Michael Burke's Reviews > Scenes from My Life: A Memoir

Sharing the Scars

The face, the energy, the charisma, jumped out when Michael K. Williams took over the screen. HBO’s “The Wire,” long considered one of the best series ever, reverberated once his Omar character appeared. In a cast of brilliant actors somehow this awkward, troubled kid from the Bronx stepped in and captivated us.

I just wish the man was still around to see his story come out.

On September 6, 2021, word hit that Michael K. Williams had od’d. Like so many other tragic Hollywood deaths, the news was stunning. We knew Michael. We recognized him. We wanted the dialogue to continue. This could not be right– there was so much more for him to offer. His characters radiated danger and menace… but that was the script, the acting, right?

In “Scenes from My Life” Michael tells us about the insecure boy growing up in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood. We see him awaken and connect with life when Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” video kindles an obsession with performing. He turns himself into an in-demand dancer and eventually the very talented actor we all knew.

But there are the drugs. Over and over we see him fall victim to his addictions. Who knew that his resistance crumpled once he no longer had Omar to hide behind? From there we see a series of ups and downs as he fought his demons. When he first met Barack Obama he was so high on cocaine he could barely function. He repeats a number of times that he knows he is never free for good. Eventually he comes to believe his purpose is to be an example to others, to make his story heard and see if anyone else could stand on his shoulders. As you read the last few chapters you want to will a different ending… you want to fantasize the story of a man who brought himself back from the edge a number of times and lived to tell the tale.

Michael turned in his memoir shortly before overdosing on fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin and cocaine. It is hard to judge another’s struggle, he is gone. Just a shame. More chapters should have been there for the taking. I recommend the book as a way to see into this man, as heartbreaking as it is to see him self-destruct and tumble away from us.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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