Reviews tagging 'Death'

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

66 reviews

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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

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: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

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: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Abortion, and Death of parent

mariasilva's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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

Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexual assault

minibean24's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Viola’s story is incredible, and her memoir is beautifully written and painfully raw. I felt like I could feel her hurt. Her narration in the audiobook is fantastic- it made all the important people in her life absolutely come to life. **Please pay attention to the content warnings, as some she discusses in detail and are quite hard to hear about, even if they are not a trigger!**

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Abortion, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Sexism, and Kidnapping

kcelena's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring relaxing sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

aloy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

kshertz's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring tense medium-paced

4.0

Her story is just amazing. She has lived through and learned so much. I think it’s powerful to hear what she went through. It is a unique story, one you don’t hear often enough. I have even more respect for her now than I did before. She seems so authentically herself and grounded. This book is a must read if you’ve seen her in any movie ever. She is real about them all. She takes full responsibility. She’s an amazing voice we should be listening to today. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism