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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
I rarely give a book a five-star rating but on this one I must. This is poet Natasha Trethewey's story of the violence she as a child and her mother suffered at the hands of her stepfather and her mother's eventual death at his hands. There is a period of peace between when Natasha's mother leaves her stepfather and when he begins harassing them again in earnest. Even then, though, danger was lurking: the stepfather showed up at a football game where Natasha was cheerleading, intent on killing her. For some reason, rather than being scared, she felt sorry for him and waved at him from the field in a friendly manner. Because of this, he spared her - and ended up killing her mother two weeks later. This is the most emotionally accurate portrayal of domestic abuse that I have ever read. If you want to know the mind-set of an abuser and how it affects everyone around them, or the mighty power of love between a mother and her child, read this book. Perhaps because Trethewey is a poet, her language is emotion-laden yet still precise.
Natasha Tretheway's poetic voice allows her to clearly guide the reader through her own processing of the murder of her mother at the hands of her stepfather.
The book is heart breaking because you know what's coming for Natasha and for her mother. Even the happy moments are darkened by the clouds of impending doom, and Tretheway balances the sweet with the bitter throughout the novel.
What hit me the hardest were the italicized sections where she engages with grief the most. Some describe her dreams and some describe memories, but all of them do what her poetry does—distill the heart of her grief out onto a page. Overall I felt like this was more of a memoir and less about grief, but those italicized sections blew me out of the water.
At the end, Tretheway talks about the story she wrote for herself around her mother's death—the story that she need to believe to survive. I saw myself in her clear-eyed dissection of how she framed her mother's life in the aftermath of her death and in how she looks at it now.
This is the 100th book I've read this year. Seems fitting: while Tretheway had to wrestle with and engage much more trauma in her own mother's death, her journey and feelings reflected my own many times. It was a gift to be able to see myself in these pages; it was also a gift to recognize how much pain I've been spared.
The book is heart breaking because you know what's coming for Natasha and for her mother. Even the happy moments are darkened by the clouds of impending doom, and Tretheway balances the sweet with the bitter throughout the novel.
What hit me the hardest were the italicized sections where she engages with grief the most. Some describe her dreams and some describe memories, but all of them do what her poetry does—distill the heart of her grief out onto a page. Overall I felt like this was more of a memoir and less about grief, but those italicized sections blew me out of the water.
At the end, Tretheway talks about the story she wrote for herself around her mother's death—the story that she need to believe to survive. I saw myself in her clear-eyed dissection of how she framed her mother's life in the aftermath of her death and in how she looks at it now.
This is the 100th book I've read this year. Seems fitting: while Tretheway had to wrestle with and engage much more trauma in her own mother's death, her journey and feelings reflected my own many times. It was a gift to be able to see myself in these pages; it was also a gift to recognize how much pain I've been spared.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey was on my TBR for awhile, after seeing @thestackspod give it high praise. This slim memoir is a stunning, emotional read. Trethewey reflects on a life-altering event - when she was just 19, her stepfather murdered her mother.
Trethewey tells her story beautifully. Her writing is precise and reflective. Though we know the end from the beginning, the way in which she leads us there is completely compelling and gripping. I read this book quickly but carefully, as I didn’t want to miss a word. This book is a heartbreakingly raw portrait of grief and domestic violence. I can’t recommend it enough.
Trethewey tells her story beautifully. Her writing is precise and reflective. Though we know the end from the beginning, the way in which she leads us there is completely compelling and gripping. I read this book quickly but carefully, as I didn’t want to miss a word. This book is a heartbreakingly raw portrait of grief and domestic violence. I can’t recommend it enough.
Poet Natasha Trethewey has created a beautiful tribute to a mother gone too soon. She took many years to write her story and has unfolded the tale in small segments, which created an eagerness in this Audible listener to learn more. Trethewey's performance on the Audible recording was mesmerizing and stellar. I highly recommend this book!
This is a memoir by a daughter whose mother was murdered by her ex-husband in the 1980s. The author is a poet, but I have to say it was the mother's voice and her rational, matter-of-fact way of expressing herself in phone transscripts that impressed me most. I hope that writing this memoir has helped Ms Trethewey to alleviate her trauma.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder
This book completely destroyed me. My heart was ripped out and shattered multiple times.
The transcripts of the phone conversations between Gwen and Joel are maybe the most haunting part of this book.
The transcripts of the phone conversations between Gwen and Joel are maybe the most haunting part of this book.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Gorgeous. Heartbreaking. A must-read.
