. Although now I tell myself it I had, there would have been so much minutiae but there would have been a lot more history. The things I remember are very vivid in my mind and when I came to the personal things like my entrepreneurial father and my sister—who today would be called mentally disabled—I mean, that I don’t forget; that was my childhood. And I did have the advantage of my interviews when I was doing heads of states and presidents. Most of this book is the most important things I remember, so maybe that’s why the book is very personal and, I hope, very interesting. And I have wonderful researchers, because I include not just what was happening to me but what was happening in this country.

PW: You’ve always kept your personal life private, what convinced you to finally write a memoir?

Walters: Well, I’m not too sure that it isn’t too personal. In the prologue I said that young women often come up and say, “I want to be you” and I always say, “Then you have to take the whole package.” I just wrote it all. If I were doing it over now, I might leave some of it out. I just felt that at this stage of my life I was going to tell the whole story—the unhappy times, the fun times, the romantic times—because people know very little about me personally.

PW: How long did it take to write?

Walters: Four years ago I left 20/20 and I thought I’d have a great deal of time. But then as it turns out, ABC wanted me to do four specials a year. So, I didn’t have a great deal of time. It took me three and a half years of writing all summers, every weekend, every vacation and whenever I wasn’t working. When I finally finished the book it was my happiest day.

PW: Can you explain the title, Audition?

Walters: I felt almost since childhood that I’ve been auditioning to prove myself; to find a place of safety or comfort for myself. I had a very up and down childhood. In many of my years in television, I did have to prove myself again and it was like auditioning for every new job and every new phase of a job. I was a writer for the Today show for years before I was put on the program. I was put on for 15 weeks, I stayed for 13 years. I worked for some men—some co-hosts—who really didn’t want me on and I had to prove myself again. When I came to ABC to be the first female co-anchor of a network news program, I was a failure. I had to climb all over again; audition all over again. It seemed to me an appropriate title.

PW: At the end of the book you say “I am probably happier and more at peace than I have ever been.” Was writing the book cathartic?

Walters: I think I was able to write the book because I am happy. Because a lot of the ghosts have faded. And because I am very contented with my work now. It’s just a good place for me to be in right now and I’m not auditioning anymore. Except for this book. When I read the book, I was concerned that that every other chapter was telling you how guilty I felt. So I went back and took a lot of guilt out. But I think a lot of people can relate to the things that happened to me in my life. And most of us feel guilty about something.

PW: What was your biggest fear about writing your memoir?

Walters: That it was too personal. That it was better before people knew this much about me.

PW: Who are some of your favorite celebrity interviews?

Walters: Over the years, I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of interviews. There’s so many favorites: Cher and Bette Midler because I’ve interviewed them so many times and they’re just a delight. Tom Hanks I’ve interviewed over the years and he’s wonderful, always new and fresh. Tom Cruise, I just happen to be very fond of. There’s also a chapter on celebrities who have affected my life like Richard Pryor and Christopher Reeves. Katharine Hepburn because her way of balancing things was not to have children. And Audrey Hepburn, her way of balancing things was to give up her career so she could stay home with her children. And I’ve always been—as I think many working women are—involved in that balancing act. Because I grew up in show business—my father had the most famous nightclubs in America called the Latin Quarter—I met celebrities at a young age. I knew that they had a human side and maybe a sadness as well as the fame. So, I’ve never been in awe of celebrities. I also know that if you talk about their childhood, it may be one of the most interesting parts of all of their lives and how they got to where they are. I came into interviewing with that knowledge.