Somebody’s Daughter is the heart-wrenching yet equally witty and wondrous story of how Ford came through the fire and emerged triumphant, as her own unapologetic, Black-girl self ... Ford’s brilliance as a writer, her superpower, is a portrayal of her mother — who remains unnamed — that is both damning and sympathetic, one that renders this complicated older Black woman’s full humanity ... Ford powerfully captures the complicated mix of meanness, frustration and obsessive mothering familiar to so many Black daughters ... Ford found her voice as a writer, and that helped her see that she’s not just somebody’s daughter: She’s somebody.
Somebody’s Daughter is smoothly written and marked by moments of alert complexity. Ford borrows from her literary foremother Zora Neale Hurston — especially Hurston’s juxtaposition of happiness to intimacy with the sun ... Somebody’s Daughter is a thoughtful debut. Ford writes with a flush and sophisticated pen. But the heartbeat of Ford’s firstborn is her ability to pinpoint critical moments on her self-discovering journey, and, like Baldwin and Abdurraqib, find respectable ways to perform and not drown in her suffering.
... heart-wrenching ... painfully and poignantly shows us that life goes on, even when a parent is not there ... Ford pieces together her childhood through intimate storytelling. You see the world through a child’s eyes and feel the pain that a child feels. Sometimes her story makes you laugh out loud; sometimes it makes you weep. This is a soul-stirring tale of a child contending with 'big feelings' and, later, a teenager becoming a woman ... The process of becoming and self-discovery is just as harrowing and cruel as it is beautiful and full of joy and wonder. There are moments when you wince and wish you could protect young Ashley from an unkind world; reassure her that she is beautiful, special and innocent; and keep her safe from the brutal experiences of physical and sexual violence ... There is a universality in the themes that Somebody’s Daughter presents that many readers will recognize and understand, but at its core, this is a story about the complexity and vulnerability in Black women’s lives, told firsthand by a Black woman. This is 'Black Girl Magic' at its very finest and its most unapologetic. Ford helps to fill a gap in the literature on African American women’s lives ... Perhaps the greatest contribution Ford makes is to offer her story — written in the most lively and lucid prose — in its most raw and unabridged form .. .By telling her truth so honestly and authentically, Ford invites us to tell ours, too.
Somebody’s Daughter is an apt title for Ford’s memoir, especially since she spends most of her young life hoping to be more than a daughter. The narrative details her attempts to claim that independent identity, but the path is not straightforward ... The narrative rings truest when Ford turns inward to articulate her feelings. Rather than reduce these painful memories to a reflective interpretation, Ford lifts the language into a shimmering lyric register that is polyphonic. Ford’s enduring ability to love also catapults the story. Even after learning the terrible truth of her father’s conviction, she continues to fiercely believe in him. Her understanding that the ones we love are imperfect crafts a shining star for the reader to follow.
At once gut-wrenching and heartwarming, Somebody’s Daughter is a story about finding oneself outside of a family unit that hurts and wrongs yet loves with a fiery passion ... Ford writes with stunning imagery and hard-earned wisdom, packing punches into painfully beautiful lines that linger with the reader. In her struggle to understand her family, herself, and her experiences, she shows us how to do the same. Though the events that unfold might be unfamiliar to readers, the emotions she so vividly communicates prove recognizable. She portrays depression and anxiety, trauma and dissociation, and love and loss with such specificity that anyone should be able to see some part of themselves in her writing ... At its core, Ford’s memoir is a story about love, with the overarching lesson that 'there are about a million ways to love and be loved by another person.' It is a love letter to those who have made her who she is—for better or for worse.
Somebody’s Daughter left me struggling to breathe — I found that holding my breath held back the tears that kept coming and coming and coming. In reading Ashley C. Ford’s first memoir, one feels an overwhelming desire to hold her and hold her tight. To cradle her and love her the way she wanted to be loved, to remind her how to breathe when she starts gasping for air ... Ford’s memoir does not shy away from pain or confusion; instead it holds an echo of memories, guiding readers head first through her life lessons. The memoir acts as a mosaic of moments and images that altered Ford’s ever-changing perception ... Ford’s story is anything but boring — but the plot tension isn’t what had me glued to the page. It was her words, the way she described her thoughts and thought process, the desperation to her tone and her endless desire to be loved and good ... And while you want nothing more than to hold her, take her away from that pain and into warm, always loving arms, you find yourself rooting for the small victories and the ways she’s been able to survive. Time and time again.
