Common gets deeply personal in his new memoir, Let Love Have the Last Word, in which he writes about his relationship with his daughter, his desire to be a husband and reveals that he was allegedly molested as a child, ABC News reports.
In an interview with Good Morning Americas Robin Roberts on Tuesday, Common explained the title of his new tome. Im talking about love for God, love for community, love for self and love in action, he explains. If we look at things and put love in our core, if we work from that place, that things will shift and change.
In the interview, he admits that work often got in the way of his relationship with daughter Omoye, who called him out for it. I believed that I was doing a good job, right? And when she told me those things, it kind of shook me, because at first I was defensive, he said. I was getting angry at some of the things she was saying.
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However, he said that in many ways being confronted by his daughter sparked the book. I was like, man, whats the best way for me to love her right now? Its to listen and hear her perspective, because no matter what I feel and what I think I did, shes telling me her side of things and thats what she feels. And through me hearing her out and us discussing things, you know, our relationship has been able to grow.
He also opened up about suffering alleged sexual abuse while he was a child, which he had not previously revealed publicly prior to the book.
It was something that I didnt know if I wanted to talk about, but I really believe that in telling my story other people will be OK with talking about that situation, he said. And me, Im a black man, we dont talk about those issues in ways that we could. So I felt I wanted to create a space for people who have experienced that to be able to share that. Thats part of the healing, to be honest.
No sooner than I told the story, one of my good friends came out and told me that had happened to him. He also discussed forgiveness, self-discovery through prayer, his hope to be a husband one day and his relationship coach, Michelle Obama.
She has given me a lot of wisdom, he added. One great thing that she told me as I was going through this journey was that you have to understand youre not going to get anyone whos perfect because youre not perfect, so understand that theres some certain things that you will compromise and choose in that partner. But as long as the core values, the values that are most important to you [are found in] that person, you know, marks off on that list, then youre good.
The interview ends with Common humorously freestyling why people should read Let Love Have the Last Word. The book is out now.