Darrell Hammond, famous for his impersonations of politicians and celebrities, is opening up about a much darker subject this week: the systematic abuse he suffered as a child.

In a CNN interview, Hammond said his mother used to stab, beat and electrocute him. His father, he said, had no idea of the abuse that Hammond was going through.

Hammond gave the interview to coincide with the release of his new book, God, If Your Not Up There I'm F----d, where he details some his traumatic childhood.

To deal with the painful memories, he turned to alcohol, drugs and self-mutilation.

There was cutting backstage, he said to CNN. In fact, the week that I did the Gore debates, I believe I was taken away in a straitjacket.

Despite the difficult road he faced, Hammond told CNN he was not embarressed.

I don't feel ashamed of falling down, because I got hit by a Mack truck, he said. The fact is, I kept trying to get back up, and then I did.