Leslie Jones Prepares to Share Untold Stories in Revealing New Memoir, Says Writing Was 'Very Therapeutic'

Leslie Jones is ready to tell her story.

The comedian, 55, is releasing her debut memoir, Leslie F*cking Jones, this coming September. In unveiling the cover exclusively with PEOPLE, Jones says that upon cracking it open, fans cans expect to read stories about her upbringing and overall life's journey.

"Also, it's just a lot of moments that equal up to what became Leslie Jones," she explains.

Readers will get a mix of Jones' signature humor throughout the book as well. However, according to Jones, "You get that, but you get why it's that. You get why I have the sense of humor I have."

The process of putting pen to paper proved to be "very therapeutic" for Jones. But as for what this memoir writing experience has taught her, the Saturday Night Live alum says: "That I actually worked my ass off."

"I would find myself telling a story and I would be like, 'Holy s---. Yeah, I remember. How did you make it through that?' Or you go, 'Oh, yeah. I remember when I had to do that,'" she explains. "And then you go, 'Oh, damn. I actually put in the work to be where I am right now.' So I think I learned the trials and tribulations, how much I've triumphed, how much I've changed, how much I've grown. Just a lot of things. A lot of self-realizations."

"I talked about things that I didn't know that I wanted to talk about, if that makes any sense. There's stories in there that I was like, 'Holy s---, I thought I would go to my death with that,'" she continues. "Real talk, there's two specific stories in that book that I was like, 'Holy s---, Leslie. You are going to tell those stories?'"

"It is so crazy, because those stories are things that I'm really, really, not even ashamed [of], but just more of like that happened. And I don't know if I need to go yell it to the f---ing yard, but when we were telling the story, it was like, 'Oh, wow, maybe I need to tell this,'" she adds.

Jones' comedy career has allowed her to reach many milestones, from becoming a household name on Saturday Night Live to appearing in films like Coming 2 America to hosting shows like Supermarket Sweep. In now choosing to reflect on her life's journey in her self-titled memoir, the star says: "I think it was all about timing and being able to have the time to really sit down and get it on paper and remember everything, and just be inspired to even tell the story."

"I think this was a good time, because it's a nice break before I have to get busy again. You know what I'm saying? So I also wanted to do it while I did still remember everything," she explains. "I started remembering moments that I was like, 'Oh, wow, I haven't thought about that. I need to get that on paper or something,' because I don't want to forget the actual details to it. So it was a lot of that too. I just feel like people ask me a lot of questions on how to do that, and I was like, 'I wonder if my story will be interesting.' And it turns out it is very interesting."

Adds Jones, "Everybody's life is a story. Everybody's life has had moments and trials and mistakes and things that you go to to make you who you are today. And I want everybody to read that and go, 'Holy s---. She didn't just fall into comedy. She had to work for that s---.' I want people to learn that if you have an inspiration and a desire to do something, that's f---ing great, but you got to work."

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Leslie F*cking Jones will be released on September 19, 2023.