The Hill News

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said he decided to reveal the sexual abuse he suffered as a child in order to be honest about his experiences.

"I wanted to be honest," Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) told ABC affiliate WCVB t.v. "I'm hoping that people read the book and understand that even people who have challenges and difficulties can still make a difference."

News of the revelation in Brown's upcoming book, "Against All Odds," was broken Wednesday. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Brown revealed that as a child he had been physically abused by his stepfather and was sexually abused multiple times by a camp counselor. The interview is set to air Sunday on CBS.

Brown rose from obscurity to national prominence in 2009 when he won a special election to replace the late Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in ! the Senate.

In the interview with 60 Minutes, Brown said years later he visited the house where he was abused and wished he could burn it down.

"I actually called the realtor and went in and took the tour and relived kind of where everything was … to make sure I wasn’t … dreaming," Brown said. "As I left, I said, ‘Man, I wish I had the money. I’d just buy this thing and burn it down.’