2008’s Mother of Year Debbie Phelps has written a book about her Olympian son Michael and the struggles they’re gone through as a family. Star Magazine has excerpts from A Mother for All Seasons, and Debbie dishes on how she really felt about Michael’s bong-smoking and his 2004 DUI.

Some people totally disagreed, but I really thought the bong-smoking picture wasn’t a big deal. Sure, it would have been great if all of our athletic idols were all squeaky-clean, but I think Phelps handled himself with grace after the scandal, taking full responsibility. Now Debbie is taking responsibility too, writing that she didn’t blame Michael, “I was sure that I could have done something to better prepare Michael to make better choices.” Aw, poor Debbie. It’s not your fault. It’s not even that big of a deal.

Michael Phelps has had a lot of ups and downs — and his mom has been there for them all. Now, in a new book she opens up about their family’s struggles and golden moments. The collapse of their family, the Olympics and Michael’s drug bust — Star has an exclusive first look!

In A Mother for All Seasons, Debbie Phelps speaks out for the first time about her shock at seeing the human side of her golden boy, when Star released pictures of Michael Phelps smoking a bong in January, Debbie was “not happy” about his “disappointing, uncharacteristic behavior,” she writes.

But the bust was also “déjà vu all over again.” Michael’s 2004 DUI arrest had been her first major disappointment as a mom. “Nothing like this had ever happened with him,” Debbie writes. “It was unreal — like something out of a horror movie — with TV clips of jail cell doors slamming ominously shut, dooming the life and career of one golden boy turned loser.”

But, Debbie says, she never blamed Michael — only herself. “I was sure that I could have done something to better prepare Michael to make better choices.”

And after the details of the incident emerged, she says, she had more understanding. “He actually had tried to get someone else to drive after he had a few drinks,” Debbie reveals.

“Apparently someone in the crowd made a crack about not giving the keys to his brand-new Range Rover to someone else.” In the end, however, the details didn’t matter.

“Michael was clearly mortified.” And Debbie had to take a week off of work. “I stayed out of sight, hibernating at a friend’s house, crying my eyes out.” For more on his DUI and pot bust, as well as the truth behind their family’s split and happier moments at the Olympics, check out next week’s Star!

[From Star Magazine]

The DUI bothered me a lot more – there is absolutely no reason to drink and drive. Hopefully, Michael learned his lesson about that one. Perhaps he did, and he switched from alcohol to pot.

In the long-term wake on the bong-smoking scandal, not much happened to Phelps. He lost his Kellogs endorsement, but most of his other deals stayed put. He was temporarily suspended from any swim meets for a few months – no big deal, because the big matches aren’t for another year. All in all, I hope this is something that Debbie and Michael will be able to laugh about one day.