Instead she simply tells the facts - the truth - the ugly stories — unapologetic stories from early childhood to present day.

Yet through it all, including near death experiences, Michelle held on to her love of her son Joey. Without this memory to anchor her, I don't think she would have survived. Her only advice to us is, "If you see something, say something." That's the least we can do. Ms. Davis for who she was before fame is the reason I chose her as a hero. I knew this book would be important to me. Though didn’t expect this much. Thank you Ms. Davis. Being brave and vulnerable is painful for me still. Thank you for leading your story. I know I’m not the only one who is and will be impacted. Finding Me is a raw and honest memior about growing up in abject poverty with an abusive and alcoholic father. Surviving child sexual abuse/incest and coping with systemic racism to become an Oscar winning actress.Viola had me ‘hanging-by-a-tread’ when she took a 4 hour train ride — to audition - to get into Juilliard …. After getting past the early(nightmare) childhood years —-Viola began her career (so damn interesting of even how she got from A to B), in Central Falls, Rhode Island….

This book is a testament to resilience, hard work, and the power of owning your truth." Real SimpleFeeling like I was in the room listening to her story made me want to reach out and hug her and let her know that she is worthy and how her light shines through in the world. I just wanted her to know that she is loved, and I wanted to hug her family. I mean, look at her! She’s formidable, passionate and can do any acting role that’s given to her. She’s a f’ing badass. In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life changing decision to stop running forever.

Shame became something that haunted Viola as she grew up and transitioned into an adult trying to find her place in the world. At school, she struggled with personal hygiene and was once called into the school office because of her smell. Hygiene wasn’t something she was aware of as at home she didn’t have soap. She realised early on that her situation was different to others, and this filled her with shame, not knowing what to do about it. Paul and I haven’t even finished the first season of “How to Get Away With Murder”, yet….we are late to watch it….but we are loving it …….When an author manages to get you to relate to her, especially when your stories are wildly different, you know you've found something wonderful. People are ignorant- when they negatively bash Hollywood actors — generalize, and lumped everything into their own assumptions.

In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever. Can we all exude a bit more kindness and compassion and freaking assistance when someone is struggling? NO ONE can see the unimaginable battles each individual is facing in life. After listening to Finding Me, I also love her as a person. I’m also a survivor of a terrible childhood. One month into Castro's sentence, he was found dead in his cell, hanging by a bed sheet. It was ruled a suicide. "What a punk! I wanted him to sit in his cell and rot away a little bit at a time for the rest of his life, just like he forced me to do. 'He couldn't even deal with one month of the torture that he put us through,'" Michelle later told Gina.Paul listened to ‘parts’ - but not all of this book —-(he and I had several conversations—but he missed a lot of poignant parts)…. Some of what he said in court made me furious. He talked about his porn addiction and how he was abused when he was a kid. I had heard it all before. Plenty of people get abused, but they don't go out and kidnap three women. I didn't feel sorry for him; I was still angry." Astonishing. After reading Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland, I was curious why the third victim featured in it so little, although all of the girls seem to be on good terms and wish each other well. In reading this, it's clear that the perpetrator's first victim had already suffered so much before she ever even got into the car with Ariel Castro (bitter poverty, abuse, homelessness, having her son taken by CPS), and that she was isolated from the other girls and treated very differently. It makes total sense to me that she chose to write her own story, and I hope that she and her son have the chance to connect sometime when he's older.