Kerry Washington almost canceled her memories when she learned the truth about her father

An fast bestseller upon publication in September 2023, “Kerry Washington’s.” first memory“Thicker than water” was filled with intimate revelations from the actress and producer, including information about her past abortion, struggles with childhood anxiety and early sexual assault. However, perhaps the most groundbreaking revelation was that the “Scandal” star had only recently discovered that her father, Earl Washington, was not her biological parent. As Washington explained to moderator Erica D. Smith at the Los Angeles Times Book Festival on April 20, the revelation almost forced her to back out of the book deal.

“I found out that my dad, who raised me, is not my biological father,” said Washington, per People Magazine. “And it was something my parents had every intention of never telling me, but they were forced to.”

Explaining that the book’s original premise was to concentrate on the lessons learned while portraying popular anti-heroine Olivia Pope, she added: “I felt that if I was going to write about myself, I had to write about deeper truths… I had to include much larger, life-changing information.”

Nevertheless, the decision to proceed the project was difficult; struggling to share his family secret with the world, Washington considered scrapping the project altogether.

“I tried (to pay) the money back and everything, but I finally decided to write this book, even if it was just for me and my kids and not to share it with anyone else,” she told Smith.

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Ultimately, Washington said the discovery deepened her bond with her parents, whilst she processed life-changing and painful recent information.

“My love for him… my love and my intimacy with my parents has deepened through this exchange because I think when we keep secrets, especially family secrets, it is usually because we are so afraid that if the truth comes out , we will win “we will no longer be loved, that we will not be loved, that there will be resentment and anger because of the secret that was kept,” she said. “So I think once the burden of that secret was gone, my parents and I had a lot more space to be who we really are with each other.”