Finding Me

by Viola Davis

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063037335
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/26/2022
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	4,696
File size:	8 MB

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.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Running 1

Chapter 2 My World 14

Chapter 3 Central Falls 38

Chapter 4 128 49

Chapter 5 Minefield 58

Chapter 6 My Calling 73

Chapter 7 The Sisterhood 80

Chapter 8 Secret, Silent, Shame 101

Chapter 9 The Muse 110

Chapter 10 The Starting Block 119

Chapter 11 Being Seen 127

Chapter 12 Taking Flight 138

Chapter 13 The Blooming 158

Chapter 14 Coming Into Me 185

Chapter 15 The Wake-Up 212

Chapter 16 Harnessing Bliss 259

Chapter 17 There She Is 311

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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’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

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

"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

[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

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

Associated Press

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

Real Simple

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

Los Angeles Times

"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

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.

Kirkus Reviews