Here’s the thing about Michelle Obama, which is very different from me, different from a lot of people: she’s healthy. She’s a healthy human being, because she grew up in an environment where she always felt seen, always felt worthy. Maybe because I’ve been with a lot of artists in my life, a lot of people who’ve been traumatised, including myself, it’s very interesting to portray someone who literally is healthy.” Ms. Davis for who she was before fame is the reason I chose her as a hero. I knew this book would be important to me. Though didn’t expect this much. I thought that I loved Viola Davis before reading this book, but my goodness this book was exceptional in every single way and it made me appreciate her even more. CW: depictions of domestic violence, sexual assault, poverty (poor living condition, hunger, and more), death of loved ones My only regret- I have from listening to Viola read ‘this/her’ memoir so brilliantly—is that I wish I had been part of a small book group -having ongoing discussions—chapter by chapter. After getting past the early(nightmare) childhood years —-Viola began her career (so damn interesting of even how she got from A to B), in Central Falls, Rhode Island….

We used it for bedrooms, running extension cords from the apartment that had electricity. Months later, I went to Mayor Bessette’s house to sing Christmas carols. It was on the other side of town, the part where the rich folk lived, or the people who had a little bit of money. His house seemed to have forty-foot ceilings, a fireplace, a huge staircase, and a Christmas tree that was the largest I’d ever seen in my life. The heat from the house just whooshed out at us, we who were shivering in the freezing cold.I now understand that life and living it is more about being present. I'm now aware that the not-so-happy memories lie in wait; but the hope and the joy also lie in wait." Through you through me to others it’s my hope whoever is touched will find Hope. Peace. Joy in the wounds of why they are, too. She bravely shares so much. She wants to connect and communicate to the reader what’s it’s like to come from poverty, to live in fear, to fight for your life. She wants you to understand that even winning this fight is not enough, because what matters most is coming to terms with all you’ve been through to experience true freedom. She encourages us to face what is to heal, and takes us through what she had to face. She believes in change, saw it with her own eyes in her father. She does not color rose over childhood glasses — she saw her daddy’s drunken beatings of her mom to within an inch of her life — yet, she can love the man he becomes without punishing him for his past. She came into the bathroom. I looked at her and she stared at me. It was love. In my child brain, part of the love was her offer to buy me candy from Gabe’s store. As an adult, though, I recognize there was something more important that made me love her. I am a dark-skinned woman. Culturally, there is a spoken and unspoken narrative rooted in Jim Crow. It tells us that dark-skinned women are simply not desirable. All the attributes that are attached to being a woman-desirable, vulnerable, needing to be rescued-don't apply to us. In the past, we've been used as chattel, fodder for inhumane experimentation, and it has evolved into invisibility."

People are ignorant- when they negatively bash Hollywood actors — generalize, and lumped everything into their own assumptions.What an amazing memoir! Viola is one of my favorite actresses- but I knew very little about her private life. This book was a huge surprise to me. I was absolutely riveted to both the e-book and the audiobook. I honestly have no words- One simply must experience this memoir for themselves to truly appreciate it.

Viola Davis is one of the best actors of this generation and has won multiple awards in acting, like Oscar, Emmy, and Tony. She tells her extraordinary journey filled with poverty, love, hatred, racism, and achievements in her life in this book. We bought a secondhand school desk from the St. Vincent de Paul. The chair was attached to the desk and had little beams on it. They really bought it for me. I would sit in it while Dianne taught us what she learned in school. I was mischievous in the crappiest way in school because I was bored. I’d say, “I already know this. My sister Dianne already taught me the multiplication tables.” Bored, I wanted to have a conversation, I wanted to play. “I already know how to write in cursive. My sister Dianne taught me.” Two years after we moved to Central Falls, my mom and dad finally said, “We got to raise our own kids,” and saved enough money to move my sister Dianne and my brother, John, to Central Falls with us. Dianne was nine when she entered Broadstreet School, the same school where I was in kindergarten. It went from kindergarten to sixth grade. MaMama took her to enroll in fourth grade. I don't usually read non-fiction books, even less if they're biographies, but my amazing best friend and her flawless taste in books thought this was the perfect Christmas gift for me, and it truly was. The question still echoes, how did I claw my way out? There is no out. Every painful memory, every mentor, every friend and foe served as a chisel, a leap pad that has shaped “ME!” The imperfect but blessed sculpture that is Viola is still growing and still being chiseled.Davis wears coat, Haney. Earrings, Soko. Styling: Elizabeth Stewart. Hair: Jamika Wilson. Makeup: Autumn Moultrie. Set Design: Natalie Shriver. Photograph: Mary Rozzi/The Guardian

I AM THEEEE memoir girl. Vee, what a beautiful story, I’m now headed to Malik’s Books for the hardcopy cause my shelf NEEDS this beautiful book!!! At the age of forty-seven Viola got one of her best known roles, playing Annalise Keating in the television series 'How to Get Away With Murder.' Annalise was described as a sexual, smart, vulnerable, possibly sociopathic, highly astute, criminal defense attorney. Viola writes, "The eight-year-old girl who had never been told 'You're worthy; you're beautiful' suddenly found herself as a leading lady, and a mouthpiece of all the women who looked like her." Finding Me is a poignant and compelling memoir by Viola Davis. From a life of poverty and hardship during her childhood years in Rhode Island to fame in New York City, Viola Davis is not a quitter. Through close examination of the most painful memories, deep reflection, and therapy, Viola Davis finds a life worth living. My Thoughts: We had to go to the laundromat to wash clothes. But having no money, six kids, and freezing cold weather meant that most of the time laundry would go unwashed for weeks. That, compounded with the bed-wetting, made for a home with a horrific smell. Closets and space underneath the beds would be stuffed with shoes, dust, miscellaneous items. We were afraid of even cleaning for fear rats would be lurking underneath all the “rubbish.” On the first day of the month food stamps would come and we would make a huge grocery run at BIG G market. In less than two weeks, the food would be gone. I’m going to go crazy if I try to say here all the things I really want to say…..and readers who are kind enough to read this review will go nuts if I ‘do’ write all I have to say….(so I’ll never succeed)….I love the way she handles her success. She’s humble, practical, and handles criticism stoically and with pragmatism, and that is not something many people are able to pull off in general, much less publicly. I have loved this actress for a long time based solely on her skills as an actress, but now I am doubly impressed. Now when I see Viola on the big or small screen, I will see her in a different light- one that shines brighter and stronger, with an everlasting glow… Like many people, I discovered Viola from her incredible work on How to Get Away With Murder and have been following her work ever since. So finding out she would be gifting us with a deep memoir of her childhood to her present day life was amazing. It’s always strange to rate non-fiction, especially memoirs, but Viola absolutely killed this. She’s a naturally talented writer and was able to transport me to every event she recalls. From the extreme poverty, the intense physical and sexual abuse, and all the way to Hollywood, Viola paints a perfect image to show you and let you understand her life. The descriptions of the living conditions of her home are hard to wrap one’s head around, but despite her parents having their hands full with their own demons, Viola managed to get some support from siblings and programs offered to her which helped to build her self-esteem, incentivized her to change the course of her life, propelling her toward achieving her dreams. Following her gap year, during which Viola became a "professional actress", she went on to Juilliard School in New York City. She also entered into relationships with the wrong men - self-centered men who didn't treat her well. I think that sometimes, everything that you are can crumble under the weight of Eurocentric and white-centric notions. There’s nowhere for someone like me to go – nowhere. I got a wide nose, big lips, dark skin – I mean, where do I go? Look at me – I might as well walk through the doors of Juilliard and walk my ass out!”