"There's a lot of adjustment to make," Edwards, 59, told the Detroit Free Press, breaking her near-silence in the nearly six weeks since news of her husband's affair became public.

"When you mention trust, that's probably the most difficult hurdle," she said.

John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004, told ABC News Aug. 8 he had repeatedly lied to the public about having an affair with novice filmmaker Rielle Hunter, hired to make videos for the pre-launch phase of Edwards' 2008 presidential run.

When asked if she forgave her husband, Edwards said, "I don't want to feed the monster, if you don't mind."

She said she wants her three children -- Cate, 26, Emma Claire, 10, and Jack, 8 -- to have an image of their father as "an advocate for poverty, not for this current picture of him."

She also told the Free Press she was preparing for the possibility she might die before all her children were grown and was teaching them "to function without an involved, engaged and admiring parent."

Edwards -- who continues to undergo chemotherapy for her Stage 4 breast cancer, which has spread to her bones -- said she finds comfort in Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem."

Reciting the lyrics, Edwards said: "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."