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Tamera Mowry-Housley has been in the spotlight since she was a child acting alongside her twin sister Tia Mowry. But while she has taken on roles that show her as outspoken and opinionated, like her Sister, Sister character, in real life, she mostly kept her views to herself. In an interview with Essence, the veteran actress shared how working on The Real was the first time she truly felt heard.
“Because I had experienced and lived enough life to do so. The first time I truly ever believed and realized that my voice actually matters and that there is an audience that wants to hear it, was when I was doing The Real,” she said.
But it wasn’t that simple. While she had a platform with an audience and co-hosts who accepted her as she was, she still struggled to voice her opinion for a while. “For at least three years, every single time I heard ‘This Is Our Time,’ I thought I was going to throw up!” She confessed. “I wasn’t used to speaking my voice. I always spoke others’ words. As an actress, I would speak whatever is on that page.”
Speaking about her faith was a lot easier than exposing her personal life such as dating and sex. She admitted it was “daunting” at times but realized this. “‘Whoa. I actually do have something to say and I shouldn’t be afraid of it.'”
The mother of two delved further into her personal experiences with her memoir You Should Sit Down for This: A Memoir About Life, Wine + Cookies and shared that writing the book was equally as agonizing as her time on The Real.
“Every day I was exposing something of myself, and there was a tagline about it, whether I wanted it to happen or not,” she said. “But I realized the power of being vulnerable, and what I mean by ‘power’ is that that’s when you resonate with people. For me, I don’t do things just to do them. Not for self-glorification. That never felt comfortable.”
She added, “The core of what I do is I always want to encourage, inspire. I’m not just saying things to hear myself talk.”
But through the writing, the former talk show host learned a lot about herself and shares the advice she gives her readers. “I’ve always known that I was strong, but looking back, wow. Wow, that is definitely a gift of mine. The fact that I didn’t quit, I’m shocked,” she said.
“Still staying sane and happy and a loving person, never let what people say to you define who you are – that’s what I talk about in the book, and to know who you are as a person and never let them change who you are.”
She hopes that her memoir gives readers a one-on-one experience with Tamera the person and not just the actress or talk show host we see on TV. “This book is a love letter to myself and to everyone who has grown up watching me,” she said. “When you read this book, you’re sitting down with me and we’re ki-king, we’re talking, we’re enjoying each other. Having that tea, having that cookie, having that glass of wine, we’re just talking about life and inspiring each other and encouraging each other.”
You Should Sit Down for This: A Memoir About Life, Wine + Cookies is out now.
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