Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

218 reviews

morgane3471's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

2.75

I wanted to love it but I I didn’t.  I really liked her in HTGAWM and was interested in learning more about her life. Sadly, it was poorly written in my opinion and It wasn’t really captivating. It felt very repetitive . I don’t understand why this book as got so many good reviews. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Abortion, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, and Child death

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

savyelizabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

ayandell5's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Such a powerful story.  One that is absolutely heartbreaking and painstakingly beautiful at the same time.  If you can listen to this audiobook, I highly recommend that option.  Viola is, as many know, a magical storyteller.  I shed a few tears throughout, and wept at the end of the last chapter.  I jotted down so many quotes from this book.  I didn’t expect to relate and yet there were moments I did, and she gave me new perspective in those moments.  I have been a fan of Viola’s for some time now, but this just gives me a new level of respect and love for her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Addiction, Racial slurs, Racism, and Infertility

makaylasanafaye's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

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

a_very_high_tower's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Beautiful writing and amazing story and insight. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Racial slurs, and Child abuse

nurly_whirly's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility and Incest

shelbyeallen13's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Addiction

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