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seullywillikers's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
leonormsousa's review against another edition
4.0
- Viola Davis' narration in the audiobook: she is a powerhouse!
- What a life story!
- Great insights into the world of acting (theatre, cinema and tv), including the difficulties in “making it” and the prejudice within it
- The way Viola’s dedication to her art is palpable is incredible and inspiring
- It’s a very raw book and it definitely appeals to your emotions
THINGS I DIDN'T ENJOY
- There are sections where the book jumps back and forward in time, without references, and it gets a bit confusing/hard to follow
- If you’re into memoirs, you’ll probably like this one!
- Viola Davis fans and appreciators of the art of acting will probably like this one particularly (the second half especially)
- This is a strong one and I found myself selecting almost every item from the TW list, so be aware of that going in!
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
kcelena's review against another edition
5.0
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
doomluz's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Incest, Grief, Abortion, and Classism
entropydoc's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Infidelity
rheagoveas's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma
stoleyourfoodinthelibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Toxic relationship and Vomit
kshertz's review against another edition
4.0
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
blueeyedshook's review against another edition
3.75
I knew quite a bit about Davis from interviews and articles but of course this was a whole deeper level. And it was HARD. Such pain and darkness that she has lived through that the beginning was hard to get through simply because of her difficulty and the gravity with which she wrote it. But out of pain, has come beauty. I think the pain was focused on quite a bit more than the beauty though. Although, my hope is that this leaves room for her to write another book in the future.
The book leads right up to her winning the Oscar for Fences, but really passes over the successful years around that with a light hand. We do get a glimpse of meeting her husband and how he is (their relationship seems precious). And introduced very lightly to when she adopts her daughter.
I appreciated that she focused on her experiences. (it definitely wasn’t a Hollywood tell all or even tell some about any of the people in her movies or shows with her. Barely a tidbit about how Denzel Washington challenged her when he directed.) This was a book about Viola. And of course it focused on how poor she was, her love for her family (even in their own pain), and the experiences she faced in school, work and life with the color of her skin. Not only being black but being dark skinned black. Being a white woman, I have never experienced anything like she has, and I find it utterly ludicrous that she was considered not only different but ugly because her skin is so dark (even among other people of color). Makes my heart hurt. So much of this book just broke my heart for her and for all the little girls out there who have experiences prejudices and atrocities.
What a glorious thing that she can attest that all of that difficulty she faced and the trouble she had finding self-love was faced and began healing in her roll on How to Get Away With Murder. Watching that show made me feel like she was really coming through in the character, and she confirmed that to be true. Such breakthrough, not only for her but for all woman who look like her as well.
My favorite part, though, was the way she talked about her parents. How even through the pain, she loved her father and how he grew and healed as well. And the way she talked about her sisters, ugh. Heart wide open.
(My less than favorite part was how her favorite word must be the f word with mf taking a close second. But I digress.)
A beautiful, heart wrenching, aching memoir that I hope is not her last.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Abortion
halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review against another edition
4.75
While battling depression, I had to take my time, even though I wanted to listen on. The hardships, abuse of every kind and heartache that Viola endured in her chilhood alone was appalling.
Just to know that as a light-skinned Black woman, I have not dealt with an ounce of racism, constantly being reminded that I'm "unattractive" and feeling unprotected to the degree darker-skinned Black people do just shakes me to my core.
I loved seeing her progress of being accepted at Julliard to Viola building her portfolio as an actress.
Then meeting her Julius and seeing their relationship blossom was so heartwarming🥰. Having a family of their own was a way for Viola to heal from her own childhood.
I truly loved this memoir, this may be my first one, and I was super excited Viola read for the audio herself🥰.
Just to know this background story off what shaped Viola Davis into the person we see today is truly astounding. Viola's memoir is so passionate, inspiring and a journey of finding the strength to revisit dark memories. Healing your younger self, never giving up hope, love and enjoying life to the fullest.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism