Scan barcode
truebookaddict's review against another edition
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.
quirkybibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
This review was a little difficult to write as this type of story telling is one that I had not read before. I have read memoirs in the past but I had not read one that used the methods that this book has used. I really liked the way that this book makes you think about how relationships dictate so many aspects of our lives as we watch relationships change the narrative in this memoir.
Something that I really like about the way that this story is being told is how it feels like a conversation with someone. This memoir feels like the narrator is sitting down to tell you this story which made it so that this story felt a lot more relatable.
There is one main character throughout this book even as she talks about others that come along in her journey. The main character is the same person who is narrating this story and it was nice to be able to connect to the story teller in a different method.
I really enjoyed how each poem is kept on a separate page so that the story flows really well. I thought that the choice to have a portion of the first sentence in bold was a great way to give you a glance at what the focus of this poem was going to be. I thought that this was an interesting way to write a memoir and really liked the way that poetry was combined with creative nonfiction.
I recommend this to those of you who enjoy reading memoirs and may want a new way of reading them.
Something that I really like about the way that this story is being told is how it feels like a conversation with someone. This memoir feels like the narrator is sitting down to tell you this story which made it so that this story felt a lot more relatable.
There is one main character throughout this book even as she talks about others that come along in her journey. The main character is the same person who is narrating this story and it was nice to be able to connect to the story teller in a different method.
I really enjoyed how each poem is kept on a separate page so that the story flows really well. I thought that the choice to have a portion of the first sentence in bold was a great way to give you a glance at what the focus of this poem was going to be. I thought that this was an interesting way to write a memoir and really liked the way that poetry was combined with creative nonfiction.
I recommend this to those of you who enjoy reading memoirs and may want a new way of reading them.
emzireads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
quirkybibliophile's review
3.0
This review was a little difficult to write as this type of story telling is one that I had not read before. I have read memoirs in the past but I had not read one that used the methods that this book has used. I really liked the way that this book makes you think about how relationships dictate so many aspects of our lives as we watch relationships change the narrative in this memoir.
Something that I really like about the way that this story is being told is how it feels like a conversation with someone. This memoir feels like the narrator is sitting down to tell you this story which made it so that this story felt a lot more relatable.
There is one main character throughout this book even as she talks about others that come along in her journey. The main character is the same person who is narrating this story and it was nice to be able to connect to the story teller in a different method.
I really enjoyed how each poem is kept on a separate page so that the story flows really well. I thought that the choice to have a portion of the first sentence in bold was a great way to give you a glance at what the focus of this poem was going to be. I thought that this was an interesting way to write a memoir and really liked the way that poetry was combined with creative nonfiction.
I recommend this to those of you who enjoy reading memoirs and may want a new way of reading them.
Something that I really like about the way that this story is being told is how it feels like a conversation with someone. This memoir feels like the narrator is sitting down to tell you this story which made it so that this story felt a lot more relatable.
There is one main character throughout this book even as she talks about others that come along in her journey. The main character is the same person who is narrating this story and it was nice to be able to connect to the story teller in a different method.
I really enjoyed how each poem is kept on a separate page so that the story flows really well. I thought that the choice to have a portion of the first sentence in bold was a great way to give you a glance at what the focus of this poem was going to be. I thought that this was an interesting way to write a memoir and really liked the way that poetry was combined with creative nonfiction.
I recommend this to those of you who enjoy reading memoirs and may want a new way of reading them.
More...