Before I read this book, I already loved Will Smith. I don’t know if it was what I thought “his story was” or his recent zeal for adventure that had me already loving him. It doesn’t even matter what my reasons were before, because after reading this book I am now a card carrying die hard Will Smith fan.
First lets address black men and mental health. In the Black community, some believe that Black men are not allowed to be vulnerable or emotional or that no one cares about black men’s mental health. As a result, many black men don’t get the help they need to deal with traumatic issues or help learning how to effectively communicate thier emotions. According to the American Psychological Association, only 26.4% of Black and Hispanic men ages 18 to 44, that experience anxiety or depression, use mental health services, compared to their white male counterparts. I bring this up because Will Smith book is a complete therapy read. Seriously, he even addresses therapy and how it helped him.
There is one who can deny that being a Black man in America is hard. In his book, Will Smith opens his and dives in deep, address a multitude of issues that many Black males face today. Issues such as parenting, father-son relationships, intimate relationships, school, success, friendships, even finding that balance from hood shit with success. The transparency and honesty in this book was mind blowing and refreshing.
When I say transparent, I mean exactly that. No issue is off the table. Will talks about the abuse his mother endures at the hands of his father, his father’s addiction and anger issues. How that left him feeling like a coward, because he was unwilling to save his mother. A self-reflection that stayed with him even into adulthood.
Will delves into friendships and his own parenthood, not only explaining how situations occurred but also exploring his part in them and acknowledging his wrong doings. Ya’ll he even goes deep into his marriage with Jada Pickett-Smith. Saying without saying basically that during the period in which Jada and August Alsina were messing around, he and Jada were not together. They’d made the mutual decision to separate from each other and explore rather or not they wanted to say married. Jada felt lost, having given up her career to that Will’s, and then her children’s could flourish. Jada needed time to find herself and Will needed time to figure out rather or not being in control and successful was more important than his family happiness. Yes, they got back together, but chile when I say it got deep. Shit had Will sitting in a hut in a different country, getting high for the first time.
Overall, this book was amazing. I listened to it on audiobook, and it was narrated by Will Smith, making it even better. The gems he drops on being successful, finding happiness, finding balance, and forgiveness are invaluable to anyone who will listen.
C.S. Carraway 