Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

401 reviews

alizasminilibrary's review against another edition

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

5.0

When it comes to memoirs a big portion of the ones I have read are typically from white authors or men. Those are the ones that typically get praised and uplifted. I do not want to diminish the work of those authors because they cannot change who they are and they deserve to be supported however it is hard to find memoirs of black women that do not get torn down and regarded as them just whining or unlikeable.

Listening to Mrs.Viola Davis explain her life and how she became who she is while struggling to understand herself as an impoverished black woman struggling and in a place where young girls were preyed on and black people were seen as less, ripped out my soul and formulated a mixture of emotions I have no way else to describe than as pain.

As a black woman who was grown up in poverty and who constantly moved around my only reprieve was the black community. This is a wonderful read that I will be recommending to as many people as I can. Especially to black woman, Mrs.Davis breaks the generational barriers of acknowledging issues such as mental illness, and having a differing personality than that expected of a black woman. 

It is also just the funniest thing ever that Mrs.Davis visited The Gambia, which is where my father was born and raised and where my half-siblings all still live.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

francina31's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

lea's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

Amazing audiobook. Her childhood was unfortunately so relatable and hit me hard. I don't watch TV or movies much so I didn't know her but I'm definitely a big fan now. This was beautiful written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Slavery, Blood, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

cheekmeat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Grief, and Death of parent

jodimclean's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

ecairns's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

katofalltrades's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Racism

Moderate: Abortion

smsegal's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent

daringdelaney's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Star rating out of 5:
5/5

Would I recommend the book:

Absolutely! With trigger warnings (Graphic Domestic abuse, Racism, Physical abuse,
Sexual assault, Abortion, Addiction... Possibly more)
And a warning about it's use of profanity but it's mostly direct quotes.

My favorite part was:

How intelligent and articulate Viola Davis is.
And:
“My biggest discovery was that you can literally re-create your life. You can redefine it. You don’t have to live in the past. I found that not only did I have fight in me, I had love.”

"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 tucked-up perceptions than truth."

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are"

“I now understand that life, and living it, is more about being present. I’m now aware that the not-so-happy memories lie in wait; but the hope and the joy also lie in wait.”


Do i think the book is well written? Why is or isn't it? Was engaging, delightful, or inspiring? Was it staid, boring, or contrived?

She did an amazing job sharing her life stories and her family's stories. The words she chose to portray intense times were eloquent, flowy, and emotion evoking.
I loved her (movie) work before this book but now I'm starting to love Viola Davis.
The immense respect and admiration I have for her is deep. The things she endured as a child and throughout every phase of her life I can honestly say that I've never experienced. I've never missed a meal for days. I've never had to lay in my own urine and go to school the next day reeking. I've never had to fight with huge rats over my bed & pillow. I have never opened the door to my father's mistress completely naked without a care to hide an affair. I've never witnessed my father beat my mother within an inch of her life and I've never experienced racism on the level that Viola has for being too dark or "not pretty enough" She has been through more than any woman ever should have to. What she went through for being dark skinned, what her mom went through...absolutely terrible! She wrote about her awful struggles without comparing them to others which can easily happen when discussing such things. Viola's biggest life defining moments were when she fell to her knees. She's been baptized and has had many moments when all she had was God to rely on. There is a lot to admire in this woman and I hope she maintains her relationship with Jesus Christ.

This book is beautifully written and wonderfully (self) narrated into an audiobook. I'm so so glad I impulsively grabbed this one. 


Was it what you expected it to be?

Not at all. It exceeded my expectations.

How I discovered the book: 

Searching my library app for a nonfiction autobiography less than 10 hours long (Barbara Streisand's is 45 hours long!)


Format I read it in: Audiobook read by the author 🤩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

thefemale_nickmiller's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Yeah it’s obvious why Viola won that Grammy and it was so f*cking earned. 

I also have to add how happy Viola sounds when talking about her daughter. I can literally hear her smile. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent