Finding Perspective

I like memoirs because of the access it gives me into someone’s life - albeit a heavily curated one - though an author’s insistence on candor and transparency can relieve the sense that it’s all just for show. Viola Davis’ Finding Me seems to do just that.

This book is a brutal account of her upbringing which I found to be so raw that at times, I felt the need to put the book down and give myself a break. Maybe because I’m a highly empathetic person combined with the strong and evocative imagery, but in reading it, I felt that I was seeing and experiencing every scene with an unusually vivid sense. The book’s voice is measured and feels authentic, and the book provides a balanced view of her childhood and life as an adult, famous and not. Bravo.

Strangely, it gave me heart. Much as I wish Ms. Davis hadn’t had to endure such adversity at such a young age - I have a sense she’d appreciate the thought, but thoroughly own her experience as being an indelible part of who she is today - it reminded me of what and who we can become in spite of our challenges. We are not locked into an unavoidable fate. We can and should, if desired, marshal all our strength to alter our course and fulfill our dreams and goals. For me, Maya Angelou said it best: