Whoopi Goldberg says her mom didn't remember her after receiving electroshock therapy

Whoopi Goldberg is opening up about her childhood in a revealing new memoir.

The EGOT-winning actress, 68, reveals in her forthcoming book "Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me" that when she was a child, her mother was hospitalized for two years after a mental breakdown and didn't remember her when she returned, according to an interview with Goldberg on Wednesday on "The View." Goldberg, who was "around 8," said she was "told nothing" about what happened to her mom at the time.

"For me, it was like, 'Oh, so they've taken her to this hospital, and no one's going to tell me anything, and I can't go see her,' " Goldberg recalled.

The "Ghost" star added that her mother received electroshock therapy while she was in the hospital. "My grandfather and my dad OK'd that my mother get the shock treatment for two years," she said, noting that there "was a time in this country where your husband or your brother or any man involved in your life could make medical decisions for you."

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Goldberg elaborated in an interview with People, telling the magazine that when she got older, her mother told her that she "didn't know who you were" after getting out of the hospital.

"It's like, 'I'm sorry, what?' " Goldberg said. "She said, 'Yeah, I had no idea who you were. I just knew I never wanted to go back to that hospital. So I had to do everything I could. If they said the sky was green, and I could see it wasn't green, and it was blue, I'd say, 'Yes, the sky is green.' "

Goldberg went on to tell People that she couldn't see her mother for two years because "children were not allowed at the hospital," and during this time, the "center of gravity" in her life was gone.

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She spoke further about her childhood while appearing on "CBS Sunday Morning" this weekend, saying she felt "lucky" growing up with her mom in a New York City housing project. "For me, it was a great time and to be able to have the freedom with a mother who really just said, 'Listen, you're going to have to figure some of this out for yourself,' " she recalled. " 'I can't give you all of the answers.' "

Goldberg, who has been married three times, also spoke on "CBS Sunday Morning" about her love life. "Other people seem to sparkle when they're in love, and I like to see that," she said. "But for me, I sparkle when I'm not in love, which is kind of OK. And the older I get, the happier I am."

She added, for those who troll her on the internet, "I know how cute I am, so you don't have to tell me I'm not attractive enough to have a boyfriend because shockingly, I've had many."

Goldberg's memoir "Bits and Pieces" will be released on May 7.