A review by stephconnor1026
American Daughter by Stephanie Thornton Plymale, Elissa Wald

4.0

This heartbreaking but hopeful memoir was so painful to read at times, but I was completely immersed throughout. As a follower of Stephanie Thornton Plymale on instagram, I had often drooled over her gorgeous home and admired her successful business and strong marriage. Never would I have guessed the depths of her torturous childhood filled with poverty, homelessness, sexual assault, and an often absent mother suffering from acute mental illness. This intimate look at a mother/daughter relationship gutted me for the majority of the story and then uplifted me in the final pages. This is an extraordinary tale of forgiveness, self-discovery, and love that I won’t soon forget.