Finding Me by Viola Davis
Finding Me by Viola Davis
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis is not like any of the other memoirs I’ve read this month. There is no ghost writer or co-writing done here, it’s all Viola and it’s real and raw. Finding Me is Viola’s reflection of her difficult and traumatic childhood and how that shaped how she saw herself for so much of her life. It’s one of the most honest and heart-wrenching accounts I’ve ever read. Her journey from scared little black girl in the poor rat-infested apartment she lived in with all her siblings to Award (EGOT)winning actress is nothing short of remarkable and extraordinary. Her story demonstrates an unbelievable will to survive and succeed and its inspiration for others wanting to live a life of creative expression but more than that it’s a love letter to her younger self. A beautiful reach through time and space to hug the little girl she once was and tell her she is okay, and she is loved.
As a writer I recommend this story for other creatives however I suggest the audiobook over the written (which I rarely do). Why? Because Viola narrates her own story bringing every unedited word, each raw voice, and every moving experience to life. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences felt the same way when they awarded Viola Davis the Grammy for the best audiobook, narration, and storytelling of her memoir Finding Me on Februrary 5, 2023. With this award Viola Davis earns EGOT status, meaning she is one of only eighteen other people who have earned an Emmy, A Grammy, a Tony and an Oscar. In her acceptance speech she thanked her daughter and her husband, and she recognized that little girl she once was saying that “she would have been screaming knowing the fifty-seven-year-old she would become.”
Don’t Miss:
Page one: Right off the bat, the first words in the book are expletives, (may not be the best choice for kiddie carpool listening) but hang on tight because it’s raw and real.
The moving scene while practicing for the play Agnes of God- “Where is your voice?”
Quote at the beginning of the last chapter: “You can either leave something for people or you can leave something in people.” Anne Lamott
Viola’s book is available via bookshop.org and libro.fm
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