Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

56 reviews

kcallens's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Grief, Cursing, Death of parent, Addiction, Incest, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Infertility, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Alcohol

Amazing.

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

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

yomireads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Viola Davis is a master at the craft of storytelling, evidenced not just in her brilliant talent honed to a razor's edge through dedication in her career as an actress, but in the way this memoir enraptured me from start to finish. This story is one steeped in life's trauma, but more importantly, reflects the break-back work of taking the adversity and shit thrown your way, and persevering. A brutally honest read of how even for all the agonizingly hard work Viola put into her talent as an actress, the reality is that luck was a deciding factor in her career.

I was moved by her resilience in the face of abuse to forgive, her faith when she felt abandoned, her candid approach to therapy, and so so much more. I'm better for having read this book, and I scarcely feel this way about books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Moderate: Animal death, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Infertility, Abortion, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Incest

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

doomluz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

The audiobook is narrated by Viola Davis herself. I love her acting and this emphasizes how powerful her voice is. I love her insights on her difficult life and career. A raw and honest read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body shaming, Incest, Abortion, Classism, and Grief

janaycleaver's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Incest, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Infidelity

entropydoc's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Medical trauma, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Classism, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Animal death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Bullying, and Fatphobia

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

hesticht's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Racism

Minor: Child death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Classism, Death of parent, and Drug abuse