Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba in the highly anticipated "Wicked: For Good" movie, recently opened up about her real-life experiences in her newly published book, particularly surrounding her father, who left the family when she was just a teenager.According to People Magazine, Erivo's book, titled Simply More: A Book For Anyone Who Have Been Told They're Too Much, released on November 18, explores her complex relationship with her father, emphasizing that now she no longer wishes to have a relationship with him. Cynthia Erivo's parents, Edith Erivo and her father, whose name has not been made public, are immigrants from Nigeria. They settled in the UK after arriving there in their early twenties but later separated.Cynthia Erivo was recently praised for her prompt action after she jumped in front of an intruder who broke through security to hug Ariana Grande at the Wicked: For Good red carpet premiere in Singapore. According to USA Today, the Oscar-nominated actress explains in an interview with the outlet how the similarities between her life and that of Elphaba, who was also abandoned by her father, helped her connect to the character. She said:"Time and therapy have helped me heal that, for sure, but retracing steps through this character made it very clear that those were things I was trying to obtain. Being able to use Elphaba to channel some of that pain was really a healthy thing and was very helpful to me. It crystallized what I'd been going through, and it was nice to find a place to put it all finally.”More about Cynthia Erivo's parents, as she opens up about her estrangement from her fatherCynthia Erivo was born on January 8, 1987, to Edith Erivo and an unnamed father, both of whom migrated from Nigeria. According to Entertainment Weekly, her mother, Edith Erivo, was just fifteen years old in the 1960s, when the Nigerian Civil War broke out.Universal Pictures proudly presents the WICKED FOR GOOD US Premiere - Source: GettyIn her interview with the outlet, Cynthia described her mother as a "child of war," adding that she was not a refugee by definition, explaining that "for a short time, she had nowhere to be. Her home was ravaged, and they were on the run to find safety." Erivo further explained how conversations with her mother about her experiences helped her understand her mother's traumatic past. She said:"It is always hard to get information when trauma is involved...Over the years, I've been eking out bits of information from her to find out what she's been through, things that she might not spill out all at once. I'm really grateful that she's willing to have the conversations. They aren't always necessarily the easiest ones to have, but having some of that knowledge and having that information has been really eye-opening for me and helpful in telling the story."According to Harper's Bazaar, Cynthia Erivo was just a teenager when her father left the family, after which she and her younger sister, Stephanie Erivo, were raised single-handedly by their mother, who is a nurse. Cynthia Erivo, who is often accompanied by her mother on the red carpet, has frequently attributed her success to her mother, most recently sharing a post on Instagram on the occasion of Mother's Day. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe Tony Award-nominated actress even started a production company named Edith's Daughter in her mother's honor. According to People Magazine, in her book, Erivo recounts the details of the day her father left her at an underground station following an argument. She writes:"I was 16 when he left me, alone, in a London Underground station after an argument about a transit pass. When he told me he didn’t want to be in our lives anymore, I stood there in shock. My head was empty. No thoughts, just confusion and quiet. And then I walked away."Her book Simply More: A Book For Anyone Who Have Been Told They're Too Much, is out now in bookstores across the US.