First published 2023
Kerry Washington opens her memoir with a single text message received during an ordinary afternoon drive through Los Angeles. That message destroys everything she believed about her identity and launches her into a journey of self-discovery. Washington takes readers through her childhood traumas, which she learned to hide, and her rise from struggling artist to acclaimed actor and political advocate. She writes about her roles as mother, daughter, and wife alongside her public career. The book traces how she found mentors, built her acting career, and stepped into activism. Washington examines the central questions that drove her search: Who am I? What defines my authentic self? How do I create genuine connection and belonging? She reveals how facing the truth about her identity, however painful, led her to discover her real self and find deeper meaning in her relationships and work.
Genres: autobiography, contemporary, memoir, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, personal-journey
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown Spark
Content warnings: abuse, mental-illness