Debbie Gibson Explains Why Writing a Memoir Is Terrifying (Exclusive)

Get ready for Debbie Gibson’s upcoming memoir.

The “Only in My Dreams” artist, 54, is reflecting on her four-decade-long career in entertainment as she writes an upcoming memoir, Eternally Electric: The Message in My Music, and she’s opening up about how the process is quite different from songwriting.

“I mean, listen, it’s terrifying, the idea of putting out a book,” Gibson tells PEOPLE at the 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York City on Thursday, June 12, where she paid tribute to Tony Macaulay.

“Somebody said, ‘Is it harder than writing a song?’ I’m like, a song is 4 minutes, and a book is 90,000 words,” she explains of crafting the memoir. “It has been such a cathartic and exhausting process.”

As Gibson gears up for the book’s Tuesday, Sept. 9 release date, she knows exactly how she wants the project to impact readers. “The motivation behind everything I do is to hopefully inspire people,” she says.

“I always felt like the girl who was like, people would say, ‘Well, if you could do it, I could do it.’ I hope they read this book and they say, ‘Oh my God, you went through that? I went through that. And you turned that around. Great, I want to turn that around,'” explains Gibson. “And that’s really the entire purpose for me.”

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While writing Eternally Electric, the chart-topping artist has also been celebrating her career on a North American tour — and regularly playing her catalog for fans has impacted her approach to the book.

“I actually kind of set certain things around being at certain shows, and I’ve tried to take the reader on the journey with me with stops in the present and looking back at the same time,” teases Gibson. “It’s very, very profound and meaningful.”

From scoring No. 1 hits with songs like “Foolish Beat” and “Lost in Your Eyes” to starring on Broadway and touring the world, Gibson certainly has many stories to share in Eternally Electric.