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bookishmillennial's review
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I don’t know why Grandmoan who she is, but I ain’t got to understand her. Sometimes we don’t get to understand things. People. We just got to try to be better than the things that spit us out.
This is an incredibly heavy read about generational trauma about a Black family in the south (Texas & Arkansas). The matriarch of their family is dying, and her family confronts the trauma they have put each other through. It pretty much starts off with pain, and just does not stop. It spans times from the 50s to current day, and every single family member is quietly suffering from the wounds that have been inflicted on them by others. You know the phrase “hurt people hurt people”? This book exemplifies and delivers that tenfold. 💔
I will say that it ends on a hopeful, brave note for one of the characters and her kids, as she decides they must talk to each other, and they cannot keep secrets from each other like she did with her siblings and older generations. She recognizes what kept them from healing, and she vehemently wants to break that cycle, because she wants better for her kids. She even notes that she doesn’t believe making a bad choice or harming someone makes the person who hurt her a bad person, but she just knows he is bad for her and her kids right now. That’s so gracious and compassionate of her to recognize, and more forgiving than most folks would be. It’s admirable, it’s devastating, and it’s incredibly raw.
See content warnings below and take care while reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
chrisiant's review
challenging
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Holy shit this book is grim. It’s a deep dive into intergenerational trauma and it is Heavy. I don’t regret reading it, but definitely check the content warnings first. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Abortion
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Terminal illness
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