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bookshelfmystic's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
I appreciate what Maud Newton is trying to do with Ancestor Trouble. That’s why I picked it up: I too am interested in our connection with our departed ancestors, what descending from flawed but human people can teach us about our heritage and our spirit. It didn’t end up being quite the book I wished it was, but it was entertaining enough, and had some kernels of thought in the Spirituality section I’d like to explore more.
Newton is lucky her family has some interesting characters, because over half of this book chronicles the lives of her own relatives, from her grandparents back to her ancestors in colonial New England. She clearly went deep into her own family genealogy – I liked the citations at the back of both historical records and her own emails with family members – and was able to dig up some intriguing facts. Not all of them were winners, though: some of the stories should probably have stayed in the family legend category. I also found that the stories of her ancestors got jumbled throughout the book, and I kept having to refer back to previous chapters to remember which great-grandfather we were talking about.
However interesting these stories were to the reader, I’m sure they were more meaningful to Newton. She wants to see herself in, or distance herself from, everything she learns about her ancestors. This is much of the premise of the book, and the reflections on how she could be made up of these people who came before her make this book more than just a retelling of family history.
Newton weaves together what she learns about her family with what she learns about genealogy, genetics, culture, and spirituality. For the most part, this works decently well. She keeps the fact-based sections short, just long enough to tie into her wider themes, but still informative. I especially enjoyed her explorations of ancestral healing and her unselfconsciousness about jumping into the woo stuff.
Newton being a white woman in the American South, I can understand her fixation on uncovering her familial culpability in slavery and racism. She spends a lot of time detailing just how racist her father is (to be fair, the answer is very), and the last few chapters seemed to devolve into airing her family’s dirty laundry. This all is explained as setting up her obsession with finding racist flaws in each of her ancestors. I’m not sure if she’s trying to absolve herself through her research, but the phrase “sins of the father” kept jumping to mind as she excoriates her family tree. She even spends some time confessing to her own past racist actions. It’s complicated, for all of us, to reckon with the morality of the past, but it seems that Newton feels she has something to prove, an original sin she inherited from the generations of white settlers who make up her family tree. I suppose that’s why she wrote this book.
We all have a complex relationship with the people who came before us, who were human as we are, and who did both harm and good. I’m not sure Newton solved this complexity for us, but she gave me some ideas to chew on, and a renewed interest in connecting with my own forebearers.
Newton is lucky her family has some interesting characters, because over half of this book chronicles the lives of her own relatives, from her grandparents back to her ancestors in colonial New England. She clearly went deep into her own family genealogy – I liked the citations at the back of both historical records and her own emails with family members – and was able to dig up some intriguing facts. Not all of them were winners, though: some of the stories should probably have stayed in the family legend category. I also found that the stories of her ancestors got jumbled throughout the book, and I kept having to refer back to previous chapters to remember which great-grandfather we were talking about.
However interesting these stories were to the reader, I’m sure they were more meaningful to Newton. She wants to see herself in, or distance herself from, everything she learns about her ancestors. This is much of the premise of the book, and the reflections on how she could be made up of these people who came before her make this book more than just a retelling of family history.
Newton weaves together what she learns about her family with what she learns about genealogy, genetics, culture, and spirituality. For the most part, this works decently well. She keeps the fact-based sections short, just long enough to tie into her wider themes, but still informative. I especially enjoyed her explorations of ancestral healing and her unselfconsciousness about jumping into the woo stuff.
Newton being a white woman in the American South, I can understand her fixation on uncovering her familial culpability in slavery and racism. She spends a lot of time detailing just how racist her father is (to be fair, the answer is very), and the last few chapters seemed to devolve into airing her family’s dirty laundry. This all is explained as setting up her obsession with finding racist flaws in each of her ancestors. I’m not sure if she’s trying to absolve herself through her research, but the phrase “sins of the father” kept jumping to mind as she excoriates her family tree. She even spends some time confessing to her own past racist actions. It’s complicated, for all of us, to reckon with the morality of the past, but it seems that Newton feels she has something to prove, an original sin she inherited from the generations of white settlers who make up her family tree. I suppose that’s why she wrote this book.
We all have a complex relationship with the people who came before us, who were human as we are, and who did both harm and good. I’m not sure Newton solved this complexity for us, but she gave me some ideas to chew on, and a renewed interest in connecting with my own forebearers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition
3.0
Come on, we all love a juicy story about dysfunctional families--they make us feel so normal! Maud Newton goes raking through her family's past, unearthing some really awful stuff even in the last generation (her father would scratch out the faces of black children in books that shows Black and White kids playing together.) When most people read this, it will be hard to keep the look for horror off their faces between the unabashed white supremacists and the people locked up in county insane asylums for egregious behavior.
