Reviewer: @bookedandbeing (Instagram)
Format: Trade Paperback
Kerry Washington’s memoir, Thicker Than Water, is a riveting exploration of her life that left me captivated from start to finish.
In a literary landscape saturated with celebrity memoirs, Washington’s stands out for its raw honesty and emotional depth. I really tried to approach this memoir with an impartial mindset (because what is there not to love about the beautiful and talented Kerry Washington?!), yet I found it to be a raw, provocative, and emotionally charged roller coaster.
Kerry holds a special resonance for thespians and creatives, offering a unique insight into the transformative power of acting. One of the standout aspects is Kerry’s candid revelation about using acting as a refuge—a sanctuary where she could escape from the burdens of her own life, laden with lies and secrets.
The revelation that acting served as a means for her to be someone else, to escape the confines of her own truth, adds a layer of depth to the book. It underscores the therapeutic nature of the stage, where actors can temporarily shed their own struggles and immerse themselves in alternate realities.
The narrative beautifully unfolds the intricate dynamics of Kerry’s relationship with her mother, portraying the removal of an invisible veil through honesty. I resonated deeply with the themes of trust in intuition and the acknowledgment of life’s subtle “cues” shaping our paths.
Chapter 13, “Revelation,” stands out as the pinnacle of the memoir, unveiling the intense journey Kerry undergoes in discovering the truth behind her conception through artificial insemination. The initial resistance from her father to undergo a DNA test stirred my emotions, but the eventual understanding of societal pressures added layers of compassion. The chapter serves as a profound lesson in empathy for the unspoken struggles men face, shedding light on the complexities of parent-child relationships.
Kerry’s ability to weave a narrative around the complexities of family dynamics, secrets, and lies resonates and emphasizes the transformative power of truth and its role in fostering unconditional love.
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