Oprah Winfrey has selected actor Viola Davis’ memoir, Finding Me, as the latest pick for her book club.
Davis’ memoir tells the story of her journey from a childhood marked by poverty and abuse to her career as one of America’s most acclaimed actors, winner of an Academy Award for her performance in Fences. A critic for Kirkus called Finding Me “an unvarnished chronicle of hard-won, well-earned success.”
Davis describes her book as “a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.”
“This breathtaking memoir covers each chapter of Davis’ remarkable life, from the adversity and trauma of her childhood years to Juilliard, Broadway, Hollywood and beyond,” Winfrey wrote on Instagram. “A powerful journey of ambition, love, and healing, ‘Finding Me’ reminds us of the life-changing power of radical honesty and embracing even the scariest, messiest parts of who we are.”
In an interview with the New York Times, Davis discussed the experience of narrating the audiobook version of her memoir.
“I felt I was living through those moments with every word I spoke,” she said. “It made me question how I remember things. It also made me celebrate what I did remember and what I was able to express. More important it brought me to a very powerful realization. And that is that the past no longer exists. It has no power to hurt me anymore.”
Finding Me is scheduled for publication next Tuesday by HarperOne.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
