Finding Me

Finding Me

by Viola Davis

Narrated by Viola Davis

Unabridged — 9 hours, 15 minutes

Finding Me

Finding Me

by Viola Davis

Narrated by Viola Davis

Unabridged — 9 hours, 15 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Viola Davis had us at "Chapter One." That voice! Unsurprisingly, this multi-award-winning actor’s narration of her life story remains a theatrical force throughout, and yet it recedes in focus due to the gritty strength of the shocking words and inspirational messages it brings to life.

Winner of the 2023 Grammy for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording!

Audie Award Winner for Audiobook of the Year!

Narrated by Viola Davis

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.


Editorial Reviews

Library Journal - Audio

★ 09/01/2022

Raw and unflinchingly honest, this powerful memoir will have fans celebrating actress Davis's resilience and drive to be more, leave her small-town childhood behind, and find her voice. Listeners get a glimpse into Davis's private life, from Central Falls, RI, to New York City and more locations worldwide. Her willingness to describe what she has overcome is powerful and not to be missed. Having an author narrate their own memoir adds intimacy, and this audiobook is no exception—no other choice would have made sense. Listeners hear the pain, feel the love, and celebrate the accomplishments Davis unfolds throughout her determined rise to be the remarkable leading powerhouse she is. This memoir takes listeners on Davis's journey through the racism, misogyny, and abuse she's experienced throughout her life and career. VERDICT Not to be missed, this memoir is a powerful reminder that our childhoods do not define us, that we can determine our perception and worth.—Stephanie Charlefour

MAY 2022 - AudioFile

Actor Viola Davis doesn't mince words. Her audiobook captures the voice of a woman with a fascinating, heartbreaking lived experience. Davis's performance here is essentially a one-woman show, bringing listeners in close from the first moments. While she was growing up in a condemned property, her family struggled with poverty. But her hard work and talent brought her to the Juilliard School. Davis describes how her true artistic connection came when she traveled to Africa. She's clear about how her focus on acting, and not stardom, has guided her throughout her career, and how success in the arts has a lot to do with luck. Davis is the consummate actor and storyteller, perfect for the audiobook medium. Her voice is vulnerable yet strong. The result is electric. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook, 2023 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

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

USA Today

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.

Time magazine

"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."

New York Times Magazine

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.” 

Booklist

"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."

|Los Angeles Times

[A] fulfilling narrative of struggle and success….Her gorgeous storytelling will inspire anyone wishing to shed old labels.

Bustle

Brimming with love, heartbreak, and hard-won wisdom."

Real Simple

This book is a testament to resilience, hard work, and the power of owning your truth."

Associated Press

"Raw in its anger, shocking in its frankness, often downright vulgar—and wonderfully alive with Davis’ passion poured into every page."

Los Angeles Times

[A] fulfilling narrative of struggle and success….Her gorgeous storytelling will inspire anyone wishing to shed old labels.

Booklist

"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."

MAY 2022 - AudioFile

Actor Viola Davis doesn't mince words. Her audiobook captures the voice of a woman with a fascinating, heartbreaking lived experience. Davis's performance here is essentially a one-woman show, bringing listeners in close from the first moments. While she was growing up in a condemned property, her family struggled with poverty. But her hard work and talent brought her to the Juilliard School. Davis describes how her true artistic connection came when she traveled to Africa. She's clear about how her focus on acting, and not stardom, has guided her throughout her career, and how success in the arts has a lot to do with luck. Davis is the consummate actor and storyteller, perfect for the audiobook medium. Her voice is vulnerable yet strong. The result is electric. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook, 2023 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2022-01-26
The life story of an actor whose success has been shaped by grit and determination.

In a starkly forthright memoir, Oscar and Tony winner Davis reflects on family, love, motherhood, and acting. Born in South Carolina on a plantation where her grandparents had been sharecroppers, she grew up in dire poverty in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Her father was a physically abusive alcoholic, and the family lived in a rat-infested apartment where they often had no heat or hot water. Besides being taunted by her classmates for being Black, she was shunned because she smelled, often of urine. As she writes, she wet the bed until she was 14. “I was an awkward, angry, hurt, traumatized kid,” Davis writes. “I couldn’t articulate what I was feeling and nobody asked. I didn’t believe anybody cared. I was saturated in shame.” Inspired by seeing Cicely Tyson on TV, Davis wanted to become an actor—a goal that seemed far out of reach. But an acting coach in an Upward Bound program encouraged her, and she won a scholarship to Rhode Island College. After graduating with a theater degree, Davis worked tirelessly to hone her craft, both by performing and studying. At Juilliard, she bristled, at first, at their Eurocentric approach. A trip to Africa, when she was 25, energized her. Early in her career, Davis was discouraged about the stereotypical roles she was offered, most for “drug-addicted mothers.” Later, she writes, “I did a huge slate of what I call ‘best friends to white women’ roles.” For years, money worries dogged her. Even when working in theater, movies, and TV, she needed to supplement her income, and always, her family’s financial straits weighed heavily. Therapy finally helped Davis face the generational trauma that created her sense of “emotional abandonment.” About her professional triumphs, the author is modest: “It’s an eenie, meenie, miny, mo game of luck, relationships, chance, how long you’ve been out there, and sometimes talent.”

An unvarnished chronicle of hard-won, well-earned success.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940176382365
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 04/26/2022
Edition description: Unabridged
Sales rank: 240,396
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