Somebody's Daughter ★★★☆☆

Somebody's Daughter (Click Here To Buy)

★★★☆☆

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashely Ford is a memoir about a woman reflecting on her childhood experiences and how they have shaped her today.

I read this as an audiobook checked out from the library and read by the author.

Ford grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana with her mother and siblings. She loved her brother viciously and felt her mother was of two selves: the mama she loved and laughed with and the mother she feared. Her father had been away in prison for the entirety of her life. As Ford grows up, she must deal with inappropriate advances from adults and peers alike. When she gets old enough, Ford leaves for college and must find her own way - discovering how to leave a place and what it means to come back.

The writing in the is book is very good, I think that it was just marketed more as the story about a girl whose father is in prison. This is true, it’s just that the weight on this idea is more peripheral than expected. At the end of the book, there was a fantastic interview Ford did with Clint Smith, author of How The Word is Passed that talked a lot about Ford’s experience writing the book and what it meant for her growth as a human. This was my favorite part of the book because it really addressed questions like how her mother is going to feel about some of the true and difficult things that were said about her and how you hold that AND say it anyway. A great interview.

If you liked Somebody’s Daughter, I also recommend No Ashes in the Fire by Darnell Moore, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, Educated by Tara Westover, and Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance.

Happy reading -

Ms.Bjork