Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is sharing more about her life, struggles and her split from Justin Trudeau as she releases a new book which explores themes of mental health and the universal need for human connection.

"Without human connection, we see that we can become sick," Grégoire Trudeau said in a sit-down interview to promote the book on CP24 Breakfast.

In the book, 'Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other,' Grégoire Trudeau shares mental health insights she's gleaned from experts over the past 20 years and said they are especially pertinent now given various crises the world is facing.

She said the world needs more "emotional leadership" in a world where people constantly feel on-alert.

"And what is emotional leadership? Taking a breath when you don't want to, resolving the conflict and calm when you really want to scream and shout, feeling your emotions rise and be able to regulate your nervous system."

Grégoire Trudeau also opened up about her split from the Prime Minister and said the two still love each other, though their relationship has changed.

"You know, sometimes when you truly love somebody, you set them free somewhere on the path out of respect and admiration in different ways, even if it's not convenient," she said. "It's not my wish. But when things change, it's not the end."

She said it's important that her children see that their parents can still get along even though they are no longer together.

"When we live in a society where successes is marriage and divorce is failure, and there's nothing in between, we leave a dramatic emotional burden on children," she said.

She said two people can separate and still love each other without that being a contradiction.

"We're not faking it. We love each other. When I love with my whole soul, I love then, I love now and I will always love. It's not because a structure changes that that love evaporates, and it shouldn't."

The couple announced their separation last August and said they would share custody of their three children.  

In the book, Grégoire Trudeau deals with various challenges of her own, such as revealing years ago when she was a TV and radio host in Quebec, that she had struggled with an eating disorder.

"I was like 'oh my god, I'm not gonna get any more contracts after talking about this. They're gonna think oh, it's the girl who suffers from this eating disorder' or whatever it was. There was so much more stigma during those days," she shared.  

A mental health advocate, Grégoire Trudeau said that while there is less stigma around such issues today, the only way things change is by people opening up and sharing their stories.

While people think of her as living in the spotlight, she said that doesn't mean they know everything about her.

"What people see is like one per cent of my life. I'm a mom, and I'm an ally. I'm a friend. I have so many other things going on and that keep me busy."

A mom of two teens and a ten-year-old, Grégoire Trudeau said many people are not taught to "sit with our pain without feeling, overwhelmed" and that parents need to prepare their children for the fact that "life is painful" and that happiness is not a constant state of being.

"When you dance between the light and the darkness, between happiness and unhappiness, you kind of notice that we weren't meant to come onto this earth to be happy and pink and everything is fine; We came here to be conscious and responsible for our own individual growth so we can contribute to the world and people can actually feel a sense of purpose."

Grégoire Trudeau said those hoping to catch “gossip” in the book, which was written before her split from the PM, will be disappointed.

"There's truth in there, there's authenticity, there's vulnerability; I think that's much more constructive than gossip."

Grégoire Trudeau is appearing at a downtown Indigo store at The Well tonight to sign copies of her new book.

- With files from Courtney Heels and Nick Dixon