Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Finding Me

What a powerful memoir! But warning, it's also full of traumatic events that happened to Viola Davis as a child and they are not easy to read.

I listened to the audio. There's a reason why this memoir won an Audie Award and a Grammy for narration. When she's reading the parts of her parents, she leans into the acting chops that won her a Tony, and Emmy and an Oscar. Her voice is strong. SHE is strong. When Viola discusses her interactions with other Broadway and Hollywood greats, it doesn't sound like she's name dropping. Viola is too authentic to be fake, and even though she might not have loved/believed in herself as a younger woman, her talent has always been so great that it's made clear that she's not just famous, she's a brilliant actor.

To me, what made this memoir strong is the fact that Viola has been to therapy, and it shows. She doesn't just trauma dump. She discusses her childhood and young adulthood with the eye, and heart, of someone who's walked through hell, and survived. But she does it with love for that little girl that suffered so much to get to where she is now.

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annaeslane's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

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kathrynshields's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

A remarkable story of a little girl’s journey from poverty to Hollywood. Told in brutal and vivid detail, Viola Davis’s story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. The audiobook read by the author added an extra layer of emotion. She won the Grammy for a reason.

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