“Dancing With The Stars” pro Derek Hough visited “HuffPost Live” to discuss his new memoir, “Taking The Lead: Lessons From A Life In Motion,” and Season 19 of the hit ABC dancing competion. Hough chatted about some of the topics in his book and how they related to his experience on “Dancing With The Stars.”

Hough didn’t expect to write a book. In fact, he originally didn’t want to do it. Yet when the dancer was approached to pen a memoir, he realized that he might have a lot to say.

“I never really saw myself as writing a book, really that’s not something I identified myself with,” Hough said. “But the more I reflected on it and was thinking about these events in my life, whether it was being bullied as a kid or moving to London, being on the show, there was just so many things that when I started writing and reflecting back on it, it felt good. It felt right.”

Of course, bringing up the past wasn’t all easy.

"t was difficult to reflect on certain stories and bring them back up because I’m very much sort of a forward thinking person," Hough said. "But to kind of go back and reflect on those moments was very helpful."

Hough also mentioned that his experience is very different from his sister Julianne's experience. In “Taking The Lead,” Derek mentioned what a great experience he had in London, where he and his sister lived with fellow “Dancing With The Stars” pro Mark Ballas. He said that it helped him develop a great work ethic, but his sister told Cosmopolitan that she was abused while she was there. Derek admitted that the pressures Julianne faced as a female might have been different from those he dealt with, but he clarified that they both loved living with the Ballas family. He said that they have spoken about their experiences together and that “we’re incredibly grateful for the Ballas family.”

The five time champion of “Dancing With The Stars” also mentioned that living with Ballas motivated him. He said that living with his "DWTS" co-star didn’t cause unhealthy competition but instead made him strive to be better.

His partners on “Dancing With The Stars” also teach Derek a lot. He said that he loved working with Amy Purdy, a double leg amputee and professional snowboarder because she taught him that people can do anything they set their minds to. Hough admitted that he doesn’t know who will be on “Dancing With The Stars” Season 19. While some of the pros ask producers and get the inside scoop on the new celebs, Derek doesn’t want to ruin the surprise. “I have no idea [who is in the cast]…and I don’t want to” he said. “I’m one of those guys who is just like ‘don’t tell me, I don’t want to know.’”

The pros and celebrities on “Dancing With The Stars” are definitely friendly, and Hough admitted that sometimes the cast gets a little more than friendly. He danced around questions about hookups behind the scenes by saying, “Let’s just say there’s a lot of tension. A lot of energy, you know what I mean?”

“Taking The Lead: Lessons From A Life In Motion” is in stores now and “Dancing With The Stars” Season 19 premieres Monday, September 15 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC. Will you be tuning in for the new season? Sound off in the comments section below.

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