Joe Manganiello is preparing to share a deeply personal account of a long and difficult medical struggle in his forthcoming memoir Bloodlines, set for release on Oct. 16.
Based on information from the publishing house, the book tells the story of the sudden and drastic deterioration of his physical well-being, involving him in a number of autoimmune diseases.
The One Piece star says the illness impacted multiple areas of his body, including his skin, thyroid, eyes, lungs, and digestive system.
The condition reportedly escalated without warning and developed into a prolonged health battle lasting several years.
“It was the most brutally difficult time of my life, one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but also my greatest adventure. I hope that what I went through on this journey can give readers hope that answers and healing may lie for them on the other side of whatever they are fighting through.”
In his memoir, Joe Manganiello writes that he endured chronic pain and underwent major medical intervention during this period, including an organ amputation described as life-saving.
The actor was battling medical ordeals behind closed doors as his health condition was difficult to diagnose. Traditional doctors struggled to explain what was happening to him, so he took his search for answers into his own hands.
The book explores how his medical struggles led to a wider exploration of identity and ancestry.
More about Joe Manganiello’s memoir Bloodlines and past health crises
In an exclusive statement he shared with People, Joe Manganiello described the period as an extremely difficult chapter in his life, but at the same time a transformational experience that changed his outlook.
“The process of writing this book gave me the gift of perspective that helped me to see that my suffering was a cocoon from which I would emerge forever changed.”
An overview of the book also hints at what to expect from the Magic Mike star’s recounting of his personal experiences. It says:
“In Bloodlines, Manganiello writes with candor and hard-won clarity about illness, inheritance, masculinity, faith, ambition, and the identities we build to endure. More than a memoir of medical crisis, it is a searching account of what happens when the life you have constructed can no longer contain the truth of what you carry.”
The summation adds:
“As Manganiello struggled to stay alive amidst medicine’s inability to fully explain what ailed him, an unorthodox path emerged—shamans, pagan rituals, ancient myths, long lost family records, and the rebirth of his own spirituality. A search that led him deep into his own bloodline: to a survivor of the Armenian genocide, to ancestors shaped by violence and displacement, and the hidden patterns shared by others living with chronic illness.”
Best known for roles in True Blood and various film and television projects, Joe Manganiello has largely kept details of his health private until now.
This particular publication will be his first opportunity to publicly discuss all aspects of his medical challenges.
Edited by Gladys Altamarino