Moorer’s memoir is full of backstory—memories, current notes and thoughts, and well-described metaphors that come together fluidly, all told with grit and lyrical prose. Moorer’s thoughtful, introspective reflections are painted with an artist’s brush. Her writing is beautiful and gripping and will stop readers in their tracks ... Memoir lovers will find this a must-read.
The narrative reads like an intimate journal with meditations on objects the author remembers from her childhood ... Interspersed photographs and pieces of ephemera help tell the history of her family’s unraveling ... Fans of Moorer or Shelby Lynne’s music will recognize this story from their country songs. Recommended for libraries where country musicians’ biographies are popular.
... arresting ... Moorer weaves in the narrative of her childhood with shorter, more poetic chapters, ranging from lists and letters to short, evocative vignettes. The changing form emulates the way that trauma and grief shatter one’s reality in inexplicable ways. To me, the effect was spellbinding, inviting us into Moorer’s attempts to make sense of a heinous tragedy, and into the painful corners where those attempts fragment ... Moorer describes her family’s love for one another as 'the piece of paper and not the paperweight.' But her affection for her mother and sister grounds Blood poignantly. The care between these women holds the paper in place enough to allow Moorer to write their story upon it.
Affecting in its cleareyed depiction of the lives that are shattered all around the immediate victims, including her then-14-year-old self, Moorer’s account examines the lingering effects—e.g., mistrust and a habit of leaving relationships before they’re over ... There is much wisdom in her experience as well as in her reflections on what she has read and heard, as with her note that one great step forward is to 'give up hope for a better past.' That her past is worse than most has posed countless challenges, it’s evident in these pages, but Moorer confronts it with an unblinking honesty that is sometimes long on self-doubt and short on comfort ... Much different from most musicians’ memoirs and of much interest to all who wrestle to understand tragedies of their own.
... beautiful, heart-wrenching ... In lyrical prose, Moorer earnestly confronts an early childhood in the 1970s spent tiptoeing around a violent, alcoholic father ... Moorer’s masterful, comforting storytelling may serve as solace for those who’ve faced abuse, a signal for those in it to get out, and an eye-opener for others.
