Trina came onto the scene in 1998 with Trick Daddy telling us, “You don’t know nann,” and the truth is after listening to her memoir on Audible, I realized I absolutely didn’t! Trina’s memoir opened up a whole new world of knowledge of the music business for millennial readers. For me, I was very proud of her by the end of the book, and honestly I had always been proud of Trina. I felt she kept it 100% real at all times, but knowing what I know now has my pride swelling for us Black women that are out here winning.

Trina tells us her life story from beginning to present and there isn’t a dull moment to note. She talks about her upbringing in a middle class family, and reveals the evolution of her independent streak. I don’t know if I am the only one who thought Trina grew up in poverty, but she certainly did not. It wasn’t upperclass, but very middle class and the family dabbled in some less desirable activities that Trina was not privy to as a child. That’s the way it should be. While the adults handled business, the kids were encouraged to be kids. The parents and other adults in Trina’s village were not strict, but they provided structure, set rules and boundaries, and applied consequences when necessary. She and her sister never went without and they were loved and they knew it.

Unlike some of the other memoirs I’ve listened to over the past year, Trina didn’t hold back on her intimate relationships. I appreciated her transparency and honesty, because I am a fan, and it’s comforting to know that a celebrity I admire has felt some of the same things I’ve felt, and they worked their way through it.

Of course, the biggest thing Trina discusses is her career. I had a few “laugh out loud” moments when she talked about her initial meeting with Trick Daddy, and later the beginnings of her career. Again, I have to say I am proud of the moves she made and her determination to stay true to herself. I completely got it when she discussed her role on Love & Hiphop Miami. It enlightened me to certain aspects of how this particular reality tv franchise is run, and I imagine that other legends in the game have similar contract stipulations when it comes to these shows. When I first saw that Trina would be joining the cast, I was annoyed. I felt she was too good to be on the show. After listening to her memoir though, I recognized that its all about multiple streams of income, and a type of accessibility to fans. Some things have negative results because there were no guidelines for conduct, but when done correctly, the ending doesn’t have to be disastrous.

One thing that Trina talks about in depth is her feeling on loss and death. I felt this was the deepest part of the book and again, I appreciate her transparency. My heart broke for her to some degree, but I admire her resilience. She recognizes that the show must go on, the living must live, but she doesn’t deny that grief takes a toll. Things do not get easier, you just don’t allow it to take over anymore. I felt all of that.

Trina’s story was a rollercoaster ride full of reveals and reality checks, and I truly enjoyed it.

However…
I am not happy with the lack of direction in her reading. Just because someone is a celebrity, educated, or both, doesn’t mean that they read well. To my knowledge, there are producers and/or directors present during audio book recordings. I felt they left Trina out to dry and it wasn’t right. She mispronounced a lot of words, and it had nothing to do with her accent. They are probably words she’s not in the habit of using and therefore was nervous about saying or simply didn’t know how to say them. Why weren’t corrections made? Why weren’t these things edited? I don’t blame Trina. I blame the editors and production team. They should have done better. Knowing that Trina is serious about what she puts out, the team should have done better by her.
This was almost a five-star listen, but production dropped the ball. Otherwise, pick up this book and I promise you will not be disappointed. Da Baddest did that!

