Detail
Title: Just as I Am ISBN: 9780062931061Published January 26th 2021 by HarperCollins Publishers · Hardcover 432 pages
Genre: Autobiography, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Cultural, African American, Feminism, Race, Womens
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User Reviews
Bree Hill
‘Just walking through this life as a Black person, and actually surviving that, was and still is an ovation worthy performance.’
I’m so in awe of what I just read and the timeliness of its release. Cicely Tyson is a Giant. She’s timeless. The concept of time is so crazy; here is a woman who was stirring a pot of sauce one moment and on the floor crying because she’d learned that Dr. Martin Luther King had been assassinated in Memphis and Also got to see President Barack Obama become the first black President of the United States, was even given an award by him. One of those amazing memoirs by someone who has seen ALOT!
‘When someone sees you headed in a direction, and that person throws a brick in the road, that is the precise moment to forge onward, with greater velocity, toward your destination.’
Just As I Am is told so coolly and with such Grace. I really think it’s a must read!
#AskMissPatience
Bought this Hardcover version on 1/26/21 while Ms. Tyson was being interviewed by Gayle King.
As soon as I heard Ms. Tyson published Just As I Am: A Memoir in the course of her speaking immediately purchased the book to read and be a reviewer.
When I found out she passed away today before the book arrived have been mourning and reflecting. She’s been someone I've admired for many reasons. Not just as a star.
Why I am so interested in the book is for her perspective on life. I'm in my mid-fifties and am contemplating the rest of my days. What can I do now to continue striving for the best?
Before jumping on here to do an unusually different review, prereading, downloaded the audible version to start today and finish by tomorrow. Since it's an evening I'm not going to be able to stay up long enough to finish.
Narrated by Viola Davis, Cecily Tyson herself, and Robin Miles.
OH MY GOODNESS.
As if Viola Davis is not enough as the narrator. This Queen of empathy and overcoming so much is one of my heroes for personal reasons.
Ms. Tyson's is also reading. I’m not certain why I'm surprised. I've never been SO EXCITED to listen to a book.
Robin Miles is topping off this trio narrating. I'm just blown away.
Being able to hear Ms. Tyson speak her truth will be one of the greatest moments in my literary life.
Upon leaving the earth from her body less than 24 hours ago, Ms. Tyson has left me her spirit. Who she truly is. To listen, know, and learn from in ways I can only imagine.
Always admiring her for grace and poise as an actress. Her presence always drew me in.
Ms. Tyson I truly didn't want you to go quite yet. I know no one wanted you to ever go.
Since you have chosen this time, thank you for leaving your voice with this work. I will cherish these moments with you for the rest of my life.
Thank you for being such a brave gift. I hope to aspire to be more upon hearing your example.
Love, Patience Phillips
----update ---- later same day
Listening to Viola Davis share the forward and Cecily Tyson share ”Introduction: This Life” broke me down.
Couldn't wait for the hardcover to arrive I ordered on the 26th upon hearing Ms. Tyson passed today.
So glad I bought the Audible version.
Hearing her voice one last time on the last day of her life talking to me. How could she have known how much I needed this? How much we all do at such a time as this.
Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
On a side note, normally listen to audiobooks on 2x’s the speed.
1x for Viola and Ms. Tyson. I will listen to them over and over and over again.
If you don't know about Viola Davis’s childhood and how she helps food insecure children you're about to hear the raw truth.
I'd first heard her story reading Brene’ Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. Became one of my heroes.
This story weaves so beautifully with Ms. Tyson’s in an extraordinary way.
If you don't believe in miracles already you're about to
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💯
chantel nouseforaname
Ms. Cicely Tyson lived a L I F E !
Ms. Tyson has lived through so much and busted open so 👏🏾many 👏🏾doors👏🏾!!!
It was a true joy to read this work, she's given us the gift of her story to add to the legacy and Black History of the screen and stage.
Ms. Tyson highlights the resiliency of Black women, by sharing the story and accomplishments of not only her own dreams, but the lives of her mother, and sister, aunts, peers, and friends. She shows the way that these women around her cut their way through the harshness of life to create their own futures in spite of the roadblocks placed in our way due to domestic violence, racism, and sexism. She speaks of the progress the world has made and the immeasurable trades made for progress — the loss of great leaders, family, and friends.
