Play Book Tag discussion

Finding Me by Viola Davis
4 stars

I knew a little about Viola Davis before reading her memoir. As a resident of Rhode Island off and on for over 10 years, it was hard to not know at least a bit about the local celebrity. And, with that, I had heard that she had a childhood based in poverty and abuse.

By no means did I think this would be an easy read, but a good friend highly recommended it and so I decided it was time to pick it up.

I have a lot of respect for Davis for putting her story out there when it is not an easy story to tell. It shines a light on a traumatic childhood, highlights that most of her family continues to struggle with poverty and drug addiction, and is candid about her own mental and physical health struggles.

I don't know if Davis downplayed her ambition and dedication, but she told the story of her professional life like she just stumbled into it. I highly doubt that is the case, but I wish she would have given herself more credit.

You also get the distinct impression that Davis shielded us (or perhaps shielded herself) from the truly atrocious aspects of her childhood, glossing over sexual abuse by her brother in just a handful of sentences and never focusing on the fallout from her father repeatedly brutally beating her mother. And while I respect her decision to share what she was comfortable with, the lack of detail did stand out to me.

Also, I need to know Davis's therapist because she seems remarkably settled about her childhood. She forgave her father, forgave her mother, seems to have forgiven her brother, and now takes care of people who seem unwilling to take care of themselves. That is a lot of grace in a single person and I can only imagine it took many, many, many hours of therapy to get there, but she never once discusses that process.

Yet, despite some of the parts I thought fell a bit short, I just cannot imagine rating this book less than 4 stars if for no other reason than sheer respect for Davis. For overcoming the unimaginable, for telling her story on her terms, for having the compassion to help the family that hurt her yet by some miracle did not break her. And, she reads the audiobook, which makes the telling even more personal.