Suvari recounts abuse in new memoir

Mena Suvari was “lucky” to survive years of “repeated sexual abuse” that led her down a path to drugs and addiction.

The actress, who shot to fame in the 1999 movie American Beauty as a teenage cheerleader who is the object of obsession for a middle-aged man played by Kevin Spacey, has detailed the trauma she experienced before her breakthrough film in her new memoir The Great Peace: A Memoir.

Suvari told People magazine she was hiding the truth of the terrible trauma she was dealing with.

“I was living a double life,” the 42-year-old said. “Every time I would go on a set. Every time I was interviewed, I was acting the whole time. It was another role for me to play, that I was OK.”

In an excerpt from the book, set for release July 27, she writes, “Between the ages of 12 and 20, I was the victim of repeated sexual abuse.” Suvari details how a friend of one of her older brothers, whom she refers to as “KJ,” raped her; how she was coerced into a sexual relationship with a manager, whom she saw as a protector, at the age of 15; and was sexually and emotionally abused by a former boyfriend she names “Tyler,” whom she met just before she turned 17.

She soon began taking drugs to numb the pain.

“I turned to any form of self-medicating I could find, just to get by,” she said. “I was just trying to survive.”

Suvari eventually left Tyler and stopped using drugs — and with the help of therapy and supportive friends, began to regain her confidence.

In 2016, she met Mike Hope, now her husband, on a movie project. They married two years after meeting and have a son.

She said she hopes sharing her experiences will help others who have suffered.

“I hope I can help someone else see their value,” she said. “If I can lessen the pain for someone else, then I want to do it, because I didn't have that person.”