Washington professes that this book is the result of her attempts to make sense of herself and her family and to accept the truth about who we are.

Her mother and her six siblings were born to Clifford Mancle and Isabelle, Jamaicans who, like many immigrants to this country, came through Ellis Island in 1927 and 1929, navigating the obstacles of not only class, but caste. She later developed ovarian cancer. Her father, Mancle looked like a northern European immigrant—fair-skinned with angular features. He was an alcoholic, and developed COPD.

There were moments in the book that magnified her middle-upper class upbringing. Her crime of not returning a library book was not uncommon nor an attention grabber, in my view, stealing a granny’s apple for a role in a movie in order to get the emotional effect for her character ‘Niecey’ in Lift. But, not having a clue of how to iron a dress was baffling to me. You have to be so sheltered from reality to know that an iron is involved in the process. Was there NO evidence or image of seeing her mother ironing clothes?

Her father was being investigated by the IRS involving real estate, drug dealers, and tax evasion. He pleaded guilty and received no prison time, only requiring him to pay penalties to the IRS and perform community service. She developed an eating disorder along with depression, and sought treatment. She had an ongoing relationship with a girl, lost her virginity in her junior year of high school (page 119). Drinking alcohol (whiskey sour), smoking weed, sex, and food to alter her brain chemistry. She was Lying to her parents, drinking and partying resulting from her feeling of loneliness and bickering between from her parents.

Washington spoke repeatedly about her character ‘Olivia Pope’ synonymous with ‘Scandal’ tv series to which she found her personal life sinking into Kerry Washington and vice versa.

Her decision to live abroad in India for meditation and religion to helped her improve her mental health, while learning the language, culture, practices of yoga and pilates. She had an abortion before her rising star to celebrity status. I noticed that she does not speak about her 3 year engagement to actor, producer, and activist, David Moscow. Perhaps a small mention on page 282 (Chapter 14 - Cues).

I watched the movie ‘Our Song’ released in 2000, a cultural drama about three inner city girls experiencing growing pains while on summer vacation, with hectic schedules make life changing decisions that encapsulates the untold difficulties of urban living.

The memoir covers a traverse of subjects, from her secret wedding to
Nnamdi Asomugha (actor, producer, and NFL athlete) on June 24, 2013, unplanned pregnancy that resulted in a heart breaking abortion, past trauma, journey of self-reflection, fertility issues, anxiety and panic attacks, eating disorder, sexual violations, family secrets, same sex, relationship, need for perfection, and a penchant for privacy,

I would have enjoyed pictures of her parents, husband, and other important moments in her life to get better visualization of her past and present. The symbolism and her love of water is what made the cover (design by Reisha Perlmutter) so beautiful. I am a fan of Kerry Washington and have watched her in her roles and activism as well as her political stances. I give her cheers for opening her private thoughts and life’s truth to learn and respect. ( )

Let's just get this out of the way: Fans of Ms. Washington will likely enjoy this memoir. She provides just enough tidbits from her work and praise of her collaborators to without really revealing anything much and peppers in some lite spirituality and imagery to make things seem properly analyzed.

If you're not necessarily a fan of Ms. Washington's work, but a fan of good writing, give this one a hard pass. It's an object lesson in how NOT to structure a memoir. At the end of the Prologue, her parents are about to reveal the deep, dark, shocking family secret . . . but YOU, Dear Reader, must wait about 250 pages to find out what it is. Unless, of course, you listened to any of the publicity interviews she did about the book, in which it was no secret at all.

Finally, after the secret is revealed (not really all that shocking, or all that uncommon, I'm sure), she spends about another 50-odd pages talking about how badly it affected her. And, frankly, saying a few things would be pretty hurtful to someone who raised a child who was not biologically theirs.

I don't know if this clumsy wait-and-see structure was the ghostwriter's doing, Ms. Washington's call, or the fault of an editor at Little, Brown who never should have let it happen, but be warned: this one's a clunker. ( )

Desperately trying to catch up on books I've read in 2023, before it turns 2024. Don't think I'll make it. Full review (hopefully) to come later. ( )

Could not put this book down. Read during the period leading up to Thanksgiving so lots of time to devote to reading I was able to speed through this book that I borrowed on Libby from my local library. The fact that there was 8 people waiting in line to read the book tells you how popular it is in my library! About the book, as a memoir I enjoyed the read of Kerry's life and career as an actress, being a black female in a male dominated industry provided great insight into her life, loves and work. Does cover the traumas that she suffered as a child as a result of the environment in which she was brought up in. I being a water lover and swimmer myself enjoyed her expression of her first experiences swimming at the community pool at her building in the Bronx and her life long love of swimming and the water. ( )