Oprah Winfrey's secret diaries

The star’s journals give a glimpse into her thoughts and her tumultuous life.

“I’ve been journaling since I was 15,” she writes in the latest issue of O: The Oprah Magazine. But it’s taken until now for Oprah, 57, to share such personal thoughts with the world.

“It’s a wonder that I’ve managed to be a successful human being considering how pathetic I appeared in many of my daily musings,” she says, reflecting on her handwritten entries. “It’s a testament to growth and grace that I’ve come this far… I used my journals as therapy. Oh, the time I wasted worrying about men and weight!”

Oprah certainly isn’t afraid to let readers see the vulnerability in her journals. She is shockingly honest about her love-life, with her insecurities laid bare in emotional entries. The most startling are from her twenties, in what Oprah describes as “my 3-D years, when I was delusional, in denial and damaged”.

During a tumultuous period in her life when she’s admitted to dabbling in drugs, she seems to spend every moment obsessing over men. In an entry dated May 17, 1981, she was in a difficult relationship and talks about how powerless her boyfriend makes her feel. “I want to die… I wish for something to put an end to this madness,” she writes.