Scenes from My Life
A Memoir
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4.6 • 41 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • A “gripping, revelatory” (NPR) memoir of hard-won success, struggles with addiction, and a lifelong mission to give back—from the late iconic actor beloved for his roles in The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, and Lovecraft Country
“Williams’s cool rasp leaps off every page, his story told in the direct yet impassioned language that defined his greatest characters.”—Vulture
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, NPR, The Root
When Michael K. Williams died on September 6, 2021, he left behind a career as one of the most electrifying actors of his generation. From his star turn as Omar Little in The Wire to Chalky White in Boardwalk Empire to Emmy-nominated roles in HBO’s The Night Of and Lovecraft Country, Williams inhabited a slew of indelible roles that he portrayed with a rawness and vulnerability that leapt off the screen. Beyond the nominations and acclaim, Williams played characters who connected, whose humanity couldn’t be denied, whose stories were too often left out of the main narrative.
At the time of his death, Williams had nearly finished a memoir that tells the story of his past while looking to the future, a book that merges his life and his life’s work. Mike, as his friends knew him, was so much more than an actor. In Scenes from My Life, he traces his life in whole, from his childhood in East Flatbush and his early years as a dancer to his battles with addiction and the bar fight that left his face with his distinguishing scar. He was a committed Brooklyn resident and activist who dedicated his life to working with social justice organizations and his community, especially in helping at-risk youth find their voice and carve out their future. Williams worked to keep the spotlight on those he fought for and with, whom he believed in with his whole heart.
Imbued with poignance and raw honesty, Scenes from My Life is the story of a performer who gave his all to everything he did—in his own voice, in his own words, as only he could.
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The late Emmy-nominated actor recounts his endeavor to overcome poverty, abuse, and addiction in this immensely inspiring and candid debut. Born in Brooklyn in 1966, Williams endured a difficult childhood marked by an absentee father, a suffocating and abusive mother, bullying friends, and molestation, before turning to drugs as a way of "letting me disappear from myself." Employing the arts as a "form of rebellion," Williams became a backup dancer and began appearing in music videos, where he started to unlearn "macho code" of suppressing his feelings: "If you push something down, it'll find its way out," he writes in one of the book's many raw and moving scenes. "Jay-Z says we can't heal what we never reveal. And it's true." A couple years later, Tupac Shakur spotted Williams's headshot and launched his acting career in the mid 1990s, leading Williams to land his breakout role nearly a decade later as Omar on The Wire. While the intensity of his performances often reawakened Williams's addiction struggles, he recounts how he used his hardships as inspiration "to bring others up" via organizations—such as his own nonprofit, Making Kids Win—that were dedicated to ending cycles of violence and poverty in marginalized communities. This bittersweet and poignant work will leave readers in awe.
