Viola Davis: The Woman King – Forever Our Queen

When Viola Davis’s book: Finding Me: A Memoir hit the shelves a few months ago, I was ecstatic. No – I was giddy. My anticipation for this book was like. . .

via GIPHY

You should know by now that reading or listening to memoirs and autobiographies (via Audible) is one of my favorite things to do. So, when I found out that Viola Davis would be telling her origin story, my year was instantly made. It also made Oprah’s year because not only did she choose the book for her book club, she invited Viola Davis to her estate in Maui to discuss it.

(Oprah Daily)

After seeing that interview, my expectations grew even more.

The day the book became available, I began listening to it. Upon finishing, it still took me a while to write about it. This masterpiece is so precious that I was too awestruck to conjure one word to tell of its goodness. Naturally, I did what anyone else would do in this situation – I listened to the book again.

Even now, I’m not sure how to review a book that is so raw and gripping. This memoir takes the reader on a tumultuous but beautiful journey.

It begins in little Viola’s childhood (this is how Davis refers to her younger self). The opening scene in the book is little Viola hurling expletives to the group of boys who chased her every day after school. She was bullied incessantly. And though her story is probably not unique in the grand scheme of things, it is quite amazing. Many people with similar backgrounds rarely overcome those kinds of odds. But not only did Davis overcome them, she rose to stratospheric heights.

I suppose what resonates with me most is how powerful the mind is. Little Viola believed that one day, she would live beyond her circumstances. Her sister planted that seed, but Davis watered it with every fiber of her being. Perhaps this is why millions of fans are so mesmerized by her work. She owns the screen – the big and small one.

(Screen Daily)

 

(Newsweek)

What she brings to her roles is nothing less than magical. Her gifts are untouchable. To quote, or should I say paraphrase Jemele Hill, “It’s hard to outshine or out act Denzel Washington, but Viola Davis did her thang in Fences.” Yeah – she said something like that. And I’m sure we can all agree. Davis’s performance in that movie was outstanding!

Just as I anticipated the release of her memoir, I also anxiously waited for the release of the powerful film, The Woman King. Need I say, the movie didn’t disappoint. At all. It. Is. All. That.

Period.

(The New York Times)

Knowing the road that Davis traveled to get to where she is today empowers me. It reinforces the importance of not allowing the past to define us. There is no universal law that says if a person comes from abject poverty and experiences myriad traumas that there is no hope for the future. On the contrary, some of the most successful (and the definition of this word is subjective) people in the world have overcome the most challenging life experiences. Some of which we cannot even fathom. But to rise from the ashes and manifest a life that dreams are made of is incredible.

Get the book. Read it. Listen to it. Then do it again and again. Viola Davis is undisputedly a beautifully crafted human being.

(Biograhphy.com)

I’m still not convinced that I have done this book justice without giving away too much, but I will leave you with this quote from one of the greats.

”I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. I have respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment. I’m here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I’m at, then I go forward to the next place.”

– Maya Angelou