Scan barcode
sadietay's review against another edition
4.0
Such excellent writing that was truly captivating! I finished this memoir in one day...and even though it was as a short read, this is unlike me. Every word and story told felt meaningfully crafted; nothing there to simply fill space.
The pure uniqueness of Natasha’s story - being the daughter of a white dad and Black mom in Mississippi (right in the midst of the Loving trial) along with the way her mother died; was what hooked me at the beginning. Towards the end, I fell in love with her eloquent story telling, the ways she was able to humanize her mother’s story while staying true to all its complexities, and the ways she vividly explains the past’s influence in the present. Ultimately, I could feel as a reader how much of an ode this really was to her unique relationship with her mom.
I really wanted to know more about her dad and Joey. They were so heavily introduced at the beginning, but then they didn’t feel to connect to the way she tied all the themes together. I would love to know the type of relationship and influence they’ve had on her life beyond her young childhood, as we do with Joel, her grandmother, and herself.
The pure uniqueness of Natasha’s story - being the daughter of a white dad and Black mom in Mississippi (right in the midst of the Loving trial) along with the way her mother died; was what hooked me at the beginning. Towards the end, I fell in love with her eloquent story telling, the ways she was able to humanize her mother’s story while staying true to all its complexities, and the ways she vividly explains the past’s influence in the present. Ultimately, I could feel as a reader how much of an ode this really was to her unique relationship with her mom.
I really wanted to know more about her dad and Joey. They were so heavily introduced at the beginning, but then they didn’t feel to connect to the way she tied all the themes together. I would love to know the type of relationship and influence they’ve had on her life beyond her young childhood, as we do with Joel, her grandmother, and herself.
shannontay's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent memoir! Beautifully written. If you’re looking for something uplifting, I don’t think this is it. The author writes her sad story in a way that the reader can feel it
skoppelkam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
A brutal and stunningly crafted memoir of loss. It’s always such a gift to read a poet write prose, specially on a topic such as this one. The murder of Natasha’s mother, Gwendolyn, was preventable and tragic. She was failed by a justice system that leaves victims of DV out in the cold at every turn.
itsjustjules's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
allison_sirovy's review against another edition
5.0
Ms. Trethewey’s memoir is a masterpiece. Beautifully haunting. I highly recommend it. #adultbook #mature8thgradeandup
thereadingrunnner's review against another edition
4.0
“I think often of Ralph Ellison’s revision of Heraclitus’s axiom about the role of character in one’s destiny to one of place: “Geography is fate.”” -pg 203
I received an ARC of this memoir in exchange for an honest review.
Told primarily through Trethewey’s views and memories from childhood, this is a gut wrenching memoir. The exposure of children to the horrors of domestic violence and how it shapes that child, as well as the feelings a young, uneqipped mind experiences, is horrific. The feelings of guilt and regret are things that 30+ years later, the author still grapples with. She still deals with questions as to whether she could have saved her mother, whether she should have spoken out early on and told her mom things about her stepfather, instead of staying silent to not cause problems.
Admittedly I had trouble initially getting into this as Trethewey recounts her early life - how her parents met and their life before her parents divorced. The story bounces around a bit at that point and I had difficulty staying engaged but things even out and become more streamlined when they relocate to Atlanta. Overall this is one that deals not just with domestic violence, but inter-racial relationships, racial identity, and mother-child bonds. Well worth reading but may be difficult if these are sensitive topics to you.
I received an ARC of this memoir in exchange for an honest review.
Told primarily through Trethewey’s views and memories from childhood, this is a gut wrenching memoir. The exposure of children to the horrors of domestic violence and how it shapes that child, as well as the feelings a young, uneqipped mind experiences, is horrific. The feelings of guilt and regret are things that 30+ years later, the author still grapples with. She still deals with questions as to whether she could have saved her mother, whether she should have spoken out early on and told her mom things about her stepfather, instead of staying silent to not cause problems.
Admittedly I had trouble initially getting into this as Trethewey recounts her early life - how her parents met and their life before her parents divorced. The story bounces around a bit at that point and I had difficulty staying engaged but things even out and become more streamlined when they relocate to Atlanta. Overall this is one that deals not just with domestic violence, but inter-racial relationships, racial identity, and mother-child bonds. Well worth reading but may be difficult if these are sensitive topics to you.