Naya Rivera writes about a number of personal subjects in her new book, Sorry Not Sorry, but says one of the hardest was the death of her Glee co-star Cory Monteith, who died of a drug overdose in 2013.
“The Cory chapter really choked me up. I had [co-star] Kevin [McHale] come over and help me edit and we both had our moment,” Rivera said in a recent interview.
For fans of Glee, which aired 2009-2015, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up (TarcherPerigee) is definitely worth a read to revisit the show’s success from an insider’s perspective. Rivera, 29, shares how the cast dated, partied and basically had the ups and downs of twentysomethings who spend a lot of time together.
She also shares her story of starting in showbiz at a young age, relationship drama and finally getting it right with her now-husband, actor Ryan Dorsey.
Rivera talks about opening up, her love of writing and passing on her love of books to 1-year-old son, Josey.
When it was announced that you were writing a book, it was billed like you were going to “go there” and not hold back on things in your life. Is that what happened?
It was my intention to not hold back, but the way that I saw the media portray it was “Oh, it’s a slam book,” but that’s not at all what it is.
What was your intention?
I talk about my passion for writing in the book. If I wasn’t acting in some way, shape or form, I would be writing music, screenplays or books. I’m very bookish. I love reading.
Is there anything you wanted to clear up in the book?
A few years ago, it was a tumultuous year. (Rivera dated and quickly became engaged to rapper Big Sean. They broke up a few months later and took some of their disagreements public in social media and, for Big Sean, his music.) Those were things that I definitely wanted to be able to clear up on my own.
You also write about how you dated your husband prior to Big Sean and got back together with him after that break-up and married a few months later. The media portrayed that as a rebound of sorts. Was it important for you to share your version of events?
I consulted with my husband on it all along the way. ... I was like, “Listen, to me, this is something so funny that nobody knows our history. ... Do you mind if I include this in the book?” He was supportive.
From “Glee” to reuniting with Dorsey, it seems like a big takeaway from your book is the importance of timing.
Everything in life is timing. I’ve grown up in this industry and there were a lot of projects that I really wanted and I would cry over and not understand why I didn’t get them had I gotten any one of those projects I wouldn’t have gotten and been on Glee. That was a game changer in my life.
Since you’re such an avid reader, do you like to read with your son?
He’s a boy in every sense of the word, but I’ll go, “Do you want to read a book?” and he’ll say, “Yeah,” and he sits down and we’ll read a book. He literally has his own favourites. His favourite book is Dada by Jimmy Fallon. It’s a great book. We travel with it.
