Karen's Reviews > Worthy

“We can make different choices with better outcomes. We can have remorse and we can atone—without forgetting that sometimes we have to live who we’re not in order to know who we are.”

“You are so much more than your trauma.”

To be honest, Jada Pinkett Smith has been more on the periphery to her actor husband, Will Smith. He has always been the star of the family to me, despite the famous Oscar slap. My review of “Will” is here, if interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

It wasn’t until the height of the pandemic when I noticed her. I happened to be on Facebook one day, and because her show, Red Table Talk passed across my feed, I noticed Jada for the first time, beyond her relationship to Will. This time I decided to watch her.

For those unfamiliar with Red Table Talk, it was an American talk show featuring Jada, her mother Adrienne and her daughter Willow who sat around a red table and tackled current social and cultural issues with an inter-generational perspective. It was respectful, thoughtful, fascinating, heart-full, heart-wrenching, deep, trailblazing and wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult issues with other individuals well-known in the entertainment industry.

I was truly spell-bound that day listening to the women share their thoughts and feelings. I can’t even begin to tell you what the topic was that day, but I found myself looking forward to her episodes after that one, and was disappointed when her show was cancelled last year (2023).

So, when her book came out, I was one of those people first in line at my local library to get on the list to check it out. Of course, it would take a while before I received it. And, unfortunately, I forgot to add it to my “currently reading” list when I did eventually get it.

My review…

If you are looking for self-healing, you might have come to the right book. Because this may be what Jada Pinkett Smith is attempting here for herself. This is definitely her story to tell, laid out quite bluntly on the table for all to see – the good, bad and ugly – all of it – the “unhealed trauma” of her life. Her vulnerability, depression, struggles, important people, difficult people, cycles of chaos, and transition to acceptance.

“The sweetest part was my kids—Jaden, Willow, and my bonus son, Trey—my three favorite people in the world. They were, hands down, the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Even knowing this, it doesn’t erase being diagnosed with complex trauma with PTSD and depression.

And through it all, you can’t help but root for her as she finds her way. For everything she shares about her journey, there is still something inspirational she offers to her readers.

“A woman has a right to her adventures, even if it means courting her shadows as guides to her brightest light. And she has a right to her pitfalls as well as her triumphs, and to the wisdom gained that leads to her self-actualization.”

This may be an imperfect story, and some may not like her, but I appreciated her laying herself bare. This was obviously a therapeutic, spiritual journey for her to write this book. And for some, it may be a bit too self-indulgent.

Personally, I don’t think she needs permission from anyone to be deemed worthy.

We all can be deemed worthy in our own eyes. That is all that truly matters.