From the Block to Blockbusters A Review of Kerry Washington’s Thicker Than Water: A Memoir

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!