A review by serendipitysbooks
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

 June is Audiobook Appreciation Month and what better way to kick it off than by listening to Finding Me, Viola Davis’s memoir which won Audies for Audiobook of the Year and for Narration by Author or Authors, as well as a Grammy for Best Audiobook, Narration and Storytelling? Obviously the narration is superb thanks to Davis’s acting skills, her powerful voice, as well as the strength and genuineness of the emotion because she is telling her own story. In terms of that story what really stood out for me was the harrowing and traumatic reality of her childhood which was blighted by a dysfunctional family (addiction and domestic abuse), sexual abuse, physical abuse, racism, bullying, colourism, and extreme poverty resulting in insufficient food, lack of heating, and infestations of rats and mice. That she was able to overcome this and lead a successful life is a testament to her talent, hard work plus a little luck. And therapy. She was very clear about how important therapy had been to her healing. Sadly not all children from such backgrounds will be fortunate enough to overcome it, and she is upfront about how, even with her help, not all her family members have been able to escape from dysfunction and addiction. I also think she did a valuable service by being upfront about the realities of the acting profession - not just the racism and sexism but also the difficulties of training, gaining enough jobs to be financially self-supporting, let alone making it big. All up I found this to be a thought provoking and inspiring story told with both passion and compassion. 
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