Her reflections on her relationship and marriage to Miles Davis details the complexity of loving someone who is having a tumultuous relationship with themselves. It also details the complexity of being a woman dealing with a man who doesn't seem capable of being who you need them to be or who they promised you that they would be.
Filled with pivotal moments in history; there was a lot to learn in Just As I Am — as Ms.Tyson, at 96 years old, had a lot to share. It felt like a love letter at points and a thank you letter at other points.
The photos were amazing and remarkable at the end.
Rest in power Ms. Tyson.
Elyse Walters
Audiobook…read by Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis, & Robin Miles
…..16 hours and 8 minutes
ALL VOICES WERE TOP NOTCH.
“The Story of the Actress Who Graced The Stage and Screen for Six Decades”……died Jan. 28th, 2021….at age 96. (two days after this autobiography was released).
Geee….18,039 overall 5 star reviews!
……ooh la la….jeezie-gracious-wowzer…..the people got it right!!
Cicely Tyson was a phenomenal actress…in great films.
…. She bypassed age, gender, and racial discriminations!
She died as a highly respected distinguish African-American legend….(that’s a pretty good life)….
I enjoyed learning about Cicely’s values, her mom’s, her family, her relationship with the Church — being at the center of her life as a child -
Between her mother and Church, strong values were being planted….it’s where her core was built.
….It was fascinating to be introduced to the way Cicely’s got her start, her career, in Hollywood….a stand for her rights, belief in herself from the get-go.
Lots of great history and stories- her marriages - her work - etc.
I simply enjoyed hearing all the things Cicely had to say——(something about everything )- and my God….I believed every word of advice she gave to others)….
Cicely was a natural born influencer - before social media influencers started influencing the world’s population.
Cicely had me thinking I should carry Cayenne Pepper in my purse to sprinkle on any food that I eat from a restaurant.
Oh….and she gave us the “drink-more-water” advice too!
She had a point! Thirst decreases as we age ….and dehydration is a real concern.
I’m feeling a need to drink some water just thinking about this. I’m one of the guilty ones who must make myself drink more water.
Tea….I do drink a lot of tea…. But tea can actually dehydrate —
So, okay, Ms. Cicely Tyson…(if you can hear me)…
THANK YOU …. I’ll make a better effort to drink more water each day!
Oh…..
And….
I even wanted to be a black woman - so I could be included in their special talk (thankfully we white folks were allowed to listen in) ….lol
BUT
MOST…
I fell in love getting to know Cicely more. Such a beautiful human being.
I admire the dynamic positive strength and spirit, she had!
May Cicely Tyson > Rest In Peace.
Carole
Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson is the telling of a life well-lived. What a woman and what a life. I listened to the audio version which was read by Tyson. It is a fairly long book but the author, well into her nineties, read almost all of it. What a gift that was, hearing about her life in her own words and her own voice. We learn about how she grew up. She speaks to us about the loves of her life. And she takes us through her long career as an actor. This is a woman with the principles that follow her throughout her life. There is not one boring moment here. The telling is detailed but it is not a gossipy biography. She has been a role model for so many women and her body of work will live on for years to come. Cicely Tyson passed away shortly after the publication of this book, leaving behind many life lessons. Brava!
Read In Colour
It's fitting that Aretha Franklin's version of Mary, Don't You Weep started playing in the background as I began this review because Aretha was a dear friend of Ms. Tyson and because I found myself crying unexpectedly as I finished her memoir. And I say unexpectedly because I shed no tears when her death was first announced. In my mind, she'd lived a long and fascinating life and deserved to rest in eternal peace. So why did wrapping up her book move me so much?
The first time I saw Cicely Tyson I was in the second grade and she was on my TV screen playing Binta, the mother of Kunta Kinte. I didn't know who she was, but I knew her hair was like nothing I'd seen on TV - Bantu knots she asked her hairdresser to replicate in homage to women she'd met in previous travels to countries in Africa. There were so many stars in Roots: OJ Simpson (back when we still claimed him), Maya Angelou, Leslie Uggams, Ben Vereen, etc. But Ms. Tyson's portrayal stood out.
