Matthew McConaughey has released his memoir "Greenlights" in which he exposes his abusive father. The 50-year-old father of three describes how James "Jim" McConaughey broke his wife Mary Kathleen's middle finger four times over the years during their violent rows.
Matthew McConaughey: "This is how my parents communicated"
The star of Dallas Buyers Club (for which he won the Oscar in 2014) actually shares a picture of his mother's bent middle finger as proof of the abuse in the book. The title stems from the actor's habit of comparing his ups and downs over the course of his life with changing traffic signals.
He explains in his memoir that violence was actually a part of his parents dysfunctional marriage:
"This is how my parents communicated. This is why my mom anddad were married three times and divorced twice – to each other. This is why my dad broke mom's middle finger to get it out of his face four separate times. This is how my mom and dad loved each other."
In a brutally honest way, McConaughey also describes how his first "a** whupping" was given to him for answering to the nickname "Matt" in kindergarten while his mother screamed at him: "You weren't named after a doormat!" The actor says that punishments involved his mouth was washed out with soap when he used swear words and that he also received a beating for saying the phrase "I can't".
In his memoir, Matthew McConaughey reveals he was an unplanned baby and that his mother believed she had a stomach tumor until she was five months pregnant. His father even went to a bar on the day Matthew was born because he believed the baby wasn't his. The memoir is filled with a roller coaster of honesty and powerful lessons learned from his rough experiences.
"Greenlights" by Matthew McConaughey was released on Tuesday October 21st and is available in stores and online now.
His ballot was an important one!
Ryan Reynolds Thanks Blake Lively For Helping Him Vote In U.S. Election
