Finding Me, Viola Davis- Reflection

Its been a couple of weeks since I finished Viola Davis' Grammy nominated memoir, Finding Me. Where do I begin? For some inexplicable reason, I was very drawn to her character the first time I watched How To Get Away With Murder. (If you have never seen that show & you enjoy drama murder mysteries, I urge you to watch it) She plays the lead, an incredibly complex lawyer who is constantly at battle, whether it be in court, in the bedroom, or the classroom. She evokes sympathy from an audience with the way she fully dedicates herself to becoming a character. This attorney in particular, Annalise Keating, survived calamities that parallel many real-life experiences of dark-skinned black women. Later in the series she goes on to challenge the Supreme Court for civil rights injustices as well. As I watched Viola on screen I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person she was in reality.

It is well known amongst my personal community that I admire Viola Davis as a human being. So, I was very excited to read the narrative of her life, through her words. I cried in the first short chapter of the book. The unfounded empathy I had for her long before knowing anything about her life, was finally realized. She translated her personal emotions into her work on screen & I connected to it. In her book, she goes into detail about growing up as a dark-skinned black girl in rural Rhode Island. The honest tales from her adolescence are riddled with tragedies and victories. She writes about how she became interested in acting and why it was also an escape for her. She is well versed in the arts as she attended Juilliard performing arts school and starred in countless plays on and off Broadway. More importantly, she shares how she overcame the mental anguish that her childhood imprinted on her. She goes on to highlight the role Annalise Keating had in her personal healing journey as well. It takes a profound person to open up to the world about their life story. I would like to thank Viola for gifting readers with her truth. She is not only a brilliant artist and humanitarian, but an inspiration to never stop moving forward.

My favorite quote from the book is written here:

"To be human is not to be God."