I feel for Maud, trying to reckon with all this. But she swerves way off the track when she starts writing about the practice of ancestor worship and how they can work to support us. She believes that we must atone for the our ancestors' deeds, a daunting thought and seemingly impossible task.
"Ancestor Trouble" is her journey. It covers a lot, so much that it is too much to take in. But it raises the question about whether we are responsible for our ancestors' acts, and if so, can we ever make it right.
I feel for Maud, trying to reckon with all this. But she swerves way off the track when she starts writing about the practice of ancestor worship and how they can work to support us. She believes that we must atone for the our ancestors' deeds, a daunting thought and seemingly impossible task.
"Ancestor Trouble" is her journey. It covers a lot, so much that it is too much to take in. But it raises the question about whether we are responsible for our ancestors' acts, and if so, can we ever make it right.
youngwessels's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Maud Newton does a great job of discerning and interpolating her family history while not spending too long on any one topic.
The last 50 or so pages take a bit of a left turn as she explores and eventually accepts the heritage equivalent of healing crystals, but otherwise a good read.
The last 50 or so pages take a bit of a left turn as she explores and eventually accepts the heritage equivalent of healing crystals, but otherwise a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Racism
lynnestokes's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
Good for people interested in genealogy. I didn’t get much beyond that.
shamelessbibliophile41's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I really enjoyed the way the author wove together research and information regarding genetics, heredity, and family history with her own personal family stories—the good, the bad, and the ugly. She writes unflinchingly and honestly about some pretty tough subjects and is a great storyteller.
blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
3.0
As an avid genealogist, I'm always up for a book about family history, DNA, genealogical research, generational patterns, etc. so I was naturally drawn to ANCESTOR TROUBLE. I figured it would have a similar vibe to THE LOST FAMILY by Libby Copeland, which is interesting, entertaining, balanced, and above all, approachable. Not so. While they deal with similar subjects, ANCESTOR TROUBLE is more cerebral, more harsh, and definitely more angry. Newton spends half of the book talking about her family, both immediate and distant. The other half is a kind of here, there, and everywhere rumination on various aspects of genealogy. A big part of the former is Newton talking about her family's history of racism (she has slaveholders on both sides), which disturbs her greatly, and has led to guilt-ridden feelings of needing to reconcile and rectify her ancestors' sins. Although I disagree with the idea that a person's sins are anyone's responsibility but their own, I admire Newton's earnestness on the subject.
Although the book feels unfocused, I did find Newton's personal stories intriguing. Her family is unusual, which made them interesting to read about. I had trouble with the more scholarly bits of the book. Much of it bored me. I was literally holding my eyes open at one point to keep reading (which could have had more to do with not sleeping well last night, but still...). The way Newton presented this information just felt...distancing. Then came the ancestral worship section. I admit to being obsessed with doing genealogical research, but actual ancestor worship—at least as described by Newton—just feels way too woo-woo for me. All these things considered, I thought ANCESTOR TROUBLE was just an okay read. It presents some interesting information, asks probing questions, and could definitely lead to some intriguing discussions. For me, though, it just felt too angry, distanced, and unfocused. Plus, parts of it put me to sleep (literally).
Although the book feels unfocused, I did find Newton's personal stories intriguing. Her family is unusual, which made them interesting to read about. I had trouble with the more scholarly bits of the book. Much of it bored me. I was literally holding my eyes open at one point to keep reading (which could have had more to do with not sleeping well last night, but still...). The way Newton presented this information just felt...distancing. Then came the ancestral worship section. I admit to being obsessed with doing genealogical research, but actual ancestor worship—at least as described by Newton—just feels way too woo-woo for me. All these things considered, I thought ANCESTOR TROUBLE was just an okay read. It presents some interesting information, asks probing questions, and could definitely lead to some intriguing discussions. For me, though, it just felt too angry, distanced, and unfocused. Plus, parts of it put me to sleep (literally).
erinbeever's review against another edition
5.0
A really interesting take on the current state of genealogy and trying to reconcile not just personal family trauma but dealing with a families' part in white supremacy. It's the kind of stuff all of us who've benefitted from whiteness should be thinking about - to think about how we've gotten where we are with kindness but without romanticizing it or shrugging it off as just what people did back in the day, and how we can use that knowledge to not repeat our ancestors' mistakes and build something better.
I add that it's well written and full of interesting characters and well researched stories about historical research and dna genealogy companies if I've made it sound like a book about "here's why you're bad and you should feel bad"
I add that it's well written and full of interesting characters and well researched stories about historical research and dna genealogy companies if I've made it sound like a book about "here's why you're bad and you should feel bad"
carolpk's review against another edition
In a synopsis of Ancestor Trouble, I read that in early 2019 about 26 million people had a DNA test. I was one of them. Though my results were fairly straight forward, I was quickly hooked on the surprising news some persons received. These unexpected results can often change lives. Even the expected can lead us to information about family that we never knew.
