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Maria Shriver’s upcoming book, I Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home, promises a candid look at the journalist’s life, including the tumultuous period surrounding her 2021 divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Set to release April 1st, 2025, excerpts reveal Shriver’s raw vulnerability as she details the “devastating, life-altering blow” of the split.
Shriver, 69, and Schwarzenegger, 77, share four children. Their 25-year marriage ended after Schwarzenegger’s highly publicized admission of fathering a child with a member of their household staff.
The author describes the divorce as a deeply painful experience, compounded by the loss of both her parents around the same time. She writes of feeling lost and terrified, her foundation shattered by the confluence of these life-altering events.
In the book, Shriver explores her journey toward healing, experimenting with various methods from therapy and spiritual guidance to a stay in a convent. Ultimately, she credits poetry with providing the most solace, allowing her to confront deep-seated insecurities and process long-suppressed grief.
Through writing, she says she discovered a woman burdened by the weight of family expectations and a lifetime of avoiding difficult emotions. Shriver’s story promises a powerful reflection on heartbreak, resilience, and the unexpected paths to self-discovery.