Finding Me: A Memoir By Viola Davis

I read the book within my vacations at the beach. The writing keeps you captivated from the beginning to the end. I even had to slow down while reading it as I didn’t want to fiosh it before the end of my vacations ! I was really touched by Viola’ story. We can feel her humility through all the book.
Her story is truly inspiring, it helps you to make you understand the struggles for the black artistes, the poverty ( the real one), the different challenges with family, the inequities , the violence, the sadness but also it gives you hope, it makes you believe in a better future where love wins and that dreams can be achieved with faith, perseverance and hard work.
Thank you Viola for humbely sharing your story.

This was a book club selection, and while I’m not a fan of Memoirs because they are boring…this one held a spark for me. It kept me reading, even when it felt soooooo sloooowwww. I can’t put my finger on why, because at the end of the day while it describes Davis’s upbringing; her challenges as a black woman, and the life she left in order to find herself in the life she’s in, it also showed depth to society as a whole and a perspective most POC cannot articulate to the average white person without there being a sense of bitterness or resentment for the history suffered.
This book was well-written, sensitive and strong, it took emotion and anger but not in a way to tear another down, instead simply showing a perspective we may not see, nor understand. I would recommend anyone read this who loves Davis as an actress, but more so to get to know Viola as a person. Because she is a beautiful one, inside and out.

This was an honest, painful, hopeful and a story of being triumphant in hard family conditions. Viola’s honesty in sharing the hardship and poverty during childhood and her success in her field of acting is inspiring. She is an Excellent and nuanced, versatile actress. She studies people and draws from her own history and family.

I first discovered Viola Davis on Brene Brown’s podcast “Unlocking us”. As soon as she started talking, I felt this immense opening within her and myself, too. She was just the most honest, forthcoming woman, and I could tell right away from the topics she discussed and the unapologetic way she spoke. I knew from that moment on I wanted to invest more time into getting to know Viola in the only way I knew how-to listen to more podcasts with her, and read her book. I discovered this book shortly after I discovered the podcast and was SO incredibly excited to read it. I knew the book would be nothing short of amazing, and it was.

The first half of the book or so is just Viola setting the scene if her childhood. Really pouring her damn heart and soul out to show you how she grew up. I felt like I was there witnessing it there with her. Her words are powerful, but not in the “her words make you think” type of way….powerful in the sense that it makes you feel like you are THERE with her. I experienced a lot of emotional pain while reading this. Little Viola went through so much simply because she is black and was poor. People treated her so horribly, she went through so much abuse, so much trauma, and it shook me. BUT I’m so thankful she shared these stories of hers. They’re so incredibly vulnerable, I can’t imagine the strength and bravery it took for her to write this.

The next section of the book is about all of her acting/theatre life taking off and her stories with that. It took quite a sharp turn from the trauma, to acting life-but such is life, right? There’s not always a linear path, but it was a bit tricky for me to adjust from the trauma to the acting bit. Not dogging on her, it’s still a great book, just my opinion that the transition was a bit tricky to dive into at first.

The last few chapters have a lot of wisdom and share her thoughts about systemic racism, what it means to be a black woman in a lead-acting feminine role, etc. Its a very good book-I would recommend it to anyone who wants to read a book that’s raw with truth. Viola is a survivor. She’s someone I look up to immensely because of her bravery and vulnerability. Read the book!

A edição é linda! Papel de excelente qualidade, também a impressão e as fotos. A história de Viola é inspiradora e eu me emocionei bastante ao ler todo o livro, cada dia mais fã dessa mulher incrível! 💪🏼🖤