Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Finding Me: A Memoir, by Viola Davis

68 reviews

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read/listened to. Viola Davis is an incredible person. Her strength and all the things she went through is unimaginable. This was a hard book to listen to at times, Viola does not shy away from taking you through memories of her childhood. Her dad’s abuse towards her mom, sibling abuse from her older brother, poverty so intense most of the time they didn’t have electricity, food or a working toilet. How she overcame so many obstacles and horrible things that happened to her growing up to then go on to graduate from Juilliard, then go on to act with Denzel Washington and then Meryl Streep until her big break out in How to Get Away with Murder is truly incredible. She is an amazing individual and a true inspiration.

This book is one that I know will stick with me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Infertility, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Vomit, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Excrement, Bullying, Cancer, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Body shaming, and Sexual harassment

hannahbug30's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Body shaming, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Abortion, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Grief

Minor: Sexual violence

ireanirean's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Racism, Racial slurs, Addiction, Grief, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Abortion, Infertility, Infidelity, and Death of parent

emmak788's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Racism, Alcoholism, and Infertility

Minor: Addiction and Abortion

coolyanna's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug abuse

coreyarch9's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

"Every January, we had our Martin Luther King celebration, a variety show [...] it was our rebellion. We were told it would ruin our instrument. Well, our soul was our instrument, too."

I love Annalise MF Keating, but I didn't know too much about Viola Davis. In Finding Me, Viola talks less about her career as an actress and more about the systemic poverty and racism and the coinciding internalized struggles that she had to overcome to be the woman we know today. And she doesn't hold anything back.

She talks a lot about what society deems beautiful, worthy, or correct. During her time at Juiliard, students were discouraged from hosting an MLK Day program or anything that might highlight their differences from their white counterparts. She talks about the typecast roles that she would be cast in or invited to audition for. She talks about what it was like to be called beautiful for the first time. She talks about therapy. 

In the end, she talks about finding herself, writing, "I am no longer ashamed of me."

I will never know firsthand what it's like to experience the abject poverty and racism that Viola grew up with. And that's why it's so important to read about. When she talked about being called beautiful for the first time, I started to wonder, when was the last time I told somebody they were pretty? When was the last time I told a woman of color that she was beautiful? When was the last time I supported a black-owned café instead of just picking up a latte at my local Tim Hortons? When did I last show kindness to a stranger?

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Cancer, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Rape, Abortion, and Sexism

Minor: Slavery, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Kidnapping

mattylovesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.5

“Memories are immortal. They’re deathless and precise. They have the power of giving you joy and perspective in hard times. Or, they can strangle you. Define you in a way that’s based more in other people’s fucked-up perceptions than truth.”

Amazing story. It was sad, heartbreaking, and hard to read at times. Everything her mother, her family, she herself went through, it was unfathomable. How can a human survive that level or poverty and abuse? Somehow, Viola and her family did. It was inspiring. To see where she came from shows her resilience, hard work, and dedication. It really makes you take a step back and reevaluate. She's so strong, and I have an abundance of respect and adoration for her. She didn't give up, and look where she is now. She is an amazing woman, a phenomenal actor. Finding Me was eye-opening, and definitely made me want to read more memoirs/autobiographies. There were so many good quotes, but the one above is my favorite.

Would've been a five star if not for the editing. I think this could've been structured better. Some things felt out of place and not cohesive. But all in all, a great read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Blood

Moderate: Drug abuse, Cancer, Terminal illness, Abortion, Pedophilia, Rape, and Infertility

time4tori2read's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Viola Davis poignantly recounts her story in such a way that makes the reader feel as if they were right alongside her throughout her moments. Listening to Viola Davis read her own story made it incredibly powerful and the reader could hear the pain, elation, and other emotions clearly in her voice. This is not one to miss. I highly recommend it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infertility, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Abortion and Medical content

apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

If you are going to read this book I highly recommend checking out the audiobook version which is read by Viola Davis because it adds so much to the experience. I tend to rate autobiographies high on principle because I think it's brave to share parts of one's life with readers and this book certainly deserves that rating. It's heartbreaking in the beginning chapters and brutally honest so be warned that this book deals heavily with the trauma of abuse, neglect, and poverty. There's also hope though and the latter chapters cover a mix of Davis' personal and professional life, her experiences and her thoughts about those experiences now. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, and Abortion

lindseygilger's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Abortion, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Emotional abuse