A review by jdamae11
Finding Me by Viola Davis

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

Really appreciated how Viola didn’t pull any punches in this. Very honest, raw, at times brutally so. Viola does not shy away from talking about the actual reality of growing up in poverty in the US, especially as a Black family living in poverty. As a low income first-Gen student I can’t describe how much her college experiences resonated, from having to work a billion jobs to be able to eat and make it through school to STILL experiencing impostor phenomenon decades later as an already accomplished actor. And she shares a lot about how much she knew how to mask that so that no one ever knew her reality. WHEW. So grateful for how much she kept it 100% real in regard to sharing that experience. I also appreciated how she kept it real around her experiences of colorism, featurism, and misogynoir especially in the entertainment industry. I’m not usually a fan of memoirs (no shade I just usually need escapist fiction), but this was so vulnerable and inspires a lot of reflection. This book basically told me to get my a$$ back in therapy stat LOL. Viola has been through A LOT & her willingness to tell the story is very appreciated. If you can listen to her narrate it, highly recommend!

This book is way heavier than initially expected, I think the reader can tell when they’re about to enter some intense territory but just a warning on depictions of physical and verbal abuse and sexual violence.
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