Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith – Book Review

Jada Pinkett Smith Welcomes Readers to Feel the Rain

Jada Pinkett Smith introduces her life, achievements and struggles in the memoir Worthy, her second book after writing the children’s book Girls Hold Up the World (2005). Pinkett Smith is an actress, known for her roles as Peaches in A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994), Jeryline in Tales From the Crypt’s Demon Knight (1995), Niobe in the Matrix movies and her TV roles in A Different World and Gotham.  

Pinkett Smith begins her memoir by exploring her struggles with mental health, before turning back time and letting readers into her past, including her life in Baltimore, her relationship with her grandparents and parents, and growing up with a mother and father who were dealing with addiction. The book quickly moves into her involvement in the drug scene in Baltimore. Yes, Jada was a drug dealer in the ’80s and ’90s. However, that scene didn’t last very long, after a series of incidents got her to change her mind about the whole ordeal. She then made her way to Hollywood.

We quickly follow her into her life in Hollywood rubbing shoulders with Eddie Murphy, Keenan Ivory Wayne, and Duane Martin and landing the role that made her the household name Leah Jones in A Different World.

However, by far the most interesting thing about this memoir is Pinkett Smith’s relationship with Rapper Tupac Shakur. The friendship started when they both attended Baltimore School for the Arts and continued as they both ventured through different paths in Hollywood. The parts with Tupac explore a friendship that was deep in love and support for one another. While most of Pinkett Smith’s memoir does its best to highlight her life and story with those around her, most of the feeling and depth is within her recollection of her life with Tupac. From the moment they met to the day he died – it is the most engaging part of the book.

That isn’t discounting Jada’s struggles with her mental health and her slowly coming to terms with the fact that her success wasn’t exactly fulfilling to her. A lot of this book is her showing us that it is the people around her that make the most of her life, not her roles in Hollywood. Along with Tupac and Will Smith, Jada also highlights others who were a part of her life and how she connects with them. This is seen in the rest of her memoir, which follows her experience with her marriage with Will Smith and as a mother to Trey, Jaden and Willow.

Jada Pinkett Smith put a lot of surprising, beautifully expressed content in her memoir, sharing about her struggles from where she came from to where is she now, and how she felt about her relationship and motherhood. It was a joy to read her authorial tone and her nicely flowing prose that’s sure to keep your attention. The audiobook is read by her, so that adds a little bit of extra enjoyment to her memoir.

While some of the book reads like a “self-help” book, it thankfully isn’t too noticeable. This is just a memoir following Jada Pinkett Smith as she tells you about herself and opens the curtain so you can see what has been happening behind the scenes in her life–a treat especially as many people only know her as “Will Smith’s wife.” 

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