Review of "Worthy: A Memoir" by Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith (born 1971) is an American actress, singer, and talk show host.

Jada Pinkett Smith

I'd seen Jada in several movies and television shows, but knew little about her, other than the fact that she was married to actor Will Smith; had an 'entanglement' with a friend of her son Jaden; and was at the Oscars when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. When I saw Jada promoting her memoir on a talk show, I got curious, and decided to read her book.


Jada Pinkett Smith on the television series 'Gotham'

One often thinks celebrities, being rich and famous, have easy lives, but reading their memoirs shows that's not always true. Jada begins her book by describing her despair at the age of forty: "For two decades, I'd been putting on a good face, going with the flow, telling everyone I was okay. Yet underneath, bouts of depression and overwhelming hopelessness had smoldered until they turned into raging hellfire in my broken heart." Jada was suicidal, but therapy and ayahuasca sessions (hallucinogens) with a medicine woman helped her heal.

After this revelation about her mental health, Jada goes back to the beginning, when she grew up on the mean streets of inner city Baltimore. As a child Jada lived with her mother Adrienne - a nurse who was addicted to heroin; and her grandmother Marion - a refined woman who taught Jada the importance of gardening, being well-rounded, and spirituality.


Young Jada Pinkett

Jada was something of a wild child, and as a young teen Jada was always sneaking out at night, navigating the dangerous Baltimore streets to see her boyfriend at the 7-Eleven. Jada had little use for school, and wanting to earn her own money, she became a drug dealer while also working part-time at a record store, or Merry-Go-Round (a clothing retailer), or the Gap. At one point, Jada even envisioned herself as a drug kingpin. During this time, Jada was robbed of her drug stash and money, and had a gun pointed at her, but was spared because she was 'too pretty.'


Inner City Baltimore


Teenage Jada Pinkett

Jada's acting/singing/dancing talent showed up early, and by the time Jada started ninth grade at Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA), she'd been in the TWIGS program (To Work In Gaining Skills) for a year - a course for students who were interested in music, dance, theater, visual arts, and other creative disciplines. At BSA, Jada met fellow students Josh Charles (the actor) and Tupac Shakur (the rapper).


Jada Pinkett in high school


Tupac Shakur in High School

Jada and Tupac became best friends, and remained close until the rapper was killed in 1996. Jada writes a great deal about her relationship with Tupac, whom she even visited in prison when he was accused of sexual assault.


Jada Pinkett and Tupac Shakur

After performing in many local productions, and a year at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, nineteen-year-old Jada made her way to Hollywood. Jada details her early days in the movie capital, which included auditioning, acquiring an agent, and experiencing racism in the form of the question: "What are you mixed with? Is your mother White?" Jada observes, "This [implied] that to look as I did, I couldn't be of full African American heritage." (Which she is.)

In a way, Jada was lucky, because from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, MANY doors began to open for Black actors and filmmakers, with TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Family Matters, and In Living Color; and movies from directors Spike Lee, John Singleton, Julie Dash, and others.



After a relatively short time, Jada was cast as Hillman College student Lena James in the television series, A Different World, and she was on her way! Though Jada was becoming a show business success, she remained loyal to her homegirls and homeboys in Baltimore, who lived in a completely different world - one that often involved guns, drugs, and prison.


Jada Pinkett as Lena James on 'A Different World'

In the early days, Jada was something of a party girl in Tinseltown. She writes, "Play hard was my real-deal mantra. And it wasn't just drinking and getting f__ up, it was also men.....There were all flavors and varieties....Sex, for me, was a distraction from having to look at my genuine need to be held, have connection, and feel loved. It fed the appetite of the little girl who hadn't had enough parental affection and attention."


Jada Pinkett and Bumper Robinson on the television series 'A Different World'

Jada's first big movie was 'Menace II Society' (1993), in which she played a young single mother.




Jada Pinkett as a young single mother in 'Menace II Society'

Eventually, Jada had a multifaceted career in television, movies, and music - with her nu metal band 'Wicked Wisdom', which she started in 2002. Jada details her climb up the show business ladder, which required ambition, hard work, luck, and talent.


Nu Metal band 'Wicked Wisdom'


Jada Pinkett Smith singing with her 'Wicked Wisdom' band

In addition to the high points in her life, Jada highlights the inner turmoil she experienced. On an otherwise ordinary day, Jada was driving, felt hot and shakey, and turned into a side street to park. She notes, "I tried to to pull myself together through torrential tears and an avalanche of emotions. I felt incredibly anxious, my heart was beating out of my chest, my breath was short, and I couldn't fight off a tidal wave of sadness....It felt like fear and relentless sorrow had sucka-punched me." Jada called her mom to come to Hollywood, took steps to deal with the anxiety, and decades later, turned to ayahuasca and the medicine woman.

Jada and actor Will Smith knew each other casually for years before their relationship heated up around 1995. Jada writes about Will, "He was a gifted conversationalist, highly intelligent, well read, and contagiously passionate about a wide range of interests....He had an expansive vision, not just for his career, although he made no apologies about his drive one day to be the biggest movie star in the world."


Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith


Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith got married on New Year's Eve

Jada writes about the couple's courtship, their marriage in 1997, their children Jaden and Willow, and 'bonus son' Trey, from Will's first marriage. Jada and Will's union had ups and downs, and (what many people would consider) a curious 'open marriage' arrangement. Jada home-schooled Jaden and Willow using a controversial learning method from Scientology, and Jaden moved out at the age of fifteen. All this is well-detailed in the memoir, in case you're curious. In any case, both Jaden and Willow now have successful entertainment careers.


Jaden Smith (left) and Willow Smith


Trey, Willow, Jaden, Jada, and Will Smith (from left to right)

In 2018, Jada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow Smith, and her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris began a talk show called the Red Table. The program, shown on Facebook from 2018 to 2022, was a "non-traditional talk show with topics explored from different, unfiltered perspectives." The show had a variety of high-profile guests, including Jessica Alba, Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Tiffany Haddish, Leah Remini and many more.


The Red Table hosts, (from left to right) Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris


The actual red table, with (from left to right) Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Willow Smith

Many people might read Jada's book to learn more about her alopecia, her entanglement' with musician August Alsina, and 'the slap' at the Academy Awards. Jada talks about losing her hair, on and off over the years, until now she's almost bald. Jada mentions her relationship with Alsina (she doesn't write his name, calling him the entanglee), which occurred after Jada and Will agreed to live separate lives, but remain married. Jada also writes about being at the 2022 Academy Awards when Chris Rock made a joke about her alopecia, and Will strode up to the stage and hit him. So you can learn more about those incidents, if you're interested.


August Alsina and Jada Pinkett Smith


Jada Pinkett Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards


Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards

Jada includes much more in the book, writing a good deal about her extended family and friends, and expressing gratitude to the many people who provided career advice, guidance, and opportunities, such as Keenen Ivory Wayans, Debbie Allen, and others.

I found the book interesting, and have a new respect for Jada Pinkett Smith, who - despite lots of wild shenanigans - is a successful entertainer, loving mother, resolute activist, caring person, and dog lover.


Jada Pinkett Smith with her dog Bandit

Jada has gone on a long spiritual and self-education journey during her life, and she inserts advice, self-help tips, and philosophical ramblings at the ends of chapters. This is meant to be helpful, but I found much of it too airy-fairy.

Overall, I recommend the book to readers who enjoy memoirs.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Keera Duggan Legal Thriller #2 " by Robert Dugoni

This review was first posted on Mystery & Suspense Magazine. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/be...

Former Seattle prosecutor Keera Duggan is now a defense lawyer in her family law firm, Duggan & Associates.



The firm was founded by Keera's father, Patrick (Patsy), but Patsy's alcoholism has taken a toll, and he's stepped back from trial work.



The other family members at the firm are Keera's sisters: Ella - the managing partner;



and Maggie - the office administrator.



As a break from work, the Duggan clan has a family dinner once a month, which is sacrosanct to Keera's mom.



When Keera is assigned to bring the salad, she puts lettuce into a large wooden bowl, and prepares separate plastic bags with grape tomatoes, chopped walnuts, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh bacon bits because "her family members couldn't agree on the time of day if they were all staring at a stopped clock, let alone what they liked and disliked on their salads." This, in a nutshell, depicts family relations, which are fractious but loving.



Keera is enjoying a much-needed staycation when she gets an urgent call from Maggie, asking her to come to the office. There Keera finds Patsy waiting with Jenna Bernstein, the former CEO of a biotech company called Ponce de León Restorative Technology (PDRT).



PDRT imploded five years ago, when its product - which was supposed to alleviate deadly diseases - was shown to be a fraud. At that time, PDRT's chief scientist was murdered, and Jenna was tried for the crime. Patsy got Jenna off with a SODDI (some other dude did it) defense, and Keera hoped to never see Jenna again.



Keera and Jenna have known each other since they were ten years old, and Jenna has always been narcissistic, self-centered and mean. On the girls' first meeting, when Keera tried to pull herself up onto a trampoline, Jenna jumped on Keera's fingers, pinched and scratched Keera's hands, and pushed Keera off with her foot. This foreshadowed the girls' ongoing relations, wherein Jenna jealously thwarted Keera whenever she could, all the way through college.

Now Jenna once again needs help from Duggan and Associates. Jenna and Sirus Kohl, her former business partner (and boyfriend) at PDRT, were indicted for fraud, because they misled PDRT's investors.



There were rumors that Kohl was going to make a deal, and throw Jenna under the bus. Now Kohl has been murdered, and Jenna is a suspect again.

Violent Crimes Detective Frank Rossi.....



.....and Prosecutor Walker Thompson have a strong case against Jenna.



Jenna left her apartment - in a baseball cap and large sunglasses - on the night Kohl was killed; she was caught on a CCTV camera near Kohl's home; and she owned a 9-millimeter gun like the one that killed Kohl. Moreover, Jenna had a powerful motive if Kohl was going to testify against her.

