Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Finding Me by Viola Davis

55 reviews

mathenam's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

This story is inspiring and heartbreaking and difficult to process. 

Memoirs seem to always have a narrative that skips around, but that’s the nature of telling a story about a real life. It still felt a little too disjointed in places.

Also the story about the man who killed the cat in front of them and chased her sister around town felt unbelievable to me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Infertility, Incest, Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Abortion, Rape, Pregnancy, and Physical abuse

hellokaley's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Viola describes the definition of a hero as someone born into a world where they don't fit in, they are then summoned on a call to an adventure that they are reluctant to take. This is her hero’s journey from poverty, abuse, and trauma to an Oscar-winning actress. 

This story is heavy with content warnings galore. And truthfully, after the first half of the book, I was ready for the second part of the story- the part where she is triumphant. Because that first half is hard and uncomfortable and her circumstances were unimaginable. Her story is truly phenomenal. 

I loved her approach with talking about the Hollywood industry. She not only talks about the work of character development and figuring out how to understand and portray the person on the script, but she spoke about the challenging logistics of working actors. From auditioning, rejections, pay, insurance, traveling, and often not always a place to call home, it’s not all glamorous. She also highlights the challenges that Black actors face in the industry. 

Viola’s performance in the audiobook is powerful. She is honest and raw in her words and her delivery and did a beautiful job. I have learned so much about her through her book and am happy I read it. “The purpose of life is to live it” and Viola Davis is doing just that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Racism

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Pedophilia, Bullying, Abortion, Cancer, Alcohol, and Child abuse

daringdelaney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Star rating out of 5:
5/5

Would I recommend the book:

Absolutely! With trigger warnings (Graphic Domestic abuse, Racism, Physical abuse,
Sexual assault, Abortion, Addiction... Possibly more)
And a warning about it's use of profanity but it's mostly direct quotes.

My favorite part was:

How intelligent and articulate Viola Davis is.
And:
“My biggest discovery was that you can literally re-create your life. You can redefine it. You don’t have to live in the past. I found that not only did I have fight in me, I had love.”

"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 tucked-up perceptions than truth."

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are"

“I now understand that life, and living it, is more about being present. I’m now aware that the not-so-happy memories lie in wait; but the hope and the joy also lie in wait.”


Do i think the book is well written? Why is or isn't it? Was engaging, delightful, or inspiring? Was it staid, boring, or contrived?

She did an amazing job sharing her life stories and her family's stories. The words she chose to portray intense times were eloquent, flowy, and emotion evoking.
I loved her (movie) work before this book but now I'm starting to love Viola Davis.
The immense respect and admiration I have for her is deep. The things she endured as a child and throughout every phase of her life I can honestly say that I've never experienced. I've never missed a meal for days. I've never had to lay in my own urine and go to school the next day reeking. I've never had to fight with huge rats over my bed & pillow. I have never opened the door to my father's mistress completely naked without a care to hide an affair. I've never witnessed my father beat my mother within an inch of her life and I've never experienced racism on the level that Viola has for being too dark or "not pretty enough" She has been through more than any woman ever should have to. What she went through for being dark skinned, what her mom went through...absolutely terrible! She wrote about her awful struggles without comparing them to others which can easily happen when discussing such things. Viola's biggest life defining moments were when she fell to her knees. She's been baptized and has had many moments when all she had was God to rely on. There is a lot to admire in this woman and I hope she maintains her relationship with Jesus Christ.

This book is beautifully written and wonderfully (self) narrated into an audiobook. I'm so so glad I impulsively grabbed this one. 


Was it what you expected it to be?

Not at all. It exceeded my expectations.

How I discovered the book: 

Searching my library app for a nonfiction autobiography less than 10 hours long (Barbara Streisand's is 45 hours long!)


Format I read it in: Audiobook read by the author 🤩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Pedophilia, Infertility, Hate crime, Grief, Emotional abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Incest, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Cancer

thefemale_nickmiller's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Yeah it’s obvious why Viola won that Grammy and it was so f*cking earned. 

I also have to add how happy Viola sounds when talking about her daughter. I can literally hear her smile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Death of parent, Gore, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Sexual assault, Rape, Infertility, Infidelity, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Racism, and Misogyny

inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Addiction, Blood, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Self harm, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Racism, Abortion, Child death, Sexism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Abortion, Alcohol, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Sexual assault

kcbas1's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, and Incest

Moderate: Abortion

littlecozyreaderr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, Infertility, Bullying, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

jessspeake's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Medical trauma, Racism, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

abbyschafer's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Viola Davis’ Finding Me is unlike any celebrity memoir I have ever read. Her life journey is an incredible, harrowing tale of being Black and poor in America. Finding Me reads as the next generation of Maya Angelou’s Why the Caged Bird Sings. 

Audio book review: Read by Viola Davis herself, the audio book brings another layer of empathy and emotion into the story and helps the stories of her childhood connect to the Viola Davis we know from film and television before she makes the connection herself in the writing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Child death, Racism, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Infertility