A little more than a year ago, when Anderson Cooper’s mother, heiress and artist Gloria Vanderbilt, came down with a brief illness when she was 91 years old, he decided to have an honest conversation with her about her life.

“I realized there were all these things that I really didn’t know about her,” he said. “She’s lived this kind of epic life and had epic tragedies and loves.”

Cooper sat down with CTV’s Canada AM to talk about his intimate new book “The Rainbow Comes and Goes” as well as his childhood, family, career, and even his famous silver hair (spoiler: he hates it!)

Vanderbilt grew up in one of the richest families in America and has known the spotlight since she was a child. During the 1930s, she was entangled in a high-profile custody battle and the media dubbed her as the “poor little rich girl.” In later years, her romantic life took centre stage when she dated celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando.

Despite all the publicity surrounding Vanderbilt, Cooper said there was a lot he still didn’t know about his mother. Through a series of email exchanges over the course of a year, he and his mother discovered new things about each other and redefined their relationship.

“Something fundamental changed between us this past year. I think of my mother differently, and I know she feels the same,” he writes in the book.

He said the experience was life-changing and encourages others to try connecting with their parents to see them in a new light.

“Just sitting down with a parent before it’s too late and pushing aside all of the old embarrassments or resentments or bitterness or whatever it is we all have with our parents and discovering them in a whole new way,” he said in the interview, which aired on Tuesday.

In the book, Cooper said he was grateful to have the chance to hear stories about his mother’s life from her perspective and that she was very open to the project from the beginning.

“When I remember all those I have lost in my life, I think of all the questions I wish I had asked them, the things I wish I had told them,” he wrote in the book. “I will have no such regrets with my mom, and for that I am very thankful.”

During the interview, Cooper also talked about the death of his father when he was 10 years old and how that changed his perspective on life. He said he became more introverted, independent and that nothing felt very safe to him after the tragedy.

In terms of his career in journalism, he said he works so hard because he genuinely loves what he does.

“It’s one of the great privileges of what we do,” he said, of reporting in warzones or in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “The ability to be in a place where people are in need and where you can shine a light on needs.”

With the U.S. presidential election in full swing, the topic of Republican candidate Donald Trump came up. Cooper said he “absolutely” believes the controversial businessman could be the next president.

“He (Trump) faced perhaps the most competent, experienced GOP Republican field that has been put forward in a long time. I mean he had 16 challengers,” he said.

Cooper’s book is now available on bookshelves.