Finding Me: An Oprah's Book Club Pick

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Privation affected Viola's health as well, and some time later she had fibroid surgery and a hysterectomy. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you. The abuse ranged from random old men on the street trying to get a kiss, to men at birthday parties playing catch the girl, to older neighborhood boys who 'babysat', to Viola's brother - whose sexual curiosity crossed the line to penetration of two of his sisters.

The level of courage and bravery needed to overcome some of the things Viola has experienced is extremely high. The term Jim Crow originated from a minstrel show in 1828 which was projecting African Americans negatively. Throughout the memoir, she recounts specific scenes, conversations, and events so the book felt immersive rather than boring.Viola is vulnerable and honest and I have a deep appreciation for not just the excellent actress she is, but the person she is — Someone who overcame so much, who will shed labels and be true to herself.

Trying to fully understand her ‘entire’ life story and ‘how’ she survived unfathomable traumatic conditions—for years—as a child —is staggering….In the past, we've been used as chattel, fodder for inhumane experimentation, and it has evolved into invisibility. Like most readers will probably feel, I thought Viola’s childhood was the most emotional and engaging part of the story. Overall, recommended to those who are interested in memoirs about difficult families, the lives of those who work in the arts, or Viola Davis fans! Davis's memoir 'Finding Me' illustrates that the hard-won accolades resulted from determination, hard work, talent, luck, and encouragement from the occasional mentor. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.

I love Viola as an actress, she really commands her roles and she is such strong black female actress that I wanted to know more. from the audition process - to attending the damn school as a BLACK women who felt she was being asked to HIDE her BLACKNESS— to fit in. Nevertheless, Viola persevered and graduated after five years, part of it spent in the theater program at the California Polytechnic University in Pomona, on a student exchange plan. Growing up without the tools needed to heal from her trauma, Viola struggled a lot throughout her career, From attending Juilliard, to winning her first Tony, and then to winning her first Oscar, Viola carried that broken little girl with her everywhere.Deeply personal, brutally honest, and riveting, Finding Me is a timeless and spellbinding memoir that will capture hearts and minds around the globe. She doesn’t hold back any details and reading about all the rats she lived with and the abuse she witnessed and experienced felt heartbreaking. In this riveting autobiography, we get to know Viola as she finds her truth, revisits childhood memories, and reflects on what made her the woman (and EGOT winner) she is today. The author is discussing the pain that she had to suffer due to the mindset of people due to the influence of the Jim Crow laws.

The older children were raised by their grandparents until Mae Alice could no longer stand to hear stories of them being beaten in school, and sent for them to come to Rhode Island. Objectively speaking, Finding Me is a powerful story; it's not an easy one to read, as it's one born in pain and violence. Viola had me ‘hanging-by-a-tread’ when she took a 4 hour train ride — to audition - to get into Juilliard …. It's the story of a scared child geared up in a warrior armor, of a person who climbed her way out of her own personal hell hole with clenched teeth and an impressive amount of talent.She is one of six children, grew up in a crowded home where her dad was abusive to her mom, and her and her siblings often went hungry and unclean. But thinking about it from the perspective of the entire universe, distilling the novel to its aching soul, it could be the story of many other women, women who still need to make peace with their past, women who struggle to put an end to the abusive streak they're enduring. This is one of my most anticipated reads, ever, because I’m such a big fan of Viola Davis, and it quickly became one of my favorite memoirs, ever. This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. I see people-the way they walk, talk, laugh, and grieve, and their silence-in a way that is hyperfocused because of my past.