Viola Davis opens up about ‘traumatic’ instances of bullying in new memoir

Viola Davis highlights the previously ‘hidden’ parts of her story in her upcoming memoir.

She started by admitting that she has ‘always’ been proud of her humble beginnings and has ‘never been afraid’ of living her truth.

The memoir titled, Finding Me talks of life moments where she had rocks thrown at her for being Black, dumpster dove for maggot-infested food and reeked of urine because of a lack of clean laundry, on mornings when she had wet the bed.

Speaking of those life moments with People magazine Viola admitted, “Everything I've experienced is what connects me to the world. It's given me an extraordinary sense of compassion. It's reconciling that young girl in me and healing from the past — and finding a home.”

“I always thought acting defined my life, and it doesn't. What people in the world tell you is that if you find that thing that you do, that you are great at, then that's it.”

“And you have money in the bank, and you have a house, and you have a cute husband, and he loves you and your kid, that's it. And it's not.”

“I was still hiding a huge part of my story,” she admitted. “It's almost like I reinvented all the things that I wanted to and tossed away the rest of it.”

“You know when you look at pictures down memory lane, and you see it differently. I'm looking at little Viola, and I see how strong she was and how she was just a spitfire. I think that's why I wrote the book that if I somehow explored it, unpacked those memories, resolving them, that somehow I could find my peace.”