SUNDAY CONVERSATION WITH ... Ted Turner

Q: OK, Ted, 70 isn't really that old anymore, so why an autobiography now? You aren't in your final act yet, are you?

A: It just seemed like a good time. My memory's starting to fade a good bit, and I just wanted to do it while my memory's still good.

Q: What do you mean your memory's starting to fade?

A: Well, I can't remember whether I have Parkinson's or Alzheimer's. I'm just joking.

Q: There's quite a bit in the book about your family —- the abuse you suffered at the hands of your father, difficult times your kids went through —- and some of it is hard to read. Did it give you pause? Did you tell your kids that you were going to be so candid?

A: It was somewhat painful for me to relive the sadder parts of it. But that's part of my life. But there is some good that comes out of it because young people that read this book will realize that you can overcome adversity and that you should. You should press on and not be overwhelmed by it.

Q: You include a scathing letter your father wrote to you when you declared Classics as your major at Brown. He called you a "stupid snob," a "jackass" and an "isolated, impractical dreamer." Why did you save such a painful letter?

A: That's a good question. I don't know.

Q: What was it like to be saved by Billy Graham at one of his crusades when you were a student at McCallie, then a Christian military academy in Chattanooga?

A: It was pretty exciting. But I've been saved a whole bunch of times. It was a pretty religious school, and we had evangelists there all the time. It was hard not to get carried away with it all.

Q: Your sister's death from lupus is something that you say literally shook your belief in God to your core. So what took the place of that faith?

A: I still have some faith. I prayed for Obama to win, for instance.

Q: To paraphrase a quote from your dad: Set a goal so high that it will take more than one lifetime to reach, that way you won't be disappointed or bored or adrift. What's the goal you haven't achieved?

A: Nuclear disarmament, environmental salvation, stop global warming, eliminate poverty, disease, hunger —- is that enough?

Q: Do you actually think you'll see any of those eradicated in your lifetime?

A: Yes! We're very close to eradicating polio. I've been working on that with many others for 20 years. And we're pretty close to eradicating measles and malaria, too.

Q: Jimmy Brown was your dad's assistant who helped raise you, then turned around and pretty much co-parented your five kids. What's the most useful lesson he taught you?

A: Too many to pick one out. I'm not good with lists. Everybody in America loves lists —- what's your favorite movie, what's your favorite song. My favorite song is "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." (sings) My, oh my, what a wonderful day, plenty of sunshine heading my way . . ."

Q: Uh, that was ... beautiful. You admit to psychotherapy to help with your problems in the book.

A: Why not? It's an autobiography. There were some things that I left out that I thought might be inappropriate. But I wanted to be as candid as I could be. What's the point of reading an autobiography if you don't learn something?

Q: Do you feel in control of your life again, because after the TimeWarner/AOL debacle, one of your kids said in an interview that he worried you might be suicidal.

A: My father committed suicide, and I've never considered committing suicide.

Q: But do you finally feel in control of your life now?

A: Yes, as much as anybody can be.

Q: Loneliness was a theme in your book, particularly chapters on the early years of your life. Jane Fonda —- who you've said was the love of your life —- has said this about you in an interview, and I wonder if it's true: that ultimately you're afraid to be lonely?

A: Well, I don't like it, but I don't think I'm afraid of it. Ummmm, maybe I am. I'm not by myself very much.

Q: When the big screen movie of your life is made, and someone may do it someday, will it be a cautionary tale or one of redemption?

A: I hope it's one of redemption.