Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - The Forgotten Girls

This was a heartbreaking, illuminating, and vulnerable piece of memoir. I am thankful to have read it. I feel like I saw myself in many of the people in it at times. It was heartbreaking and also illuminating about the importance of community for each of us to thrive.

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bookmaddie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

I read this on audio (exciting for me!!), and even though it took me awhile, I really enjoyed it. Very intense, sad and thoughtful memoir.
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I decided to dip my toes back into audiobooks, and I think I’m ~lightly~ hooked! They’re such a nice companion to cooking, cleaning, and going on walks, and perfect for when I need a bit of a break from tunes (I’m not much of a podcast girl). I started with this book on a whim, and while it took me a month to get through, I found it to be a very valuable, heartrending read.

Potts chronicles her childhood in rural Arkansas, focusing on her friendship with a girl named Darcy and how, and why, their lives went in completely different directions. Potts journalistic roots shine through as she deftly weaves facts and studies about the living in rural areas with her own story, and that of Darcy. By examining how her and Darcy’s paths diverged, Potts questions how and why living in rural areas results in worse health, educational, and employment outcomes for these communities.

Yet hidden just below a somewhat journalistic tone, Potts’ story is full of emotion. Her friendship with Darcy, both as children and then reconnecting in adulthood, is an endless push-and-pull, yet full of loyalty and hope. Potts’ recollections of her childhood, and returning to her hometown, were brought to life through her heartfelt narration. I’m so glad I came to this story on audio!

This is a very balanced memoir with a lot of hope and insight to build better communities in rural areas. I may not have picked up this book in print, but I’m so glad I gave it a listen. It’s a deeply felt love letter to Potts’ home, and all those who prefer open skies to crowded roads. Definitely not one to overlook!

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rly's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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rootedreader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to read.
Monica Potts sets out to investigate the causes of poverty, specifically the poverty of women from rural areas of America. Overall I enjoyed this book, one of my top genres to read is investigative journalism. Though listed as memoir, my experience reading this was somewhere in the middle. Connecting several systemic issues, she describes a situation that leaves many opportunities for someone to "fall into" and stay in poverty. The memoir side of the book was a bit difficult for me. Comparing her and her best friend's life choices it came across as judgmental-towards her friend as well as the town. The last chapter or two threw me for a loop as well as (*SPOILER*) she moved back to that same town she spent the whole book criticizing.

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debussy's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I am a white woman not far off from the author’s age and grew up in the Arkansas Ozarks. So much of this book felt like reading about my own life—the relentless isolation, conservatism, and xenophobia of the area as well as the driving need to leave it while developing a strange, complicated relationship with it afterward are so on point. The way the area is a deeply messed up patriarchy steeped with religion makes women scapegoats—there to be blamed or used by the men who have little in their lives except the ability to control others. This is a sad, compelling, and unfortunately accurate portrait of a place I still love.

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sjanke2's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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