Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

70 reviews

coolyanna's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug abuse

coreyarch9's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

"Every January, we had our Martin Luther King celebration, a variety show [...] it was our rebellion. We were told it would ruin our instrument. Well, our soul was our instrument, too."

I love Annalise MF Keating, but I didn't know too much about Viola Davis. In Finding Me, Viola talks less about her career as an actress and more about the systemic poverty and racism and the coinciding internalized struggles that she had to overcome to be the woman we know today. And she doesn't hold anything back.

She talks a lot about what society deems beautiful, worthy, or correct. During her time at Juiliard, students were discouraged from hosting an MLK Day program or anything that might highlight their differences from their white counterparts. She talks about the typecast roles that she would be cast in or invited to audition for. She talks about what it was like to be called beautiful for the first time. She talks about therapy. 

In the end, she talks about finding herself, writing, "I am no longer ashamed of me."

I will never know firsthand what it's like to experience the abject poverty and racism that Viola grew up with. And that's why it's so important to read about. When she talked about being called beautiful for the first time, I started to wonder, when was the last time I told somebody they were pretty? When was the last time I told a woman of color that she was beautiful? When was the last time I supported a black-owned café instead of just picking up a latte at my local Tim Hortons? When did I last show kindness to a stranger?

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Cancer, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Rape, Abortion, and Sexism

Minor: Slavery, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Kidnapping

askard's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Racism, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Cancer

kiomarys2000's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Rape, Cursing, Misogyny, Drug use, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, and Alcoholism

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

mecmccann's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

This book was everything I needed and more. When she said “The purpose of life is to live it” agghhhhhh I needed that 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Body shaming, Cancer, Drug abuse, Infertility, Sexism, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Mental illness

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

maemiller_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Bullying, Animal death, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Cancer

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abortion, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Infertility

micalyia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Sexual content, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Racism, Abortion, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence