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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
My heart broke every step of the way and then I was moved to tears. Unforgettable prose and inflected by a poets’ attention to language, this is luminous. Urgent. Visceral. Breathtaking.
This memoir by Trethewey explores her childhood as the daughter of a biracial couple from Mississippi, and later her parents' divorce and her mother's remarriage to a man full of barely-contained violence. Trethewey is a former U.S. Poet Laureate, and she confirms my growing opinion that memoirs written by authors normally known for being poets are exquisite. This is no exception. A difficult, emotional read, but a beautiful one. Highly recommended.
I wish I’d read this with my eyes rather than my ears, I think because when the language got particularly poetic (the author is a poet), it felt unnatural to my ear. (This is definitely a me thing and why I’m picky about audiobooks.)
Within this tragic story of abuse, the transcripts between the perpetrator and his victim were downright harrowing and put a very fine point on why women don’t “just leave.”
Within this tragic story of abuse, the transcripts between the perpetrator and his victim were downright harrowing and put a very fine point on why women don’t “just leave.”
This book is devastating. Honestly, it made me sick to my stomach, especially reading the transcripts of the last recordings between the author's mother and her killer, her ex-husband (being recorded by the Assistant DA, which led to an arrest warrant hours before she was murdered), and all of the other facts surrounding Gwen Grimmette's death.
A beautifully written and heartbreaking memoir of love, cruelty and suffering.
At first I felt like I was missing some pieces: her relationship with her father, what happened with Joey. But this is story of her and her mother, the other pieces extraneous. The difference elements (memories, dreams, transcripts) sometimes felt a bit disjointed, but it was beautifully written.
3.5 stars
This is a difficult book to review. Ultimately I surmised this book was for the author, a cathartic release of pain and trauma; and we l, her audience, are merely voyeurs. I sincerely wish she’s found a place to lay her burdens. I appreciate her vulnerability and sharing in the life and loss of her mother. I know that this book couldn’t have been easy to write, critique, edit and send off to the masses. So to the author, Brava!
This memoir was difficult for me to read. It unearthed my own trauma of losing my mother. While I did not lose my mother violently, I understand the trauma of a violent loss. Discovering the bodies of both your parents after their passings, brings on its own trauma. So the final chapters of this book, about trauma and healing hit a very very tender space in my own journey.
I wasn’t expecting my reaction to the final chapters of this book. I, in listening to the authors story and her understanding of trauma, brought rapid and unstoppable tears to my eyes. So now I’m on the bus sobbing my head off as quietly and secretly as possible. Reliving my own trauma and assessing where I am in my healing. I wasn’t ready.
We all have to come to grips with our traumas. We have to find pathways to healing, so we can continue to live and love. I appreciate Natasha sharing a glimpse of her path. It forced me to look at and evaluate my own.
This is a difficult book to review. Ultimately I surmised this book was for the author, a cathartic release of pain and trauma; and we l, her audience, are merely voyeurs. I sincerely wish she’s found a place to lay her burdens. I appreciate her vulnerability and sharing in the life and loss of her mother. I know that this book couldn’t have been easy to write, critique, edit and send off to the masses. So to the author, Brava!
This memoir was difficult for me to read. It unearthed my own trauma of losing my mother. While I did not lose my mother violently, I understand the trauma of a violent loss. Discovering the bodies of both your parents after their passings, brings on its own trauma. So the final chapters of this book, about trauma and healing hit a very very tender space in my own journey.
I wasn’t expecting my reaction to the final chapters of this book. I, in listening to the authors story and her understanding of trauma, brought rapid and unstoppable tears to my eyes. So now I’m on the bus sobbing my head off as quietly and secretly as possible. Reliving my own trauma and assessing where I am in my healing. I wasn’t ready.
We all have to come to grips with our traumas. We have to find pathways to healing, so we can continue to live and love. I appreciate Natasha sharing a glimpse of her path. It forced me to look at and evaluate my own.
Liked how the book isn’t necessarily chronologically written, but rather in glimpses of broken memories.
Devastating powerful memoir of family, violence, trauma, loss, grief, guilt, and the very slow healing power of memory and love. A great and courageous book!
Interesting journey through grief and traumatic events.