Buzz Aldrin, the first man on the moon, is releasing a memoir next year — and it’s not just about space-walking.

The astronaut’s memoir will focus as much on his struggles with alcoholism and depression as it will on his space days.

“From the pinnacle of Apollo, my greatest challenge became the human one — overcoming alcoholism and living beyond depression — a challenge that required more courage and determination than going to the moon,” Aldrin, 78, said in a statement issued Thursday by his publisher.

“I was 39 years of age, had achieved my grandest goal, and should have been on top of the world, but there were no roadmaps, and few signposts if any along the way that could lead me out of the quagmire into which I had tumbled. For 10 years, I floundered.”

The book will be called Magnificent Desolation: The Long Road Home from the Moon.

Here’s the charming and wonderful Buzz Aldrin and his wife, Lois, being adorable outside Cipriani.

Buzz Aldrin, in case you didn’t know, was the second person to set foot on the moon, immediately after Neil Armstrong. He was a childhood hero of mine, back when I dreamed I’d be an astronaut rather than a gossip blogger.

I had an unexpected opportunity to meet Mr. Aldrin several months ago. It was in a situation where I certainly was not planning to meet a man I so admired, and I was wearing a T-shirt from a pool hall/strip club that I’d stolen from an ex-boyfriend years ago. It had the silhouette of a naked woman on it, and something about racks written on it.

So I went up to Mr. Aldrin and said, “Hi, Mr. Aldrin. I saw you and I just had to come over and say hello. You were a childhood hero for me. I just wanted to shake your hand.”

And he seemed genuinely pleased to hear this, and shook my hand, and then he was like, “Young lady, what is on your shirt?” I was like, “Oh, it belonged to an ex-boyfriend of mine.” And he was like, “Well, it sure is a good thing he’s not your boyfriend anymore. What kind of a jerk buys a shirt like that? You’re better off without him.” And I was like “I love you, Mr. Aldrin.”