Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C. Ford

26 reviews

opldxblqo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Sharp, beautiful, and vulnerable yet gracefully reserved. Somebody's Daughter is at once an intensely beautiful book about ugly things (abuse, incarceration, rape), and a bittersweet reflection on friendship, and love. I cried many times for Ford, whose careful writing mirrored many of my own experiences with a discomforting degree of acuity. I'll be picking up my own copy when I return this to the friend who was sure I'd love it. She was right.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, and Child abuse

cartermon4's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Cancer, Classism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming

kellitrusedell's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I so appreciate and admire people who take the time to reflect on, write down, and share their life stories. This book was hard to read at times, so I’m sure it was hard to write, and even harder to live. But it was also beautiful in so many ways. The writing, the emotion, the perseverance, the healing. Having also been born and raised in Indiana in the 80s and 90s myself, I enjoyed being able to connect and relate to the author, as she talked about her time in Fort Wayne, Ball State, and Indianapolis. Reading about her complicated relationships and interactions with her abusive mother, incarcerated father, grandparents, love interests, and other people in her life was heartbreaking, inspiring, and so much more. It’s always difficult to rate a memoir, because it is someone’s personal thoughts and life experiences. Even though I wanted to know more, I totally respect people setting boundaries and limits to what and how much they share of themselves and their life. I applaud Ashley C. Ford for taking the time and energy to share with us, and for writing so well and from the heart. I give her debut memoir five hearts, for continuing to love and live and heal and grow through it all. 💗💗💗💗💗 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Miscarriage

hadsbaker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Miscarriage

stephmcoakley's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Cursing, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Stalking

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

Ford's descriptions are cinematic; rarely before have I been so enthralled by the way a writer describes people and emotions. Truly, this memoir is a thoughful and complex picture of Ford's youth and family, and hearing her read it herself made it all the more personal. I felt as though I stepped into some of these scenes and lived beside her. 

I also greatly enjoyed the interview at the end between Ford and Clint Smith; it is always enlightening to hear great writers discuss their craft. (I may listen to that portion again after reading Smith's book, since he discusses his own word in-depth, too.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Moderate: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Miscarriage

Minor: Cancer, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, and Stalking

Incarceration also comes up a lot, since the author's father is in prison for most of the book.

sarahmae531's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

A beautiful memoir that had me laughing and crying through out it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape

Moderate: Child death, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Racism, Cancer, and Miscarriage

nicoleherz's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Hits equally hard for those with strained mother-daughter or father-daughter relationships. Definitely had a good cry about ⅔ in.
Beautiful writing, reminded me of the glass castle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Cancer

st61826's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Miscarriage, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death

twilightfan420's review against another edition

dark funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

5-star memoir alert! I enjoyed every page of this so much I risked getting horribly carsick to finish reading it on a road trip. The relationship with the author’s mother was so complex and expertly-detailed. I think Ford examined the multiplicity of what it means to be family in an enlightening way; the concept of unconditional love shone through the entire narrative and manifested very different through Ford’s individual relationships. I think Ford writes sexual trauma in an extremely conscious yet evocative way. I could feel her pain through  the writing but I could also feel her strength. As a survivor myself, I felt seen and empowered at the same time as Ford reckoned with her own experiences and the narrative she’d been told about her father throughout the work. Also, the way it the story was told starting and ending at the same point was so beautifully done. It felt wrapped up but still realistic in a way that many narrative nonfiction cannot capture.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence

Minor: Animal death