Around the Way Girl by Taraji P. Henson: A Book Review by Stella Inabo
Memoirs take you from your chair to and through the life of the author. When well written, you feel every pain and scar and you laugh with them at triumphs and successes.
When I reached the last page of Around the Way Girl, I looked at Taraji in a different light. Because I know her struggle I appreciate how much she has done and how far that has taken her.
In thirteen chapters, Taraji talks about family, love, motherhood, education and following her dreams to the big screen. A large chunk of her book is about family. The first thing I noticed was her strong love for her father. To the reader, it would no sense why she would be so affectionate of a man who left her mother and kidnapped her when she was little but yet she successfully made me appreciate him and see his good side. She focuses on the life lessons she learned from him and how they contributed to her success as an individual, mother, and actress.
Taraji attributes a lot of her right choices to her father. When she gave up the arts for an engineering major, her father was the voice of reason that pointed her back to the arts. As a single mother, he reminded her of her Hollywood dreams and pushed her to move to Los Angeles. He was there in a heartbeat to warn off her father’s child when he turned abusive. Taraji made it clear that his constant support and care have taken her very far.
Her struggles raising a child alone take a prominent space in the book, with two chapters on this topic. Through these chapters, she touches on racism and on single motherhood. Asides from family, friends have also played a huge role in making Taraji the woman that she is today. My Squad gives a sneak peek into her inner circle and how she draws strength from them.
My best chapter was, Breathing Life into Art in which she explained how she is able to become the characters she plays. She lets us in on her process of becoming Shug in Hustle & Flow. It is hard not to respect such dedication.
Taraji is unapologetically black in her book. She cusses, she is loud (I felt her screaming in my head in some parts) and she is dramatic. Yet she begs not to be placed in a box of stereotypes. This has happened countless times with her losing roles because of how people perceive her. She talks about being black in Hollywood, addressing the underpayment of actresses of color in the chapter, On Being a Black Woman in Hollywood. But in the end, she is 45 and triumphant. A Grammy Awards nominee and a proud mother. She is not yet quite satisfied, still looking forward to what life will bring.
What I learned from Around the Way Girl
1. to give your art every part of you that is what distinguishes the professional from the con artist.
2. I have learned the value of family and friends and that we should hold them close because we will not have them forever.
3. Disappointments and boxes exist but it is up to us to grieve, move on and keep fighting.
Around the Way Girl is a beautiful book. A tad bit superfluous in some places but genuine and heartwarming in others. I would recommend you read it with a box of tissues beside you.
Have you read my review on Easy Motion Tourist by Leye Adenle yet? Do you have any books you want me to write a review on? Let me know in the comment section.
