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cghegan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I picked this up upon learning that Kerry Washington, like me, learned as an adult that she was donor-conceived. It is a memoir that is not about that and completely focused on it—what is helpful to another writer is how she reflects on and illustrates a rippling sense of unease and tension she has felt throughout her life but never understood. The construction and choices she makes are informative and helpful in understanding craft choices, though I feel a super fan of her acting would appreciate the in between a lot more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Child abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, Abortion, Alcohol, and Infertility
Minor: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Racism, and Grief
jammons's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Violence, and Infertility
kshertz's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.75
This is definitely a fascinating look into Kerry Washington’s life and I think it’s definitely a great book for anyone who feels out of place and their family unit and trying to find themselves. Particularly anyone who’s been through foster care or is just in a search for their biological parents. For me it was very focused on that and I was looking for something that talks a little bit more about Kerry Washington the activist actor as supposed to Kerry Washingtons paternity questions.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Cancer
rei_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Sexual assault, Cancer, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Abortion and Alcoholism
jwhit7's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Cancer, and Eating disorder
Minor: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Alcoholism
ariel_marie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Abortion, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Infertility
ashtonjamesdean's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
“This is when the connection between art and social change became crystal clear to me. I started to understand the power of representation, the need for people to see themselves in the content they consume, but also the power of content to change how they think and feel and behave.”
I adored this memoir so much! Kerry Washington is a gift, and the way she laid bare the most vulnerable and intimate parts of her was staggering. She shares vignettes from her childhood, featuring her parents' marriage, her father's struggle with alcohol, her mother's journey with infertility, being sexually assaulted and gaslighted, how she internalized the lack of coping skills they displayed, and how she poured herself into creativity and acting instead. I was so delighted to learn about Kerry's involvement with the TADA! Youth Theater teen group, and she had to be trained in the social issues that the group often highlighted in their art.
As she takes us into her adulthood, Kerry shares her journey with disordered eating, the challenges she confronted when not hiding behind a character or job, and the inexplicable distance she felt between herself and her parents (which is hinted at in the prologue of the book, and revealed in the final chapters). The learned behavior of being the "good girl" and retreating into herself as to not stir up any trouble followed her into adulthood, and she eventually had to reckon with that. Acknowledging this loss of one's sense of self takes great bravery and self-compassion, and I deeply admire Kerry for revealing this part of her journey with us.
Kerry briefly covers the darker side of Hollywood and fame, with having to figure out how to best protect her children's privacy, as well as the constant rejection one faces as a Black female actress. What stood out to me most in these parts were the reminders that Scandal made history!!!! Kerry Washington was the first Black female lead in a network drama in almost 40 years!!! Black art and representation MATTERS!
As a Scandal superfan, it really did warm my heart to hear that the cast was as close-knit and as much of a found family as I'd imagined them to be. Hearing about their watch parties and live tweeting really dates that specific time in representing that Twitter-prime zeitgeist lol. Overall, I was enamored by Kerry's ability to holistically reflect on the connections and contrasts among her experiences. The way she described the contrast between her roles of Broomhilda in Django Unchained and Olivia Pope in Scandal was beautiful.
There is one part where she subtly calls out people who did not vote in the 2016 election and while I of course want as many people to vote as possible, I find that take to be frustrating because voting access is simply not equal among all Americans. To shame the Americans for whom voting is simply not accessible is not the narrative I want to push forward. I don't particularly think the way American politics is structured is a panacea for all of the issues Americans face (I think we should start over, it seems to be working *as intended* for white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism to thrive), so I'm not going to pass judgment on someone who doesn't have the same faith Kerry has in our voting process.
Other than this, I deeply felt for Kerry and her parents especially, and I am so grateful that she so graciously shared her story with us. "Blood is thicker than water, but love is thicker than blood." I highly recommend this memoir!
see content warnings below!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Abortion, Cancer, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Child death, and Sexual assault
marinajonesreads's review against another edition
It was just a bit too slow for me. I wanted to jump into the story sooner and I felt like it was taking too long to get to the real story—which was about how she felt upon finding out about her lineage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infertility, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
martieliz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Cancer, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Alcoholism