Many books on DNA and genes focus on biological inheritance that shakes the family tree. What is different in Maud Newton's telling is how she digs deep and rips into the guts of genetics and heredity. Add to this, her own family story, often as the title states, troublesome. Her father, a lawyer with lots of problems, her mother, who initially sounds like most mothers I know, eventually is conducting exorcisms. What struck me immediately is the reason given as to why this couple married; they believed they'd have smart children. At least that part is fulfilled with Ms. Newton. Following her tree back generations, Maud explores many colorful ancestors, one who was accused of being a witch, another who could had been married thirteen times. I thought it was something when I came up with a four timer in mine. I truly don't know how she managed to cover all she did exposing not only the good of her heritage but parts of it that many of us wouldn't be brave enough to share. In addition she begs the question of privacy amongst the many companies that hold our DNA and ancestry information. She discusses and divulges ome things that will give me pause to reconsider.
Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and Reconciliation is powerful and is one that can easily be read again. My sincere thanks to Random House, Author, Maud Newton and Edelweiss, for entrusting me with this digital ARC.
Many books on DNA and genes focus on biological inheritance that shakes the family tree. What is different in Maud Newton's telling is how she digs deep and rips into the guts of genetics and heredity. Add to this, her own family story, often as the title states, troublesome. Her father, a lawyer with lots of problems, her mother, who initially sounds like most mothers I know, eventually is conducting exorcisms. What struck me immediately is the reason given as to why this couple married; they believed they'd have smart children. At least that part is fulfilled with Ms. Newton. Following her tree back generations, Maud explores many colorful ancestors, one who was accused of being a witch, another who could had been married thirteen times. I thought it was something when I came up with a four timer in mine. I truly don't know how she managed to cover all she did exposing not only the good of her heritage but parts of it that many of us wouldn't be brave enough to share. In addition she begs the question of privacy amongst the many companies that hold our DNA and ancestry information. She discusses and divulges ome things that will give me pause to reconsider.
Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and Reconciliation is powerful and is one that can easily be read again. My sincere thanks to Random House, Author, Maud Newton and Edelweiss, for entrusting me with this digital ARC.
swiss_miss_73's review against another edition
3.0
If you are reading this book with the idea that it a memoir, you will be half right. The author was certainly invested in researching her family tree. Her curiosity and self-deprecation about what she finds allows the reader to empathize and become invested as well. Crazy, racist parents grandparents, or uncles? Yep - we all have someone just like them in our trees and share the awkward, uncomfortable feelings that come from trying to reconcile childhood feelings of love and loyalty with adult understandings of unacceptable behavior and belief.
But just when you are really with this author on her journey to figure out just how many wives DID grandpaw have or another of the thorny questions her family tree posed, you mentally hear that ***eeerrerkkk*** sound of a needle scratching across a record and you are off into the weeds of epigenetics or ancestor worship. Wait, what? You say... when did I sign up for that? And the answer is you didn't - because the book's title and blub give you no idea that in order to follow "Maud's" journey up and down her family tree you're going to have to endure multiple chapters of dense lecture-like material about questionable applications of cutting edge gene science mixed with pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo.
I am left uncertain about her intentions regarding her people. She clearly condemns the bigoted, racist actions of many of her relations but then highlights herself engaging in odd white-lady feel-good symbolism that does little to address the legacy of those actions in the present. I'm left feeling like hey - maybe rather than reciting a poem or lighting a candle - whilst calling forth your ancestral spirit guide, join a social justice organization and advocate for meaningful change.
I liked it but I wouldn't read it again or recommend it.
But just when you are really with this author on her journey to figure out just how many wives DID grandpaw have or another of the thorny questions her family tree posed, you mentally hear that ***eeerrerkkk*** sound of a needle scratching across a record and you are off into the weeds of epigenetics or ancestor worship. Wait, what? You say... when did I sign up for that? And the answer is you didn't - because the book's title and blub give you no idea that in order to follow "Maud's" journey up and down her family tree you're going to have to endure multiple chapters of dense lecture-like material about questionable applications of cutting edge gene science mixed with pseudo-religious mumbo-jumbo.
I am left uncertain about her intentions regarding her people. She clearly condemns the bigoted, racist actions of many of her relations but then highlights herself engaging in odd white-lady feel-good symbolism that does little to address the legacy of those actions in the present. I'm left feeling like hey - maybe rather than reciting a poem or lighting a candle - whilst calling forth your ancestral spirit guide, join a social justice organization and advocate for meaningful change.
I liked it but I wouldn't read it again or recommend it.