stuck for ages on OSX. help?

[Claudio Francesconi]

hello there
i am stuck on high sierra osx for weeks now and can't restart my mysql server


keep finding this in log:

[ERROR] InnoDB: Ignoring the redo log due to missing MLOG_CHECKPOINT between the c
[ERROR] InnoDB: Plugin initialization aborted with error Generic error
[ERROR] Plugin 'InnoDB' init function returned error.
[ERROR] Plugin 'InnoDB' registration as a STORAGE ENGINE failed.
[ERROR] Failed to initialize builtin plugins.
[ERROR] Aborting
[Note] Binlog end
[Note] Shutting down plugin 'CSV'

well my question is:
i would love to reinstall mysql server from the scratch but i dont want to lose my databases saved in /usr/local/var/mysql directory.

if i reinstall mysql and copy the files over there it will work?
thanks