Chrissy Metz Says She Tried to Prepare Her Family for Her ‘Soul-Baring’ Memoir

While baring her soul in her new memoir, Chrissy Metz knew that painful memories from her past, which included family members, would be unearthed.

In advance of the release of This Is Me — on sale March 27 — Metz sat down with PEOPLE for her cover interview and admitted to feeling “scared,” specifically noting her family members’ reactions to the revelations.

“I’m really like nervous about it because this is sort of 37 years of my experiences. Some of them are great and some of them were really difficult, and a lot of them included people that I love,” Metz, 37, tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s cover interview.

To prepare for the book’s release, Metz says she “tried to sort of preempt the book to my family and, ‘This is what I’m talking about. I hope that you understand the process.’ My sister actually found something online last night and she was like, ‘I’m so upset. I can’t believe that this would be in the book.’ I’m like … ‘Just wait until the book comes and then find out the whole story.’ ”

“There’s all these things coming up, which of course, were to be expected, but yeah, I’m nervous about it,” Metz shares. “I’m excited, but I’m also nervous because it’s very soul-baring and I feel very exposed and vulnerable. I suppose that’s sort of what I do, but it’s my life, it’s not Kate Pearson’s life. I have all sorts of things coming up.”

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