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truebookaddict's review
4.0
I imagine writing a memoir would be incredibly difficult; even more so to write one lyrically. White has a knack for getting her story across in the most subtle and beautiful ways.
She conveys the difficulty of a young Black girl being raised up not knowing her father, and the difficulty of other "father figures" not living up to the role. Abusing her mother. Drug addicts. A mother who says, "You raise your daughters and love your sons." Something was and is missing, she relates....love. "I am lonely." Pushing lovers away, blaming, and being told, You can't forgive me until you get inside your heart and grow."
What's missing? A father?
She does make contact with her father and, as often occurs with absent fathers, there is an egotism on his part. A sort of, 'I was never there, but I still should be the most important person to you.' She meets him in person eventually, in Guyana. She learns that he lost his father tragically when he was but 11 years old. White attributes this as a possibility of his own absence in her life...."Is his father drowning the original text of our suffering?" She also learns of his selfishness, and that he expects more from her than he ever should, considering. In the end, she asks herself if she can forgive him. I'll let you find out for yourself what she decides.
This was at times a difficult read because the sadness and loneliness are palpable in the prose and yet, it's also an inspiring story of forgiveness and finding your worth beyond who or where you come from. This story is told with both bravery and humility. A definite must-read for those who love poetry and/or memoirs.
She conveys the difficulty of a young Black girl being raised up not knowing her father, and the difficulty of other "father figures" not living up to the role. Abusing her mother. Drug addicts. A mother who says, "You raise your daughters and love your sons." Something was and is missing, she relates....love. "I am lonely." Pushing lovers away, blaming, and being told, You can't forgive me until you get inside your heart and grow."
What's missing? A father?
She does make contact with her father and, as often occurs with absent fathers, there is an egotism on his part. A sort of, 'I was never there, but I still should be the most important person to you.' She meets him in person eventually, in Guyana. She learns that he lost his father tragically when he was but 11 years old. White attributes this as a possibility of his own absence in her life...."Is his father drowning the original text of our suffering?" She also learns of his selfishness, and that he expects more from her than he ever should, considering. In the end, she asks herself if she can forgive him. I'll let you find out for yourself what she decides.
This was at times a difficult read because the sadness and loneliness are palpable in the prose and yet, it's also an inspiring story of forgiveness and finding your worth beyond who or where you come from. This story is told with both bravery and humility. A definite must-read for those who love poetry and/or memoirs.
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