Immersing herself in her roles to the point where she wore her characters like a second skin was the norm for her. From the raspy voice she took on in her portrayal of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, shunning the call for an older actress to provide the voiceover, to her claiming the role of Mrs. Carrie Watts back in 1985 and patiently waiting for it to come to fruition in 2012 with first the Broadway production of The Trip to Bountiful and then the Lifetime TV production, she breathed life into her roles. Her acting is so convincing as Jane Pittman that arguments arise on social media at least once a year as to whether or not Ms. Pittman was a real person. (She was not.)
Who was Ms. Tyson when she wasn't acting? She was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a friend and a mother - the last role being one she says has been rewarding, but also a journey requiring continuous work. Twice married, she readily admits that while she didn't love her first husband, Miles Davis was the love of her life. Growing up in East St. Louis, I still remember when Longfellow Elementary School was renamed for Miles Davis and he and Ms. Tyson came to town for the ceremony. Much has been written about the volatility of their relationship. You'll have to read the book to understand their love story, which started over 20 years before they ever married.
Toward the end of the book, Ms. Tyson says "... I'm still here because God hasn't finished with me. And when I've completed my job, he'll take me." Imagine not starting your acting career until you're 30 and continuing to act until your last days. While the rest of us contemplate retirement at 65, Ms. Tyson simply was not having it! Having inspired generations through her roles, through her life story, through her friendship, through her generous spirit and wanting to do even more, I have to believe God looked down on her one last time and said, well done, good and faithful servant.
Linda Galella
My mother’s secret wasn’t any single ingredient. Her creations were a symphony of flavors, blended together perfectly with love immeasurably.”
That quote was in reference to a broth Cicely Tyson’s mother made. It’s also about her daughter and her family. It’s an apt description of this book as well. The writing is exquisite and the memories Tyson shares are full of wisdom. She lays bare her childhood and how the difficult relationship between her parents and she and them colored her own relationships and what she did about it.
Lots of Hollywood and N. Y. stars make an appearance as they were woven thru and impacted Cicley’s life and career. Her tumultuous relationship with Miles Davis has a much softer presentation, (than other accounts that I’ve read), with her gracious reflection applied. The vignettes with her various friends are some of the most heartwarming I’ve read in an autobiography. They’re not mushy-gushy, that’s not her style; what they are is meaningful observation. Tyson shares the true value of her friendships - pain, joy, humor and hope; really lovely.
Cicely is prescient and speaks about it as well as her abiding, guiding, life long faith; the single constant in her almost century long life. A mix of Episcopal, Catholic and Baptist from birth, her religious roots held fast and to this day, she remains an active congregant at an Abyssinian church in N. Y. The Divine leading in Cicely’s life was the strongest influence to her success, she followed the prompting: “God, the Source of all time, Creator of all life, has forever been directing mine.”
This is one of those books you’re just going to have to read for yourself. If you’re a fan of Ms. Tyson, you’ll devour it. If you’re a movie/tv history fan, it will be satisfying and highly informative, especially regarding black artists. There are racial discrimination issues to ponder from almost a century that are presented without political histrionics. Also, you can find advice on just about any other topic including diet and health - quite a volume, to be sure!
A captivating read from start to finish📚
Kyle Erickson
This book is well written and a thorough account of a well-lived life. Unfortunately it gets only three stars from me for entirely subjective reasons. Firstly, I found Cicely most unlikeable. Even when I agreed with her, I usually thought she was going about whatever situation in an irritating/stubborn manner, but her life circumstances were just so utterly different from mine that I can't fault her for that, but it affected the narrative.
And the amount of supposed divine intervention knocked this down an entire star for me. Look, some people are religious, and I get it. I've read religious memoirs before. They usually don't bother me. But EVERYTHING is some sort of Godly intervention to keep Cicely on the path of the Good and her supposed psychic powers just continously grated me. I literally rolled my eyes when Miles Davis dies and she leaves a salon and falls in the street and still thinks, 30 years after his death, that Miles's spirit was trying to kill her and that God intervened just in time to stop him. It was just too much. I understand that a woman born in the 1920s is pretty likely to be deeply religious, but I've always found this element of religion to be ridiculously self-righteous. Couldn't you, with 30 years of hindsight, realized that you probably just fell in the street because you were shocked and upset at his death?