On September 23, 2024 Kerry Washington released her book, Thicker Than Water: A Memoir, and I added it to my Audible list. I’d been a Kerry Washington fan since Our Song (2000), and she was from The Bronx. As a proud Bronx native, there was no way I would ignore that one of our own was sharing their story. Say what you want about The Bronx, to be from there is to be blessed with innate open-mindedness and street-smarts that manifest like superpowers.
For about two weeks straight, every morning, as I pulled out of my garage, I listened to Miss Washington’s melodic voice painted nostalgic pictures of life in 1980s & 1990s Castle Hill section of The Bronx. I didn’t grow up on that side, but I certainly knew about Jamie Towers, the apartment complex that she grew up in. If you lived there, you lived in luxury simply because they had a pool. Miss Washington describes her summers spent swimming in that pool and her connection to water, which both surprised me and literally made me smile. Apparently she’s a good and fast swimmer, and I am neither because I can’t swim. But I love being in water. It’s calming and allows for release and cleansing at the same time. I think Miss Washington’s connection to water is what sustained her through her inner and outer struggles. Without it, she may not have been able to tell her story so eloquently at the time she did.
She goes on to talk about her acting career and of course details events that I had no clue about. I love her honesty about how her feelings toward acting changed when it went from something like a hobby to a job. I love how she talked about her dreams and the effect living abroad in India had on her spirituality and acting. The Bronx can seem like its own world in itself, and there are so many types of people living, growing, learning, working, and thriving side by side that it is easy to lose interest in living anywhere else. We are already exposed to so much, positive and negative. So I can see how one would blow off living abroad. I don’t think I would ever have the nerve to do it, for completely different reasons, but I admire Miss Washington’s courage and especially at that time when long distance communication was nothing like it is now.
She doesn’t discuss her love life in great detail, but the way the love between her and her husband developed was nothing short of a modern fairytale. This is another reason I am grateful she read her own memoir, because no one else could do this part justice. She talks very briefly about boyfriends, different dating experiences, sexual experiences, and their outcomes, which I felt was highly respectful to her marriage. Why dwell on something if it bears only a little weight on who she is now?
Miss Washington also talks about motherhood, which is always important for visible celebrities to discuss. Motherhood is so complex and no two experiences can mirror each other. For working mothers there is so much concern about being able to keep a job and then keep up with the job. You have no idea what’s coming to you mentally, physically, or emotionally. In Miss Washington’s case, she was blessed with very supportive coworkers, and that was good to hear. Of course though, she worked for Shonda Rhimes, who is known create flexible and safe work environments, so I really shouldn’t have been surprised.
The start of the novel, though nostalgic to anyone growing up in urban areas in the 80s and 90s is shadowed by a life altering experience that dictates a lot of Miss Washington’s actions throughout her life. Along with that her questionable origin story is weaved into every chapter. Both elements help readers understand Miss Washington on a deeper level. I now, am more than a fan of her work as an actor. I am enthralled with her voice, storytelling ability, and most of all the way she connected the dots for herself and continues to face life’s adversities head on. I didn’t say it in the beginning, but naturally this is an all-around five-star read, and yes, you should download it immediately if you have not already!

​I give Who's That Girl?: A Memoir by Eve, 4/5 stars and here's why...
First and foremost, I was definitely an Eve fan when she first appeared on the hip hop scene with the Ruff Ryders. I am a Bronx native, and back in the day I'd seen the Ruff Ryders riding through the streets. I grew up, smack around the corner from Bronxdale projects, where rapper Drag-On lived, so I was also very aware of the Ruff Ryder's as a hip hop group. I was thrilled when Eve came on as the Ruff Ryders' first lady. I was and still am a fan of female rappers of all kinds. I grew up around a lot of boys, but because I was often the oldest, I was somewhat revered. I felt like I could relate to female rap artists who were the only women on their teams, because I was usually the only girl in situations in my family or on my block.
Now, I didn't actually read this book. I listened to the audio version on Audible. That's how I prefer to read/ingest memoirs. I think it's important to hear these stories in the authors' own voices. The stories are told more authentically that way.
In this memoir, Eve gives a brief overview of her family background. She talks about her upbringing in Philly, the relatives that inspired her, and her feelings towards school. However, the focus of the memoir was her career. While I love bts tea, and some was surely provided, I didn't feel like it was enough. Or did I feel that way because Eve, respectfully, doesn't always say names? I say "respectfully" because I honestly respect her choice, I just think the ratchet in me is looking for the ginger tea, y'know, the spice.
I was surprised by a lot of what Eve divulged, especially about herself. She was very successful at a very young age, and the quantity of public scandal was low in comparison to her peers. However I can see how the weight of the few things she was involved in had their different costs. Eve was always a class act to me, so what she did reveal in the memoir surprised me. I appreciate how she discussed her growth, both as an artist and as a person, and she said a lot of things that struck nerves in me.
I enjoyed the memoir and my only qualms were her reading style and the fact that it felt incomplete at the end. Eve is still young, so there should be an autobiography in another thirty years or so. Also, it took her a while to relax into reading the story. You can always tell with audio books, the authors who are struggling a bit to read the words they wrote with a co-author (or ghostwriter). Sometimes they're missing inflection or the inflection seems to be all over the place. I felt Eve had to ease into it.
Overall though, I enjoyed the memoir. I gained some gems from some insight into her life and again I was reminded that these stars who I felt were bigger than life growing up, are human, experiencing the same emotions and complexities of life as me. That is always refreshing.