Reviews tagging 'Death'

Finding Me by Viola Davis

60 reviews

jaduhluhdabooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Wow. Just sitting with a lot of these words and shared experience with Viola. I have genuinely never seen so much of myself … my own narrative unraveling in another person. I resonate so deeply with this journey, even though I have lived very little of life so far. I feel seen and understood in such a deep and beautiful way. 

I will be digesting and processing these words for such a long time. 

Thank you Ms. Davis for opening up your heart and your life and sharing it with the world through so many works. From the screen to this novel. Thank you for portraying pain and anguish in depth that only some may ever truly understand. Thank you for gifting words to my own struggle, some of which I haven’t been able to voice or give language to. And thank you for allowing me to journey alongside you in finding who you are. Wishing I could return the sentiment. 

A truly, beautifully hard, real, and binding book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Blood, Death, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Abortion, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, and Physical abuse

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. 

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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

melmattocks21's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

Literally one of the best books I’ve ever listened to. Wow! Loved learning about Viola’s life- the heartbreaks and the triumphs. Highly recommend the audiobook, which is read by her! A must read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, and Death

matthaniaa'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.

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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

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

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

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

koala982's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.0

- I already liked Viola Davis going into this book, and now I like her even more! The story she tells about her life (her childhood, how she got to where she is, her life now) is spectacular, and the way she frames and processes everything is too. Also her personality really comes through --she seems like a genuine and grounded person.
- What I didn't like about the book was the structure and the writing. The overall structure (going from chapter to chapter) is fine, but the structure of the chapters themselves was sort of weird. I wasn't always sure when  something was happening, the transitions between very different topics was often sudden, and really big things (

like a family with kidnapped children living in their apartment

) would be briefly mentioned and not picked up until much later. The phrasing of things was odd sometimes too (how many times can you use the phrase "the one-two punch of ___"). I feel like the book could've used a closer read from an editor. It could also be the case that it would be more natural/less off-putting listened to than read.
- I love her use of punctuation!!!
- I also appreciated the information she provided about how the theater/film/tv industry works. It helped explain why the media we consume looks the way it does and also showed me how hard being an actor can be/often is.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse

oliviapincin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Abortion, Cancer, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexual assault