“Finding Me: A Memoir” by Viola Davis is an account of the actress’ personal and professional life. Some of the experiences that she shares about trying to establish a career are similar to stories I’ve heard from others in her profession. But Davis’ personal journey was more interesting to me. I felt like I took more away from her personal story and found it incredibly inspirational. Fair warning that this is a tough read as there is some discussion of domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual assault, poverty, and a host of other uncomfortable topics. But all in all, I thought Finding Me was just an absolutely incredible read.
Category: <span>Book Reviews</span>
“When No One Is Watching” by Alyssa Cole is a thriller and romance that makes for an entertaining and somewhat lighter summer time read. The book centers on, Sydney, a young Black woman who decides to create a history tour to tell the story of her rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn, New York neighborhood. A troubling series of events leads to Sydney and other neighbors feeling unsafe and questioning their own sanity.
“Will” by Will Smith is an autobiography about the rapper and actor that charts his life from a childhood in West Philadelphia to being a Hollywood megastar. The book covers how he got into the emerging scene of hip hop music and then later went into acting. But there’s also a personal story throughout about him, his family, and the experiences that shaped him as a person. It’s an unexpectedly candid account of the ups and downs in Smith’s life that led to me finishing the book with a different perspective of the man and insightful questions for myself.
“Memphis” by Tara M. Stringfellow is at its core a book about family. The family we’re born into, as far as our blood ties, but then also family, from the perspective of community, the neighborhoods we grow up in, the environments in which we’re raised and how those relationships and interactions shape us as people. At the center of the novel are four female characters who are related by blood through mother daughter and sister sister relationships.
“Just Pursuit” by Laura Coates is a memoir about a Black female prosecutor and her time at the Department of Justice. You get the perspective of her coming into the agency as someone new to the office, and then a bit of insight as she gets a bit further along in her career. Now, to be clear, this isn’t a chronological story or a day-by-day account of her career at the Department of Justice. Instead, Coates picks out a few significant cases and discusses what was going on in her life at the time, the details of the case, and how the case affected her.