Kendra Wilkinson Memoir: Playboy Mom Battled Meth and Won
(CBS) Playboy model, reality mom Kendra Wilkinson is healthy and happy, according a new memoir in which she admits a difficult childhood battle with hard drugs.
"I always knew that was wrong. It was one of those things where I kind of lost myself for a little bit," she said during a "Today" show interview to push her new book, "Sliding into Home."
"The drugs and everything, that's what found me and accepted me, but it wasn't me. I am that tomboy, I am that kid, that girl that loves sports. That wasn't me so I grew out of that real fast."
Kendra said her drug use, which included methamphetamine, started when she was 13, shortly after her father left the family, and continued until she was 16. She also admitted to secretly becoming an underage stripper, but said she "wasn't a druggie stripper."
At 18, she appeared in Playboy and became a girlfriend of sorts to Hugh Hefner - an experience she speaks candidly about in the book. Earlier this year, Vivid Video released a sex tape of Kendra's early days. She reportedly cashed in on it.
But Kendra has also sought to publicly transform herself.
Her new reality show on E! chronicles her marriage with pro football player Hank Baskett and the birth of their child. On the show she battles very regular problems, like trying to lose weight after pregnancy.
"I have been through a lot and have gotten through it," said on Today. "I'm safe. I'm home. I am where I always wanted to be."
More than 20 million Americans need treatment for drug and alcohol addictions, according to the National Association of Addiction Professionals. Almost a million Americans have tried methamphetamine, according to the National Institute of Health. The drug is most often consumed as a white powder and raises the heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature. It is highly addictive, damages the nervous system and can lead to death.
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