A review by bookish_by_elle
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
4.0
Breath, Eyes, Memory was a difficult read for me because I am always so affected by trauma books, especially sexual trauma, and especially female trauma (all trauma is bad, but those are my personal triggers). The story follows the life of Sophie and her relationship with the people around her: her aunt and grandmother, who raise Sophie when her mother migrates to New York; her mother, who Sophie only begins to develop a relationship with well into her childhood years; her husband, who seemingly earnestly tries to understand Sophie and her trauma but does not quite get it.
This book had a lot of moving parts and touched on several themes (rape, parental control of adult children's sexuality, religious beliefs, death) within its 234 pages. However, the story being told was coherent and relevant, and there was barely a moment while reading that I did not want to know what came next. So much of this book felt like a real story to me and I am happy that Edwidge Danticat tackled some of these very difficult topics to discuss. One thing that resonated with me is the idea that trauma can easily be passed on from generation to generation but the cycle of trauma could equally be broken.
In my opinion, there was no beautiful ending for this book and a beautiful ending would have been unreal but the book does end on a hopeful note. I finished this book with a sense of hope that people who experience trauma can begin to heal and can ensure that they do not continue cycles of trauma with their offspring.
This book had a lot of moving parts and touched on several themes (rape, parental control of adult children's sexuality, religious beliefs, death) within its 234 pages. However, the story being told was coherent and relevant, and there was barely a moment while reading that I did not want to know what came next. So much of this book felt like a real story to me and I am happy that Edwidge Danticat tackled some of these very difficult topics to discuss. One thing that resonated with me is the idea that trauma can easily be passed on from generation to generation but the cycle of trauma could equally be broken.
In my opinion, there was no beautiful ending for this book and a beautiful ending would have been unreal but the book does end on a hopeful note. I finished this book with a sense of hope that people who experience trauma can begin to heal and can ensure that they do not continue cycles of trauma with their offspring.