Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Finding Me by Viola Davis

7 reviews

tutti1908's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I give this book five stars completely because this is the type of transformative read that is going to shift and shape my life immediately and for times to come. I feel that we have had a lot of synergies and it's so profound to the point that all of the traumas I'm dealing with, I didn't necessarily even cry about those. But when she spoke about love and joy, that is what actually broke me down. 

I could sit and walk and listen to her for another nine hours, so I hope that she writes another piece of literature to talk more about how she's basking in her happiness and joy now that she has found herself. She is a walking, breathing miracle. It is amazing to see how she radiates light and love these days based on her traumatic past, and we do not deserve her brilliance. 

I'm also so glad that I chose to listen to this as an audiobook because I don't know if I would have been able to really get through it in a written format, but listening to her and the tone was just something that I'm always going to appreciate. She spoke about forgiveness, and that's something that I'm dealing with a parent right now. 

It's a hard read and there are so many triggers in this book, so do not read it if you feel as though you are more susceptible to damage based on trigger warnings. But if you are in a space where you are decent enough to read or listen, please do so because this was a magnificent, magnificent read and I 100% understand and agree with why she got that Grammy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Grief, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Racism

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

Every single performance I’ve seen Viola Davis in, her acting ability has taken my breath away. I’m usually reticent toward celebrity memoirs but this takes the cake for one of the best memoirs I’ve read. As Davis takes readers through her difficult and tumultuous backstory with searing candidness, we begin to understand the many layers of who she is and how she came to be the person she is today. From the racist climate of the East coast to the colorism glaringly prevalent in both film/stage and the Blck community, Davis’ voice is emotionally intelligent and critically astute. There are definitely very dark moments layered through out this story, so I would definitely recommend checking content warnings on those, but each of these moments is handled with immense care and grace. I really loved this read, it’s definitely made me want to watch “How to get away with murder”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Infertility, Excrement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer

emily_koopmann's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Death, Hate crime, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racism, and Abortion

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

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

5.0

Viola gets all of the flowers for this autobiography.

She was completely open and unfiltered. I love that we are reading how she finds herself and her voice is so powerful in this book. I love that she took the power to write this about her life. I cannot imagine the courage it must have taken to write something so vulnerable.

She had me in tears by the 3rd chapter and laughing at the end.

I recommend you do the full experience of having her voice in the audiobook read this to you as you follow along with a physical copy. It will completely grip you.  This without a doubt is my favorite read of the year. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Rape

easta98's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Bullying, Blood, Cursing, and Racism

Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

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

emswantree's review against another edition

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