Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

41 reviews

madamenovelist's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

lizmart88's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring sad fast-paced

4.25

Incredibly well written memoir by Viola Davis. Despite growing up with many challenges include many forms of abuse, she does a great job of showing the systemic issues and the personal issues she faced. She isn't overly optimistic or portray her story as a success story because she got out. She doesn't devolve into trauma or poverty porn. She tells her story clearly and deeply, from a place of hard-won inner peace that has clearly taken her a lifetime to reach. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Death of parent

runningjenw's review against another edition

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

5.0

The audio version is stunning. The acting is phenomenal. What a life Viola Davis has lead. I highly recommend this read or listen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, and Misogyny

briennebrienne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

strugglecity's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Grief

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

This is one of the best memoirs I have ever read/listened to. Viola Davis is an incredible person. Her strength and all the things she went through is unimaginable. This was a hard book to listen to at times, Viola does not shy away from taking you through memories of her childhood. Her dad’s abuse towards her mom, sibling abuse from her older brother, poverty so intense most of the time they didn’t have electricity, food or a working toilet. How she overcame so many obstacles and horrible things that happened to her growing up to then go on to graduate from Juilliard, then go on to act with Denzel Washington and then Meryl Streep until her big break out in How to Get Away with Murder is truly incredible. She is an amazing individual and a true inspiration.

This book is one that I know will stick with me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hannahbug30's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual violence

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

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

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

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