All in all, most people will really enjoy this, it is a very in-depth look at her life and some of the social issues of her time. Subjectively though I just could not get into it at times. One last criticism, she has glowing praise for Bill Cosby for this entire book, and never once mentions what happens to him, but mentions way more recent things like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd? This just seems very strange to me; even a brief sentence about Cosby would have been sufficient, no need to dwell.
Tamyka
I love Cicely Tyson. She had a long beautiful life and an amazing career. The good thing about this book is the historical, political, and social context mixed within it. She’s lived so long and to see her perspective of significant historical events was a real treat because I find most of my most valuable understanding of the life experiences of Black women throughout history comes from memoirs, autobiographies, and historical fiction and historical romance. The 4 stars may be petty but the Miles Davis story just really bothered me which isn’t fair cause that was her real life. That the greatest love of her life was traumatic, abusive, and filled with mistreatment is sad for me cause she seemed like a phenomenal woman and she didn’t deserve that. Anyways it’s a great memoir and I highly recommend.
Maryam
50,000+ stars
Required reading, "on my bucket list" type of book. The audiobook is the way to go, it added another dimension to the experience that I can't quite describe. It was like drinking a cup of chai tea while snuggling up in those soft cotton-y blankets in bed, not wanting to get up, but wanting to just simply stay in the warm, cozy moment. Cicely Tyson is royalty and I could hear my mother and my grandmother's stories through her.
I am truly grateful that this book was finished before she passed away (rest in power, Cicely) and I can purchase it and keep it close to me whenever. The lessons, vulnerability, power, and sweetness that I found in this book are unlike any I have read in a memoir thus far. Go and listen to her story, you won't be disappointed I promise you.
Thank you Cicely.
Erin
Cicely Tyson is, was, and will always be a legend.
Cicely Tyson was just always one of those actors that was always around. I have no memory of the first movie I saw her in. It probably happened when I was a infant. My mom, my aunt and my grandma were always watching her movies or shows. She was such a large part of my life that I never really gave her much thought. I just knew that if I saw that Cicely Tyson was in something, I was going to watch it.
• Roots
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• The Autobiography of Jane Pittman
• Bustin Loose
• The Trip to Bountiful
• How to Get Away With Murder
• Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Those are just a few items on her resume. To name them all would make this review much too long. Ms. Tyson was awarded many trophies in her lifetime including 3 Emmy's, a Tony and an honorary Oscar. She died shortly after the release of this book but she talks about knowing her time on this earth was coming to a close(I mean she died at 96.So it was good run). She doesn't sugarcoat anything her relationship with Miles Davis was a doozy( I need to read his autobiography because she says he trashes her in it). She lived her life without regrets which is how I live mine as well( hopefully I can make it to my 90's).
I didn't know anything about Cicely Tyson's life before picking up this book, except that she was married to Miles Davis. I knew I loved her as an actress but now I love her as a person as well.
Cicely Tyson lived life her way and it seems like when she went home to our Lord she did it knowing that she left this world a little bit better than when she arrived.
All the stars!!!
A Must Read!
Colleen Foster
Whoa, what can I say about this book. I was expecting so much detail about her life and the things that had happened to her. I truly enjoyed this book. I love the fact that she was raw and honest in this book. This book made me laugh and at times brought me to tears. This book was worth the hype and so much more.
La Loves a Little Tea and Books
What a woman!
What a life!
I not only highly recommend this memoir, but if you can, listen to her as she tells her stories with its challenges, wins, losses, and battles. You'll learn more than you can ever grasp.
What an experience! Thank you, Ms. Tyson, and rest in tremendous power.
5/5
P.S. I took my time reading this book because her voice invited me to pull a chair and listen. So, I wanted to take my time savoring each syllable, knowing that it would be my last moment with her, outside of her films, theater, and television works.
Louis Muñoz
I cannot praise this book enough. My life was changed when I saw "The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman" when I was 13 years old, and Cicely Tyson elevated our existence. To hear her story, her many stories, has inspired me anew, and I can only say "thank you," and "Rest in Peace" to someone whose life is more than "just" that of an actress, but a soul we should all try to emulate and learn from.