‘Livin' on a Prayer’ songwriter Desmond Child gushes over hit song: ‘It brings people hope’

Renowned songwriter Desmond Child is sharing his life story like never before.

In his debut memoir titled Livin' on a Prayer: Big Songs Big Life, which was released on Tuesday, the 69-year-old musician reflects on his remarkable journey.

He chronicles his upbringing in poverty in Florida during the 1960s and his rise to becoming a Grammy-nominated artist known for collaborations with iconic figures such as Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, KISS, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Katy Perry, Ricky Martin, and Meat Loaf.

"There have been so many twists and turns," Child told PEOPLE. "I call this book a reckoning more than a fairytale, even though it does end in a fairytale. Despite all the trials and tribulations that I went through growing up in poverty with a crazy mom, I reinvented myself as Desmond Child, and it was really an extraordinary thing to do."

Since achieving his initial success with KISS's I Was Made for Lovin' You in 1979, Desmond Child has continued to be a prominent presence on radio stations globally.

Despite having numerous titles from his own discography to consider for inspiration, he believed that there was no better choice for the title of his memoir than Livin' on a Prayer, the 1986 hit he co-wrote with Bon Jovi, as it perfectly encapsulates his remarkable journey.

"That song is more than a song," he says. "It's a cultural event every time it's played, and it brings people hope. It means so much to me, and I think it's reflective of how I've lived my life, on a wing and a prayer, and that's how I continue, having faith without having proof that I should."

“It makes me so proud when I see Bon Jovi. You're in a stadium and you're looking around and it's the end of the night and they still haven't played Livin' on a Prayer because no one will leave. So kids are asleep on shoulders with earplugs in, and the parents are standing there until the bitter end.

“It could be after midnight, and then when Livin' on a Prayer comes on, they turn on all the lights and you can't even hear the band — it's the roar of the crowd all singing in unison. You look around and you see that huge amount of humanity all singing the same song, and it gives you goosebumps.”