Reviews tagging Alcoholism

Finding Me: A Memoir, by Viola Davis

46 reviews

rebekah_florence's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

What a treat to hear her own story in her own words in her own time.  I love Viola Davis. Her work meant so much to me from the moment I saw her in The Help at 12 years old.  Immediately after returning home, I furiously searched everything I could about her, her acting career, and how I could EXACTLY what she did- represent dark-skinned Black women on screen. Viola tells stories in such a captivating way that, even in time jumps, they flow seamlessly.  I don’t know if I believe in rating a memoir below 5 stars. I don’t know if I believe in rating a memoir at all, however, if someone has the courage to share their story, amen to that. Viola exposes some of the deepest parts of herself- trauma, abuse, bullying, self-doubt and ultimately forgiveness.  So many parts of the book had me in tears because I could relate to them.  I see how the stories she decided to share connect to her work.  This was raw and inspiring and beautifully done.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Medical content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

Minor: Drug abuse

kalyne's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Child abuse

malorykiyomi's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Viola Davis is a master at the craft of storytelling, evidenced not just in her brilliant talent honed to a razor's edge through dedication in her career as an actress, but in the way this memoir enraptured me from start to finish. This story is one steeped in life's trauma, but more importantly, reflects the break-back work of taking the adversity and shit thrown your way, and persevering. A brutally honest read of how even for all the agonizingly hard work Viola put into her talent as an actress, the reality is that luck was a deciding factor in her career.

I was moved by her resilience in the face of abuse to forgive, her faith when she felt abandoned, her candid approach to therapy, and so so much more. I'm better for having read this book, and I scarcely feel this way about books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Moderate: Animal death, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Infertility, Abortion, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Incest

reading_ladies_blog's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

herceia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Incredible, inspiring, beautiful, unbelievable, amazing, brutal, heart wrenching, and so much more. A perfectly brutal memoir

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Grief, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Drug use and Pedophilia

kcwreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Incest, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Abortion, Death of parent, Cancer, and Death

emswantree's review

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

I don’t know how she did it but Viola Davis was able to share the hardest parts of her life in a straightforward way that is not about self pity but more about this is how things are for low income people of color. She was honest about her life and her career- her shortcomings and her healing. I am not a fan of the celebrity memoir but this one was so much more than that for me. I loved it and now need to go watch more of her movies. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Child abuse, and Alcoholism

mecmccann's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

This book was everything I needed and more. When she said “The purpose of life is to live it” agghhhhhh I needed that 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Infertility, Sexism, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Mental illness

ajf1774's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Animal death, Medical content, Racism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

mariasilva's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Hate crime, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Drug abuse, Rape, Excrement, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Child death, Death, Incest, Infertility, and Medical trauma