Shania Twain Reflects on Childhood Abuse in New Interview

Shania Twain has spoken about the abuse she experienced growing up in a new interview on NPR's Wild Card with Rachel Martin.

The Canadian country star said her mother and stepfather had a violent relationship, and that she and her sisters were also physically abused. Twain recalled being hit and kicked, describing her childhood home as a frightening place where violent fights would shake the walls.

She said her mother often tried to leave the relationship, but would eventually return, calling it "a cycle."

Twain has previously shared details of her upbringing in her 2011 memoir, From This Moment On. In the book, she described physical and emotional abuse by her stepfather, witnessing him assault her mother, and an incident in which she fought back after trying to protect her mother. She also wrote that concerns about sexual abuse led her mother to take the family to a homeless shelter, though they later returned.

Twain's mother, Sharon Edwards, divorced her biological father when Twain was a young child and later married Jerry Twain. The couple remained together until they died in a car accident in 1987.