Finding Me: An Oprah's Book Club Pick

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I could write on and on about this memoir but I'm not going to. There is so much more that is said in this memoir that I couldn't even begin to write about. I thank Michelle on her absolute bravery in revealing her story to the public. In doing so I hope it only strengthens her resolve to continue on being free, living life for herself and knowing that she is a powerful and amazingly strong woman. I hope and pray that all your scars, mental and physical, heal.

Loving and studying everything criminology, this memoir just blew my mind completely out of the water.Viola’s fortitude and determination reminds me of The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Eger. Through sheer grit, relentless honesty, serious reflection, and courage, Viola works her way through the despair and trauma of her childhood and finds that she can love herself and have a life worth living. Our past doesn’t need to define us. Recommending Finding Me I was always on the outside of Juilliard because I wasn’t on the inside of me. I was fighting an ideology about what an actor was, and it was all born in the depth of white superiority.” Then, shortly before Viola graduated high school, she was selected to go to Miami, Florida for the 'Arts Recognition and Talent Search' competition. There Viola was named a 'Promising Young Artist' which eventually led to a scholarship to Rhode Island College. 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 and my strength, but also to finding my voice in a world that didn't always see me.

Michelle's life even before she was kidnapped was filled with hardship. She had to survive poverty, sexual abuse, and be a caretaker to her younger siblings while growing up. If you followed the case then you already know that the monster who did this killed himself not long after being sentenced to life on parole and pleading guilty. The fact that he killed himself rather than facing a life in jail, is really frustrating and makes me angry. But if Michelle can find forgiveness for him, then I find comfort in knowing that they are all alive and free.This must be one of the most straightforward and brutally honest memoirs I have had the pleasure of reading. Viola’s childhood was tough- and it wasn’t just that her family was poor- but that she lived in a home where substance abuse and violence prevailed. Years later, a conversation I had on the set of Suicide Squad with Will Smith was an “aha” moment. Will asked me, “Viola, who are you?” What a talent, what a career, what a life, and what a treat to relive it all with this most down-to-earth of demigods.