Book SummaryFinding Me, by Viola Davis

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Finding Me

Finding Me, actor and film producer Viola Davis’s memoir published in 2022, recounts her journey from the depths of poverty to the heights of Hollywood stardom. In her memoir, Davis explains how acting served as a driving force in her life and a means to self-realization, and she writes candidly about her resilience in the face of poverty, abuse, and racial discrimination. Through her story, Davis addresses broader themes of generational trauma, racism, perseverance, and the challenge of learning self-love in a world that doesn’t always love you back.

Davis is well-known for her work in film, television, and theater. She’s...

Finding Me Summary A Journey to Find Self-Love

According to Davis, there’s a representative story from her childhood that’s shaped much of her life. When she was in third grade, she would race home from school every day chased by a group of mostly white boys. The boys would run after her, throwing bricks and stones, calling her the n-word, and telling her how ugly she was. When Viola told her mother, her mom said that Viola had to stop running and stand up for herself. And the next day, she did.

But, as Davis explains, she still sometimes feels like that little girl—always running, trying to fit in, and believing herself unworthy. According to Davis, her life’s work has been about learning to love herself and acknowledging the beauty and strength of her younger self.

The Long-Term Impact of Racial Trauma

Throughout the memoir, Davis explores how experiences of racial trauma have impacted her self-perception and identity. In *Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?,...

Finding Me Summary Childhood

Davis was born on August 11, 1965 in St. Matthews, South Carolina in the same one-room house where her maternal grandparents had lived when they worked as sharecroppers on a plantation. Davis’s mother, born Mae Alice but known to Davis as MaMama, was the oldest of 18 children, only 11 of whom survived to adulthood. Davis’s father, Dan Davis, was also born in St. Matthews, but he ran away from home at 15 before finding work as a horse groomer. Neither of Davis’s parents continued their education past middle school, and Davis suspects her father stopped attending school as early as second grade.

Historical Context: Sharecropping

The system of sharecropping emerged in the American South in the late 1860s, following the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. Sharecropping replaced the plantation economy after slavery ended, offering freed African American slaves and poor whites a chance to work land in exchange for a share of the crops, not wages. This setup meant they'd agree with the landowners on how to split the harvest, but often, after...

Finding Me Summary The Dream

Davis says she figured out what she wanted to be when she was about 9 years old. One night, while watching TV, Davis saw Cicely Tyson performing in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Davis had never seen a dark-skinned actor before—someone that looked like her. It was then that Davis knew she wanted to be an actor.

(Shortform note: Cicely Tyson was a trailblazing American actress and model whose career spanned more than seven decades. Like Davis, Tyson was known for her commitment to portraying African American women with dignity and complexity, refusing parts that perpetuated stereotypes. She received an Oscar nomination for her role in Sounder (1972) and an Emmy for her performance in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974). Tyson's impact on Davis came full circle when Tyson played the role of Annalise Keating’s stubborn and fiercely loving mother on *[How To Get Away With...

Finding Me Summary Early Career

Davis became committed to becoming an actor, taking advantage of every opportunity she could to pursue her dream career. In this section, we’ll describe the early years of Davis’s acting career.

Mentorship

When Davis was 14, she got involved with Upward Bound, a college preparatory program for underserved high school students. She participated in a six-week academic summer program in which she lived on a college campus and took drama as an extracurricular. There she met Ron Stetson, an actor and instructor at Upward Bound, who not only taught Davis the fundamentals of acting but also helped her believe that she was a true artist, both capable and worthy of success. Stetson provided Davis, and other students, a space to be themselves where they were fully accepted and supported.

(Shortform note: The Upward Bound program is a federally funded educational initiative in the United States that aims to provide support and opportunities for underserved high school students. Established as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty in 1964,...

Finding Me Summary Life as a Working Actor

Even after being booked by a talent agency, Davis’s career didn’t take off right away. She struggled to get auditions and book parts. Davis reflects that many successful actors talk about not compromising their values, but when you’re struggling to make rent, you don’t always have a choice in the roles you take. She explains that it’s a privilege to be able to choose the parts you play.

(Shortform note: Davis’s initial struggles to find work, despite being represented by a talent agency, underscore the precarious nature of acting as a career path where job security is virtually nonexistent and financial pressures are a constant. As Davis describes, the majority of working actors have to string together roles—often sporadically offered—with no guarantee of a steady income. A report from the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) revealed that the median income of its members is $46,960. For many, this means living paycheck to paycheck, with the specter of unemployment always looming.)

Moreover,...

Finding Me Summary Finding Love

Davis was grateful she took the leap to join the cast because she met her future husband, Julius Tennon, on the set of City of Angels three weeks after moving to LA. He gave her his card, but it took her six weeks to work up the confidence to call.

(Shortform note: Before meeting Davis, Tennon had an established career in the entertainment industry. He appeared in numerous television shows and films, including guest roles in popular series such as Criminal Minds, The Practice, and Friday Night Lights. Tennon also had roles in films like Dazed and Confused and Hard Target. Additionally, he had experience as a producer, working on projects like the documentary "The Start of Dreams." While not as well-known as Davis, Tennon remains active in the entertainment industry, balancing his acting work with his other roles as a producer and writer.)

According to Davis, she became happier and more self-confident after she began dating Tennon. In earlier relationships, Davis had never felt like a priority to the men she dated, but Tennon was caring and attentive and made Davis feel wholly loved.

(Shortform note: The link between...

Finding Me Summary Making It

Davis explains that throughout her career, she was consistently offered roles that were underdeveloped—women who were simply caricatures, stereotypes, or lacking in depth. Therefore, Davis took it upon herself to inject these roles with as much humanity as she could, demonstrating her commitment to bringing authentic, multidimensional characters to life, despite the limitations of the roles she was offered.

A History of Black Stereotypes in Film

​​From the early 20th century, Black characters in film were largely trapped in demeaning roles that perpetuated deeply embedded racist stereotypes. D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915) is a prime example, as the movie glorified the Ku Klux Klan while depicting African Americans as subservient, violent, and unintelligent.

The Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and '30s brought advancements in Black cinema, with directors like Oscar Micheaux telling stories featuring Black professionals. By the mid-20th century, the Civil Rights Movement had begun to influence Hollywood, slowly eroding the most egregious stereotypes and introducing more complex roles for Black...

Finding Me Summary The Healing Power of Self-Love

While Davis is committed to supporting others, she speaks often about the importance of self-love and prioritizing your own wants and needs. Davis reflects on her struggles with self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy rooted in the racism and trauma she experienced, especially as a young child.

Davis emphasizes the significance of setting boundaries, prioritizing self-care, and embracing vulnerability as key components of self-love. She also discusses the importance of therapy and self-reflection in the healing process. She shares how seeking professional help allowed her to confront and heal from both the immediate and long-lasting effects of trauma. Through therapy, Davis gained tools to address the negative patterns and behaviors that stemmed from her traumatic experiences, allowing her to break free...

Shortform Exercise: Reflect on Black Women’s Representation in the Media

In Finding Me, Viola Davis shares her journey navigating the complex landscape of Hollywood, shedding light on the broader issue of representation in media, especially for Black women.

Reflect on the current landscape of media and entertainment. How are Black women represented in the movies, TV shows, and other media you consume? Are these representations generally positive, negative, or stereotypical? Give examples to support your observations.

Shortform Exercise: Be the Love of Your Life

Self-love is the central theme of Davis’s memoir. She has been quoted as saying, “you are the love of your life.”

Reflect on the idea that "you are the love of your life." What does this mean? What would it look like to treat yourself like the love of your life?