[BOOK REVIEW ~ AUS]
Viola Davis (Hachette Australia: Coronet) 2022, 291pp, RRP $55.00 (hardback); $32.99 (paperback); $15.99 (e-Book)
The Oscar, Emmy and Tony-winning Davis’ autobiography is rough, even brutal, and so unflinching that it’s, at times, pretty hard to read.
Growing up in Central Falls, Rhode Island, Davis and her five siblings lived for years in a succession of rundown residences that lacked air-conditioning and proper plumbing, and frequently with rats that bit the kids while they slept. There was also shocking abuse in the family, as their alcoholic Dad routinely beat their Mom and then vanished for long periods, and all this while they endured racist taunts and violence at school and in the community.
Other life stories might delve into the uglier side of the subject’s youth, but here Davis discusses memories you don’t always find in other books: how she was shunned by schoolmates and teachers due to terrible personal hygiene; how she was abused sexually; and how all this trauma and shame caused PTSD at a young age, which led to many humiliating years of bed-wetting.
For Viola, the chance to perform seemed one of her very few options, and it’s again interesting that she basically fell into the profession, and then worked damn hard to claw her way up. And, after all the horror of her youth, it’s a relief to hear about her successes on Broadway, and in movies including Fences and the two Suicide Squads, and how she remains extremely close to her remaining family.
Yes, they’re survivors.
Dave Bradley
This title is available through the Hachette Australia website. Click HERE to purchase your copy.
