Around the Way Girl

From the Golden Globe–winning actor, “an engaging read. As much a manual on acting as it is a memoir . . . [with] plenty of inspiration for readers” (Library Journal). From Taraji P. Henson, star of the award-winning film Hidden Figures and the 2023 film The Color Purple, comes an inspiring memoir about family, friends, the hustle required to make it in Hollywood. With a sensibility that recalls her beloved screen characters, including Katherine, the NASA mathematician, Yvette, Queenie, Shug, and the iconic Cookie from Empire, Taraji P. Henson writes of her family, the one she was born into and the one she created. She shares stories of her father, a Vietnam vet who was bowed but never broken by life’s challenges, and of her mother who survived violence both at home and on DC’s volatile streets. Here, too, she opens up about her experiences as a single mother, a journey some saw as a burden but which she saw as a gift. Around the Way Girl is also a classic actor’s memoir in which Taraji reflects on the world-class instruction she received at Howard University and how she chipped away at Hollywood’s resistance to give women, particularly women of color, significant roles. With laugh-out-loud humor and candor, she shares the challenges and disappointments of the actor’s journey and shows us that behind the red carpet moments, she is ever authentic. She is at heart just a girl in pursuit of her dreams in this “inspiring account of overcoming adversity and a quest for self-discovery, written with vitality and enthusiasm” (Shelf Awareness). “Taraji P. Henson rips the facade off stardom and reveals a woman committed to her family and craft.” —Essence