Octavia Spencer will recount the story of her life and acting career in a book coming out next year.
Flatiron will publish Spencer’s Give Them Their Flowers: Reflections on Women, Film, and Friendship, co-written with Sandra Bark, next spring, the press announced in a news release. It calls the memoir “a love letter to female friendship.”
Spencer, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, made her acting debut in the film adaptation of John Grisham’s novel A Time To Kill, and she went on to star in movies including Never Been Kissed, Big Momma’s House, and Bad Santa.
In 2011, she starred in the movie adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, which earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress. She was subsequently nominated for the same award for her performances in Hidden Figures and The Shape of Water.
Spencer is the author of two children’s books featuring the ninja-detective character Randi Rhodes, The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit and The Sweetest Heist in History, both illustrated by Vivienne To.
In Give Them Their Flowers, Flatiron says, Spencer “recounts the seeds of the relationships that grew into the story of her life, from her tender teenage connection with Whoopi Goldberg to her sustaining friendships with Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Allison Janney, Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and the many talented, inspiring women whose love and advice have helped her become the woman she is today.”
Give Them Their Flowers is scheduled for publication on May 26, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
