Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir

I finished this book this evening and I’m going to try to sit with it a bit longer. I’ve tried to investigate who Ashley is outside of this book, and why I am certain I’m familiar with her, but keep coming up empty. This memoir was a hard read at times, but definitely a worthwhile reading. BRB, still processing.

I really dread rating memoirs, as I generally try to be a nice person and giving somebody's pouring out of heart and soul less than five stars makes me feel like a real jerk.

A couple of things I really loved about this:

• This was well written. Ashley Ford's writing is smooth, inviting, and captivating. I read this book in one day. This was after I had already finished the last half of another book that morning. Dishes sat in the sink. Laundry was completely ignored. Lunch didn't happen until late afternoon...and even then it was me shoveling forkfuls of Strawberry Spinach salad over the book while still reading. Yes, that is an oily dressing spot on page 58.

• The vulnerability. I believe that you have to have a good amount of vulnerability to write a memoir (because clearly I am an expert on this - ha ha ha). This memoir puts a lot out there - painful experiences with family, relationships, body image, men/rape culture. Some of these people may have not been tickled to be written about in this light but there was an emphasis on finally being able to feel free and speak her own truth. And yet it was done with consideration to show love for family and that perhaps they are not bad people but instead people who did bad things.

A couple of things I didn't love quite as much:

• It's a little disjointed. I think there is just a lot going on here. There is the relationship with her mother and her grandmother and her father. There is childhood. There is puberty and the (disgusting) things young women (really all women) have to deal with as their bodies change and develop. There are toxic relationships with boys/men. There are good friendships. There is education and careers and self-awareness and growth. This isn't a terribly long memoir, so this was a lot to pack in, which made it feel a little all over the place at times or like there would be a huge focus on a certain age and then a huge leap to another that left me wondering what happened in between (because I was nosy invested).

• I had a hard time believing everything in the beginning of the book. The details were extremely clear for being such a young age. Now it is entirely possible that I just have a below average memory where I can't remember detailed conversations from before I was old enough to go to school and she does have the ability to do that, but it kept distracting me. I think this is a common thing in memoirs, however. I understand that they likely aren't verbatim. So this is not a big criticism but just something I needed to get off my chest.

Moving on...



This may seem like a random photo. And it sort of is. But let me explain.

I have a pen holder cup thingamabob on my kitchen island that I keep a large assortment of bookmarks in. I grabbed this bookmark with the Phantom of the Opera (I have not even read it yet) quote without thinking about it and before I knew anything about this book. As I read, I realized how perfectly matched it was to what I was reading. Ashley looks for love and acceptance (mostly that crucial self-acceptance) throughout the entire book. And that's something we can all identify with.

I'd definitely pick up anything else Ashley Ford puts out there.

4 Stars

This was a good, quick read memoir too. I have a copy if anyone wants to read.

This memoir is a young girl maturing to a woman. Daughter of a single mother having a string grandmother. The author shares family, education, love and a person coming into herself.

Fantastic writing, beautifully told story. I can't wait to discuss this at my next book club. I'm choosing this one!