Scan barcode
A review by _askthebookbug
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
5.0
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
TW : Rape, animal abuse, death.
"My father's hands were soil. My mother's were rain. No wonder they could not hold one another without causing enough mud for two. And yet out of that mud, they built us a house that became a home." - Tiffany McDaniel
Reading Betty was unlike anything I've ever read before. Of course, there's a lot of trauma for one to bear after reading about the Carpenters but there's also so much love to take. Tiffany writes about her mother, Betty, growing up with her siblings in the 60s when colour was still given much importance. They were Cherokee and Betty's father never stopped talking about their history. With folklores and stunning stories about nature and women, Landon Carpenter brings up his children to respect their Indian background. This father who championed and celebrated women, who single-handedly brought up the kids with a very present yet an absent mother, was all things kind. Betty is a story that will stay with you long after you've read it. Like a flowery perfume that often leaves behind it's subtle fragrance on your clothes.
No other book glorifies nature the way this one does. Landon and Betty often blended with trees and the soil, getting their hands dirty and hair wild. When tragedy after tragedy hit their family, it was their faith in the Earth that kept them going. Betty did not have an easy childhood what with a mentally unavailable mother, deaths of her siblings over a period of time and from having to witness rape. This was in no way an easy read but there were a lot of aspects that made this a very fulfilling read. I cried when Betty lost her childhood so quickly, I cried again when the women around her had so much pain to carry and I cried when losses came in waves for the Carpenter family. But I also smiled with my heart on many occasions.
Before you decide to read this book, I'd ask you to go in cautiously because there's quite a lot to wrap one's head around. Many would find it unbearable to proceed but Tiffany's incredible writing makes it all worthwhile.
This right here is my best read of 2021.
TW : Rape, animal abuse, death.
"My father's hands were soil. My mother's were rain. No wonder they could not hold one another without causing enough mud for two. And yet out of that mud, they built us a house that became a home." - Tiffany McDaniel
Reading Betty was unlike anything I've ever read before. Of course, there's a lot of trauma for one to bear after reading about the Carpenters but there's also so much love to take. Tiffany writes about her mother, Betty, growing up with her siblings in the 60s when colour was still given much importance. They were Cherokee and Betty's father never stopped talking about their history. With folklores and stunning stories about nature and women, Landon Carpenter brings up his children to respect their Indian background. This father who championed and celebrated women, who single-handedly brought up the kids with a very present yet an absent mother, was all things kind. Betty is a story that will stay with you long after you've read it. Like a flowery perfume that often leaves behind it's subtle fragrance on your clothes.
No other book glorifies nature the way this one does. Landon and Betty often blended with trees and the soil, getting their hands dirty and hair wild. When tragedy after tragedy hit their family, it was their faith in the Earth that kept them going. Betty did not have an easy childhood what with a mentally unavailable mother, deaths of her siblings over a period of time and from having to witness rape. This was in no way an easy read but there were a lot of aspects that made this a very fulfilling read. I cried when Betty lost her childhood so quickly, I cried again when the women around her had so much pain to carry and I cried when losses came in waves for the Carpenter family. But I also smiled with my heart on many occasions.
Before you decide to read this book, I'd ask you to go in cautiously because there's quite a lot to wrap one's head around. Many would find it unbearable to proceed but Tiffany's incredible writing makes it all worthwhile.
This right here is my best read of 2021.