The cover of Cynthia Erivo's new book, "Simply More."

Cynthia Erivo’s new book is as singular as she is.

While many celebrity memoirs dutifully recount career highs and lows, “Simply More” (out Nov. 18) reads like a warm and galvanizing conversation between old friends. Throughout the book, Erivo uses her life experience as a mirror for readers to reflect back themselves, asking questions such as: “Who are the people who have nurtured you?” and “What magic did you uncover at a young age?”

“I have always written in that way,” says Erivo, 38, talking over Zoom on the eve of the Brazil premiere of “Wicked: For Good” (in theaters Nov. 21). The British actress aims to spark thoughtful discussion, and not get too hung up on formalities and platitudes.

“One of the first chapters I started writing was about my dad," which started as a list of realizations and "found its way into a poem," Erivo says. “In not wanting to limit myself in any way, that’s naturally what happened.”

Cynthia Erivo channeled the 'pain' of her father's abandonment into Elphaba

In “Simply More,” Erivo writes candidly about her decades-long estrangement from her father, who disowned her at 16 after an argument in a London train station. She reflects on the “strange stroke of irony” that they both can sing and have gaps in their front teeth, and says she's OK "with the fact we don't have a relationship. Because in truth, we don't need it."

Erivo also explains the deep connection she felt to “Wicked” heroine Elphaba, who similarly longed for her father’s love and approval.

“Time and therapy have helped me heal that, for sure, but retracing steps through this character made it very clear that those were things I was trying to obtain,” Erivo says. “Being able to use Elphaba to channel some of that pain was really a healthy thing and was very helpful to me. It crystallized what I'd been going through, and it was nice to find a place to put it all finally.”

In other emotional chapters, Erivo writes about her journey with queerness: the confusion and heartbreak that drove her to bury her sexuality as a teenager, and how she didn’t date women until her late 20s. Erivo’s mom and sister struggled with her coming out, and the singer says it's territory they're "still navigating." But she has learned to give them patience and grace while still being unapologetically herself.

“The time it took for me to get to a place where I could accept myself is also the time I have to give other people,” Erivo says. “It's a new normal. They still love me and they want to be there for me. It's about giving them the space to get used to all the parts of me.”

The 'Wicked: For Good' star brings 'dignity and hope' to every character

Throughout the book, Erivo recounts the blatant racism and stinging microaggressions she’s encountered throughout her life. In one shocking instance at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she was told to sing behind a curtain as her white classmates lip-synced to her voice. And when she starred as Celie in the musical “The Color Purple" in London, she recalls critics grumbling that the stage show "wasn't violent enough," and that her resilient character wasn't "gray" and "decrepit" after enduring years of abuse.

The show informed how Erivo approached all her characters going forward, including her Oscar-nominated turns as Harriet Tubman in “Harriet” and Elphaba in “Wicked.”

“Because these women have been through such pain, the least I could do is imbue them with real dignity and hope,” Erivo says. “Sometimes the people who have the most joy are the people who are going through the most, because that's all they have to hold on to. Celie was one of those characters that I truly believed was consistently seeking the bright moments out of life, because there weren't that many. Why wouldn't she laugh? Why wouldn't she take care of herself the way she could?

“It always baffled me that people wanted to see her downtrodden, when someone who's going through something is actively seeking ways to not feel that way.”

Cynthia Erivo teases 'darkness' and 'sexuality' of her one-person 'Dracula' play

Erivo has been circling the globe promoting “Wicked: For Good,” which awards pundits are predicting will net her another Oscar nomination. The actress is already three-fourths of the way to EGOT status, with Emmy, Grammy and Tony wins for “The Color Purple.”

Next up, she’ll be starring in a film adaptation of Jodie Comer’s Tony-winning play “Prima Facie,” and leading her own one-woman production of “Dracula” in London, which begins performances in February. Erivo will inhabit 23 characters in the play, which is directed by Kip Williams (“The Picture of Dorian Gray”).

“Kip and I have been having this wonderful conversation about desire and shame and darkness and what Dracula can actually represent,” Erivo says. “Humans are ashamed to talk about sexuality and sex in general, and this is an opportunity where we can crack the doors wide open about what it does to people."

The show comes on the heels of Erivo’s critically lauded performance as Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, which drew backlash from conservative commentators for casting a queer Black woman as the Messiah. With each new role ‒ from Elphaba to Jesus to Dracula ‒ Erivo hopes to change perceptions of who can play what characters, and make people rethink iconic figures.

She has no grand designs about what the future might hold, although "small clues" are popping up "in the conversations I'm having and the music that keeps playing," Erivo says. "Action, drama and romance are the things that keep showing themselves ‒ I feel like that might be the next step in my life.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cynthia Erivo shares how playing Elphaba 'helped me heal' after father's estrangement

Reporting by Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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