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Finding Me: An Oprah's Book Club Pick Paperback – Large Print, 26 April 2022
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OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK - A HARPERS BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF 2022 - A PARADE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK - A MARIE CLAIRE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK
"It's clear from the first page that Davis is going to serve a more intimate, unpolished account than is typical of the average (often ghost-written) celebrity memoir; Finding Me reads like Davis is sitting you down for a one-on-one conversation about her life, warts and all."--USA Today
"[A] fulfilling narrative of struggle and success....Her gorgeous storytelling will inspire anyone wishing to shed old labels."--Los Angeles Times
In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.
This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn't always see me.
As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.
Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. 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.
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper Large Print
- Publication date26 April 2022
- Dimensions15.24 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
- ISBN-100063211092
- ISBN-13978-0063211094
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Product description
Review
"Reading her memoir, Finding Me. . . you understand where her ability comes from: Only someone who has already been dragged into the depths of emotion readily knows how to get back there." -- New York Times Magazine
"An unvarnished chronicle of hard-won, well-earned success." -- Kirkus Reviews
"It's clear from the first page that Davis is going to serve a more intimate, unpolished account than is typical of the average (often ghost-written) celebrity memoir; Finding Me reads like Davis is sitting you down for a one-on-one conversation about her life, warts and all." -- USA Today
"Davis gives readers hope, encouraging us to look back and embrace childhood dreams or failures, let go of shame, and move forward to become the best version of ourselves." -- Booklist
"Davis's grit and determination are moving, and her unflinching reckoning with the "racism and misogyny" she faced in Hollywood makes her story of overcoming all the more effective. Fans will be utterly enthralled." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Davis's grit and determination are moving, and her unflinching reckoning with the "racism and misogyny" she faced in Hollywood makes her story of overcoming all the more effective. Fans will be utterly enthralled." -- Time magazine
"[A] fulfilling narrative of struggle and success. . . . Her gorgeous storytelling will inspire anyone wishing to shed old labels." -- Los Angeles Times
"Brimming with love, heartbreak, and hard-won wisdom." -- Bustle
"This book is a testament to resilience, hard work, and the power of owning your truth." -- Real Simple
"Raw in its anger, shocking in its frankness, often downright vulgar--and wonderfully alive with Davis' passion poured into every page." -- Associated Press
About the Author
VIOLA DAVIS is an internationally acclaimed actress and producer, known for her exceptional performances in television shows like 'How to Get Away with Murder' and movies like 'Fences' and 'The Help.' She is the winner of an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, and in 2021 she won a Screen Actors Guild award for her role in 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'. In both 2012 and 2017, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Davis is also the founder and CEO of JuVee Productions, an artist driven production company that develops and produces independent film, theater, television, and digital content.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Large Print; Large type / Large print edition (26 April 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0063211092
- ISBN-13 : 978-0063211094
- Dimensions : 15.24 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 2,240,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 26,482 in Theatre & Performance Artist Biographies
- 30,934 in Actors & Entertainers Biographies
- 34,957 in Women's Biographies
- Customer reviews:
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Top reviews from United Kingdom
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Violas narration spoke directly to my soul. Now THATS how you tell your story. I bawled in areas of this book because it was so close to home.
With a non-conventional look, she started being often cast as the dull public servant (Traffic and Syriana), teacher (Doubt) or the repudiated girlfriend (Out of Sight). She exploded in The Help, a very good movie crowded with excellent actresses and magnificent performances. Yet the best bit of that film is, by and large, Davis' constant and restrained pain, even if the Oscar in that one went to the wrong actress. But from that moment Viola started carrying the pictures, yet never leaving completely characters coming from the plot's sidelines; or, as she tells it quite funnily in this book, it took her almost 20 years (until "How to get away with murder") to have a husband and a lover in the same movie, something almost all white actors, men and women, do have early in their careers. But excellent works in cinema, as well as in TV and theater, made her a star.
When the book was announced months ago it was a nice surprise. The woman we love to love on the screen will tell her life. And now, down to matters, how good is the book?
It is good, sincere, shocking and well written. Ms Davies has pulled no stops and she does tell the poverty (or "po" i.e. below poverty, as her family called it), the sexual abuses, the family dramas and a painfully slow ascent to Hollywood stardom. The first half of the book is the best. The appalling conditions of a household plagued with violence, alcohol abuse and incest are sometimes a hard read, but the author keeps us in line. There's always an anecdote to lighten the text - the ‘bullfrogs’ and some characters around the family; and these are very welcome.
Then comes the "call" to the stage and a slow progression to the top. Ms Davies never ceases to be star-struck, as when she 's invited to George Clooney's house in Italy or when she's so overwhelmed that she acts merely silly in front of Meryl Streep the first time they met. This part, the ascent to stardom, is good, but a tad conventional - there’s less passion and the tale is more a Hollywood chronicle. However, thatnks to the author's warmth, the text progresses well and in the end we finish the read closer to the writer and at the same time wanting to know more about her.
On the bad side? Not much. Too many references on money and salaries. Ms Davies tells us how much she made at every single step of the ladder. Also, the book is written by an actor (and a very good one) and often a producer, but we read little of the process of the movies beyond the audition (and the salary), and many important pictures, directors and fellow actors are not mentioned beyond a tiny anecdote, if that. We expected a bit more than gossip or superficial comments and more from a privileged view of the movie business.
But in the end, it is a good book by a wonderful actor and an even better even human being.
A side note. Apart from an autobiography, this book is, to these eyes, an obvious cry to the Governments and specifically to that of the USA. It is appalling and unjust and simply inadmissible, that a family of six children has to suffer as Ms Davies did: at sub-zero temperatures in a small and deranged flat, rats-infested, without electricity, warm water, or often without water at all because the pipes froze and blocked for days at a time. And this did not happen in Dickensian days but in the mid-seventies and only a handful of miles away from the New York of Wall Street and Park Avenue. Capitalism is the only economic system that works. Fact. But not everything can be left to the "invisible hand" and the powers of the market. The states, starting with the more powerful ones, cannot have citizens, whole families, living in those conditions and must have in place a social security system in place, effective enough so parts of their populations do not starve or freeze to death. Viola Davis’ story is that of her family as well as of many families suffering the same today. And that's as much inadmissible as it is avoidable.
I am in awe of the strength it must have taken Viola not just to survive her early life, but to retell it. This story goes deep into the unimaginable terror, pain and darkness she faced daily throughout childhood, and her immense years long struggle to transform herself and her life into one of love and light. It's so inspiring, so beautiful. It makes me see my own life very differently.
Thank you for sharing your "hero's journey" Viola. You should be so proud.
X
Not only is she such a gifted actress, but she has to be by far one of THE most eloquent public speakers, with such a natural gift for words. I could listen to her all day long.
When I found out she was going to write a memoir I couldn’t wait as I knew she would write something special.
Now, dear reader, in biographies there is honesty (where there is an element of gloss to make you look good) and there is HONESTYY (no holds barred to the point you are putting your soul on the floor). Viola is the latter. My jaw literally hit the floor many times.
I feel awful, as there must of been many young people like Viola that I went to school with who looked practically neglected, but they are the ones who triumphed as they were exposed from a young age to the struggles and hard-knocks of life.
I want to say thank you to Viola for sharing your gifts so generously with the world, and showing a side many don’t see. Thank you for your vulnerability, as there are many people out there struggling, and you have shown there is a way out.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in Brazil on 30 March 2023
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!
Reviewed in the United States on 10 July 2022
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!