Since Patsy is semi-retired, he convinces Keera to take Jenna's case, though Keera is VERY reluctant. Keera thinks Jenna is a sociopath and a liar, and she believes Jenna might well be guilty. Nevertheless, Keera vows to give Jenna the best possible defense, and she engages the law firm's private detective, J.P. Harrison, to investigate Kohl's murder. Harrison tries to find alternative suspects for the homicide, like PDRT employees who were fired and PDRT investors who lost money.



When Jenna goes to trial, the prosecution puts on a strong case, and Jenna must use her smarts, and the strategies she learned as a chess champion, to craft a defense. The resolution of the case is a bit too forced and complicated, but this is a good courtroom drama, recommended to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Robert Dugoni, and Thomas and Mercer for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "The Last House on Needless Street: A Gothic Novel of Suspense" by Catriona Ward

For some time poor and orphaned children have been disappearing from the area around Needless Street. The abductions didn't get much publicity until a child from a good home vanished. This happened 11 years ago, when a six-year-old girl named Lulu disappeared during a family outing to the beach.

A man called Ted Bannerman - who had a troubled history - was questioned but had a solid alibi.



There were no arrests, and the public took to throwing rocks through Ted's windows, which are now covered with plywood.



As for Lulu's family, they couldn't cope with the loss. Lulu's mother left and her father died soon after the abduction, and Lulu's older sister Dee was left with unassuageable grief. Now Dee is determined to find the person who took her sister.



The story revolves around Ted Bannerman, who lives in the last house on Needless Street. In addition to himself, Ted's household includes his adolescent daughter Lauren who - during her weekend visits - zooms around the house on her pink bike and balks at doing schoolwork;



and Ted's cat Olivia, who consults the Bible for philosophical insights.



Ted drinks too much, is sloppy and overweight, and has a patchy scalp and long beard.



Ted sometimes makes dates with women on dating sites, but then only watches them and doesn't go over and speak. Most of Ted's outside interactions are with a neighbor he calls the chihuahua lady and a therapist he calls the bug man.



Ted dearly loved his (now) deceased mother, and frequently recollects her gauzy blue dress and their times together.



One day Ted finds he has an intrusive new neighbor who doesn't wish him well.

That's about all I can say without spoilers. Billed as gothic horror, this is a tricky story with layers of secrets. Some parts of the book are slow and overcomplicated, but it's a fascinating novel. Highly recommended.

I listened to the audiobook version and Christopher Ragland is an excellent narrator.

Thanks to Netgalley, Catriona Ward, and Tor Nighfire for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "Eruption: A Novel" by Michael Crichton and James Patterson

This book, about a VERY dangerous volcano, is a collaboration between Michael Crichton and James Patterson. In the backstory, Michael's wife Sherri explains that Michael was interested in volcanoes, and had begun a book, whose working title was 'The Black Zone', before he died. Sherri found the partial manuscript in Michael's archives, and felt the book should be completed. Sherri considered various collaborators, and when she met James Patterson, she knew she'd found the right guy. The result is 'Eruption.'

*****

As the story opens, the Mauna Loa volcano - one of the five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii - is heating up, causing earth tremors, and getting ready to erupt.



Volcanologist Dr. John MacGregor (Mac), head of the Hawaiian Volcano Institute, determines the volcano will explode in about five days.



A volcano eruption is dangerous enough, but Mauna Loa is especially treacherous. Mac learns this when he's summoned to a meeting with some military brass, one of whom is Colonel James Briggs.



Briggs takes Mac to a huge lava tube (like a cave) in Mauna Loa, which is filled with storage receptacles containing radioactive herbicides.



The herbicides are SO souped up they can kill an entire tree in minutes. The bottom line is this: Should the herbicides get into the environment, they'll enter the atmosphere, contaminate the whole world, kill all the plants....and everyone will die. So, if the lava from Mauna Loa's eruption reaches the lava tube, it's all over.



One might ask, why did the military leave these SUPER dangerous storage receptacles in Mauna Loa? The answer is the army couldn't get funding from Congress to move the containers, and couldn't make a public fuss because the receptacles were filled with classified hush-hush pesticides.

For the rest of the book, Mac - along with his crew and the army - maneuver to divert Mauna Loa's red hot lava so it doesn't reach the receptacles. This involves things like blowing holes in the volcano; building walls; building dykes; and so on. All this must be done in five days, and in secret, so the public doesn't panic.



Of course the secret does leak, and a pair of volcano chasers and a narcissistic billionaire businessman descend on Hawaii. This trio thinks THEY should direct the 'rescue operation', and things get complicated and dangerous.

There are some striking scenarios, like people taking helicopters into Mauna Loa (before it erupts) so they can get pictures. The heat and ashes compromise the helicopter's rotors.....and you'll have to read the book to find out what happens next.

Of course there's plenty of death and destruction in the book....can you imagine falling into a lava flow?



The book is formulaic, but it's exciting, with engaging (if somewhat two-dimensional) characters. A movie is in the works already, which will probably be a popular action thriller.

Rating: 3.5 stars