Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir
Ashley C Ford
(Author)
Description
One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the ever looming absence of her incarcerated father and the path we must take to both honor and overcome our origins.
For as long as she could remember, Ashley has put her father on a pedestal. Despite having only vague memories of seeing him face-to-face, she believes he's the only person in the entire world who understands her. She thinks she understands him too. He's sensitive like her, an artist, and maybe even just as afraid of the dark. She's certain that one day they'll be reunited again, and she'll finally feel complete. There are just a few problems: he's in prison, and she doesn't know what he did to end up there. Through poverty, puberty, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley returns to her image of her father for hope and encouragement. She doesn't know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates; when the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Still reeling from the rape, which she keeps secret from her family, Ashley finally finds out why her father is in prison. And that's where the story really begins. Somebody's Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she provides a poignant coming-of-age recollection that speaks to finding the threads between who you are and what you were born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them. Ashley Ford's prose is glass--so clear, sharp and smooth that the reader sees, in vivid focus, her complicated childhood, brilliant mind, and golden heart. The gravity and urgency of Somebody's Daughter anchored me to my chair and slowed my heartbeat--like no book has since Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Ashley Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody's Daughter will be a book of the year. -- Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed and founder of Together RisingProduct Details
Price
$27.99
$25.75
Publisher
Flatiron Books: An Oprah Book
Publish Date
June 01, 2021
Pages
224
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9781250305978
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About the Author
Ashley C. Ford lives in Brooklyn by way of Indiana. Ford hosts The Chronicles of Now podcast where she has featured Lisa Taddeo, Carmen Maria Machado, Tommy Orange, Curtis Sittenfeld, and more. She also co-hosts The HBO companion podcast Lovecraft Country Radio. Ford has written or guest-edited for The Guardian, ELLE, BuzzFeed, OUT Magazine, Slate, Teen Vogue, New York Magazine, Allure, Marie Claire, The New York Times, Netflix Queue, Domino, Cup of Jo, and various other web and print publications. Her writing has been listed among Longform & Longread's Best of 2017. She has been named among Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 in Media (2017), Brooklyn Magazine's Brooklyn 100 (2016), Time Out New York's New Yorkers of The Year (2017), and Variety's New Power of New York (2019). She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Kelly Stacy, who is also a writer, and their chocolate lab Astro Renegade Ford-Stacy.
Reviews
Buzzfeed 75 Books to Add to Your 2021 TBR List
Ashley Ford's much-awaited memoir chronicles her complicated relationship with her father...expect a deeply moving, nuanced story
Layering in the complexities of her relationship with her mother, her changing body and a boyfriend who grows abusive, Ford offers a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story Elle 55 Books to Read in 2021
In this beautiful, delicate memoir, writer Ashley C. Ford recounts a childhood defined by her incarcerated father's absence...and she starts a journey toward true and powerful selfhood. LitHub Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2021
Expect to see SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER make waves this year. Cosmopolitan These New Books Coming Out in 2021 Are Guaranteed to Make Your Reading List
Her coming-of-age story gets at how to both acknowledge and break away from what we're born into. Garden and Gun Top of 2021 Reading List for Southerners
Ashley C. Ford writes with lyrical vulnerability...Her most powerful personal essays have delved into her girlhood, race, incarceration, poverty, and family ties--themes she expands on in this recollection of her childhood and her father's imprisonment. Electric Literature 43 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2021
Her writing shines with extraordinary insight and grace, and Somebody's Daughter is a book so many of you will want to read. SheThePeople Non-Fiction Books 2021: 27 Authors to Watch Out For
As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she provides a poignant coming-of-age recollection that speaks to finding the threads between who you are and what you were born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them. Boston.com 21 Books to Look Out For in 2021, According to Local Experts
I think it's going to resonate with so many young girls of color who grew up in this kind of adversity and how you can come up out of that. Lebanon-Express (OR) Most Anticipated 2021 Books
Ashley C. Ford, a journalist and host of the "Chronicles of Now" podcast, makes her much-buzzed book debut with an intensely personal story: her relationship with her incarcerated father. Ashley Ford's prose is glass--so clear, sharp and smooth that the reader sees, in vivid focus, her complicated childhood, brilliant mind, and golden heart. The gravity and urgency of SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER anchored me to my chair and slowed my heartbeat--like no book has since Toni Morrison's THE BLUEST EYE. Ashley Ford is a writer for the ages, and SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER will be a book of the year. - Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed and founder of Together Rising