Mena Suvari tells in her new memoir how she survived drug addiction and sexual abuse

Mena Suvari was “lucky” to survive years of “repeated sexual abuse” that led to her drug addiction.

The “American Beauty” star, who rose to fame for her role as cheerleader Angela in the 1999 film, describes the trauma she experienced before her film breakthrough in her new book, “The Great Peace: A Memoir.”

In a chat with People, Suvari revealed that she was hiding the truth about the horrific trauma she was dealing with.

“I was leading a double life,” the 42-year-old told the newspaper. “Every time I went on set. Every time I was interviewed, I was acting the whole time. It was a different role for me. I was OK with that.”

In an excerpt from the book, she wrote: “Between the ages of twelve and twenty, I was repeatedly sexually abused.”

Mena detailed how she was raped by a friend of one of her older brothers, whom she calls “KJ” in the book, how she was forced into a sexual relationship at age 15 with a manager she viewed as a protector, and how she was sexually and emotionally abused by a former boyfriend named “Tyler,” whom she met shortly before her 17th birthday. During the three-year relationship, Tyler pressured her to participate in threesomes and pick up women he brought home for him.

“No, I don’t want that,” she told KJ, who pressured her for sex until one day he took her to a private room in his family’s house and raped her.

“A part of me died that day,” she said. “He used me, had fun with me and then disposed of me. He called me disgusting.”

“I never had the opportunity to live sex in a healthy way. I had no choice. And that, along with the feeling of not being seen and heard, shaped my self-image. That was my value.”

Shortly thereafter, Suvari began taking medication to relieve pain.

“I tried every form of self-medication I could find just to get through it,” the actress said. “I was just trying to survive.”

Suvari eventually broke up with Tyler and quit drugs – and began to regain her confidence with the help of therapy and supportive friends.

In 2016, she met her now-husband Mike Hope on the set of her Hallmark movie I’ll Be Home For Christmas. The couple married two years later and have a son named Christopher, who was born in April 2021.

Now Suvari hopes she can help other sufferers by sharing her experiences.

“I hope I can help someone else find their worth,” she added. “If I can ease someone else’s pain, then I want to do that, because I didn’t have that person.”