Book Review: Thicker Than Water: Memoir **SPOILERS**

        Kerry Washington

The ‘Thicker Than Water’ memoirist says she has been on a ‘journey’ since her parents revealed what they had kept from her



Book Review


Washington professes that this book is the result of her attempts to make sense of herself and her family and to accept the truth about who we are.


Her mother and her six siblings were born to Clifford Mancle and Isabelle, Jamaicans who, like many immigrants to this country, came through Ellis Island in 1927 and 1929, navigating the obstacles of not only class, but caste. She later developed ovarian cancer. Her father, Mancle looked like a northern European immigrant—fair-skinned with angular features. He was an alcoholic, and developed COPD.


There were moments in the book that magnified her middle-upper class upbringing. Her crime of not returning a library book was not uncommon nor an attention grabber, in my view, stealing a granny’s apple for a role in a movie in order to get the emotional effect for her character ‘Niecey’ in Lift. But, not having a clue of how to iron a dress was baffling to me. You have to be so sheltered from reality to know that an iron is involved in the process. Was there NO evidence or image of seeing her mother ironing clothes?


Her father was being investigated by the IRS involving real estate, drug dealers, and tax evasion. He pleaded guilty and received no prison time, only requiring him to pay penalties to the IRS and perform community service. She developed an eating disorder along with depression, and sought treatment. She had an ongoing relationship with a girl, lost her virginity in her junior year of high school (page 119). Drinking alcohol (whiskey sour), smoking weed, sex, and food to alter her brain chemistry. She was Lying to her parents, drinking and partying resulting from her feeling of loneliness and bickering between from her parents.


Washington spoke repeatedly about her character ‘Olivia Pope’ synonymous with ‘Scandal’ tv series to which she found her personal life sinking into Kerry Washington and vice versa. 


Her decision to live abroad in India for meditation and religion to helped her improve her mental health, while learning the language, culture, practices of yoga and pilates. She had an abortion before her rising star to celebrity status. I noticed that she does not speak about her 3 year engagement to actor, producer, and activist, David Moscow. Perhaps a small mention on page 282 (Chapter 14 - Cues).


I watched the movie ‘Our Song’ released in 2000, a cultural drama about three inner city girls experiencing growing pains while on summer vacation, with hectic schedules make life changing decisions that encapsulates the untold difficulties of urban living.


The memoir covers a traverse of subjects, from her secret wedding to 

Nnamdi Asomugha (actor, producer, and NFL athlete) on June 24, 2013, unplanned pregnancy that resulted in a heart breaking abortion, past trauma, journey of self-reflection, fertility issues, anxiety and panic attacks, eating disorder, sexual violations, family secrets, same sex, relationship, need for perfection, and a penchant for privacy, 


I would have enjoyed pictures of her parents, husband, and other important moments in her life to get better visualization of her past and present. The symbolism and her love of water is what made the cover (design by Reisha Perlmutter) so beautiful. I am a fan of Kerry Washington and have watched her in her roles and activism as well as her political stances. I give her cheers for opening her private thoughts and life’s truth to learn and respect.



Beyond the Book:





Interview: 





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