3.75 stars. This is not a bad read, but I gave it 3 stars because I wanted more from it. Washington has trauma in her childhood, and when her parents drop a huge family secret on her as an adult, she's left scrambling to figure out who she really is. The trauma exploration is the strong point of this memoir, and Washington is brave in revealing her inner demons. I did feel like she mentioned her history of eating disorders so many times, but it wasn't fully examined. I also feel like she didn't talk much about what it's like to be a Black woman in the film industry. What I didn't like: honestly, the Hollywood tea. I did not care for the chapters about her filming experiences and her meteoric rise with Scandal.

Simply beautiful!

A wonderfully intimate telling of her life’s journey. Discussions of what family really means

4.5 this woman has lived more life than most people I know put together! what an incredible person. worth the wait

I think I wanted more from this book than what it gave me. It wasn’t bad but I expected more. Perhaps that wasn’t fair.

I listened to this as an audio book and can’t imagine having experienced it any other way. Wow.

It feels wrong to me to rate memoirs, but this was captivating and I now feel a strong urge to watch every movie or show Kerry Washington has ever been in.

2.5 stars // I wanted to like this book because I love Kerry and her work. But I was pretty bored and her story seemed to focus a lot on her parents, which by the end of it made sense why.

I love a good memoir. Kerry Washington was a favorite prior to me reading this. And will continue now after. Truly an inspiration.