Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Finding Me by Viola Davis

39 reviews

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

5.0

“I knew my life would be a fight, and I realized this: I had it in me.” 

 

Oooooof, this was hard to read. Viola candidly shares the story of her life—through every trauma she’s faced—as well as the reality of how hard it is to actually, finally “make it” as an actor. 

 

Viola’s story is one of resilience. Racism, shame, abuse, food insecurity, poverty, assault, domestic violence, infidelity, grief and trauma were all a part of the long, arduous journey to find herself. Today she is healed (though there’s always work to do), strong, and full of joy. One must read this book themselves to trulybeare witness to the struggles she faced and how she overcame them. 

 

Finding Me humbled me. It reminded me that you never know what someone has gone through or is going through. While gut-wrenching to hear about the horrors she experienced, her grace shined through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Plus, the audiobook is narrated by Viola herself which was a treat. This is one hell of a memoir.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Bullying, and Racism

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Misogyny

Minor: Child death and Abortion

frozenheartv's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

 5 stars 
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 

Please note that I rate this book based on the literary side of the book not the author’s story. 

“What have I learned from all of this? There is absolutely no way whatsoever to get through this life without scars. No way!!” - Viola Davis

🧠 My thoughts
This has to be one of the best memoirs I have ever read. It was concise, powerful, moving, and inspirational. Viola Davis is such a humble and strong woman. I consider myself a rags-to-riches person but Viola’s situation was another world that I felt even fictional sometimes, and that opened my eyes. I could never imagined the pain she had to go through. When asked how she overcame poverty, she just humbly said it was mostly luck. No, I disagreed, it was all about her strength, her willingness to improve her situation, her talent, and so on.
 
I believe regardless of your race, your skin color, or your background, you deserve to be loved. Living in a world of men sexualizing women, especially white men, I feel so bad for women of color and ashamed of those men. Regardless of that, Viola keeps moving forward and shows the world that she deserves to be loved and desired through her roles in movies. I know that an actress is talented and is a real actress when I see this:
 

“Every character you play forces you to explore your brokenness” – Viola Davis

Viola is and will always be a good example of a strong-willed and independent successful woman. When told that her husband has changed her life for good, she said it was true but it was her who changed her own life. I couldn’t agree more than this. Your partner could help you to find yourself and get better, but it’s you who take action and it’s only you who can change your own life.
 
👍 What I like

• Raw, moving, and inspirational life story
• Totally makes me speechless from time to time
• Pretty clear writing style

👎 What I don't like

• Maybe in some chapters, it was a bit hard to follow because the ideas jumped from one to another abruptly

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Misogyny

lily_sutton's review

emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Racial slurs, and Misogyny

Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, and Rape

mattyvreads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

One of the finest memoirs I have ever read. Gorgeously written, with vulnerability, wisdom, and wit. Davis is an incomparable storyteller and her honesty is inspiring. I devoured every word

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

yreluctant's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Rape, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Animal death

danielavasquez's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Abortion

pagesandpixels's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

So poetically written. I listened on audiobook and it was beautiful and engaging. What a life Viola lived and what an honor to listen. Another great book that reminds us why we need to buy/listen to women voices and stories.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Rape, Racism, Death of parent, Torture, Slavery, Blood, Abortion, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Drug abuse, Excrement, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, and Racial slurs

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

Every single performance I’ve seen Viola Davis in, her acting ability has taken my breath away. I’m usually reticent toward celebrity memoirs but this takes the cake for one of the best memoirs I’ve read. As Davis takes readers through her difficult and tumultuous backstory with searing candidness, we begin to understand the many layers of who she is and how she came to be the person she is today. From the racist climate of the East coast to the colorism glaringly prevalent in both film/stage and the Blck community, Davis’ voice is emotionally intelligent and critically astute. There are definitely very dark moments layered through out this story, so I would definitely recommend checking content warnings on those, but each of these moments is handled with immense care and grace. I really loved this read, it’s definitely made me want to watch “How to get away with murder”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Infertility, Excrement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer

thefemale_nickmiller's review

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

inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Addiction, Blood, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Self harm, Drug use, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Racism, Abortion, Child death, Sexism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy