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A review by maryk8
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this one. The story of Ashely's Sack is important to showcase the overlooked history of enslaved Black women. However, even after extensive research not much is known about it. The first chapters give a detailed account of how the author researched this article. If you have watched Finding Your Roots or Who Do You Think You Are, this will make you fully appreciate how much work goes into presenting those slick one-hour summaries of the guest's heritage.
Since there is little information available about Ashey's family, the author uses biographical information about other enslaved women to fill in the gaps. She also adds much background information about related areas like how slavery came to America, and how the enslaved people were treated on the plantations (what they wore, ate, personal hygiene, etc.). Perhaps the most heartbreaking sections are about how families were torn apart at the whims of their owners.
Since the author had gaps to fill in, many sentences start with qualifiers such as "it was likely", "perhaps", "maybe" or "typically". I listened to the audiobook, so once I noticed the overuse of these phrases, they became distracting.
Also, most likely due to the lack of information, things seemed to be repeated over the over again. While the book does cover a variety of topics that are overlooked by history, the story could have been told in a more concise way.
Since there is little information available about Ashey's family, the author uses biographical information about other enslaved women to fill in the gaps. She also adds much background information about related areas like how slavery came to America, and how the enslaved people were treated on the plantations (what they wore, ate, personal hygiene, etc.). Perhaps the most heartbreaking sections are about how families were torn apart at the whims of their owners.
Since the author had gaps to fill in, many sentences start with qualifiers such as "it was likely", "perhaps", "maybe" or "typically". I listened to the audiobook, so once I noticed the overuse of these phrases, they became distracting.
Also, most likely due to the lack of information, things seemed to be repeated over the over again. While the book does cover a variety of topics that are overlooked by history, the story could have been told in a more concise way.