... radiant ... Ford as narrator has carefully chosen which recollections to hold in her heart ... Ford’s elegant, forthright tone is equally present in her authorial voice ... It's Ford's willingness to share her thoughts and observations, warts and all, that sets her memoir apart. She's a woman unafraid to face herself and share what she sees, which she does with admirable realism, humor—and especially, heart.
... stunning ... For as much hurt as Ford lives through, her book glows with compassion...There are no neat solutions, only honest ones. In showing that, this empathetic and sharply written memoir shines.
... a shining example of story and craft that embodies how exquisite a memoir can be ... the beauty and strength of Somebody’s Daughter lies in the inherently extraordinary nature of an ordinary life ... Ford’s prose is clear and measured and hits the transcendent symphonic notes that often accompany poetry ... Although it is told in a straightforward, chronological way, Somebody’s Daughter is complex. Ford is a master of layering emotion and insight into plot, creating an absorbing narrative from the mundane and the marvelous parts of life, which often occur at the same time ... One of the most striking aspects of this book is the remarkable detail Ford renders, especially regarding her early childhood and the development of a child’s curiosity ... Constructing such intricate and sonorous sentences is one of Ford’s greatest skills. They appear around things as seemingly small as a word and a pink sky, and as painful and confusing as sexual assault ... At the core of the book is a powerful love — for people who make up family, for people who forgive and people who require forgiveness. Ford does reveal why her father is in prison, and reckons with the particular nuances of that forgiveness. The writing navigates this with poignancy and grace while also fully embracing the difficulty of it ... Ford illustrates perfectly the messy, demanding work of coming into one’s self ... a brief but superbly crafted memoir that embraces the nuances of truth and love. 'I knew I had it in me to tell the truth, and be loved anyway,' Ford writes. And thank goodness she did.
Ford executes her task with both unstinting honesty and rare tenderness toward the deeply flawed, but steadfast, circle of adults who raised her. The resulting portraits, of her mother and grandmother, in particular, are remarkably vivid and humane, haunting the reader long after one has closed the book’s pages ... it is to Ford’s credit that her story never succumbs to...pat narrative conventions. The family reunites, physically, in the book’s final pages, but psychological and emotional integration is much less easy to achieve. Like Freud’s recognition that true analysis is, in fact, interminable, so Ford acknowledges the essential mystery that lies at the heart of every family.
Somebody’s Daughter is part Midwestern Black girl bildungsroman and part family saga about the rippling effects of incarceration ... This book’s title is deceptively simple. In African American Vernacular English, it can be a euphemism for a woman in danger; but when Ford reunites with her father, it becomes a revelation of the author’s self. Finally, it makes clear that the life one builds in the aftermath of a tragedy can, in time, coexist with the life left behind ... Perhaps the greatest lesson of Somebody’s Daughter is that a Black child marked by poverty and sexual violence can create multiple spaces in which to thrive—and that anybody’s child can do the same.
... an affecting, no-holds-barred memoir ... As she comes of age, she wrestles with grief, self-doubt, body image, and troubled relationships, eventually realizing that she deserves happiness, safety, and love. A remarkable debut.
... an in-depth examination of characters and family dynamics that commonly reside within the American landscape. Though they may not be totally unique, the personalities are nonetheless still relatable as she brings them alive in a compelling narrative. The dialogue among family members is often dispiriting and yet poignant at the same time. ... one of the most positive outcomes of Ms. Ford’s dedication to becoming a healthy adult.
The stigma of incarceration is illuminated in Somebody's Daughter in a very poignant way, as we see how few members of her extended family are able to tell her the truth ... it is a fascinating reveal to see how, although occasionally divided, family still wins out and is both punishment and prize. Her prose feels like a conversation, and readers are drawn into the private tale easily. I read this book in one sitting --- and then read it again --- because it carries a message of love, hope and self-care that will be a salve for everyone during this difficult time ... a bountiful and beautiful tale.
In a book that shares a similar spirit with Tara Westover’s Educated, Ford tells the story of uniquely difficult circumstances with profound insight and detail about the tumults of childhood ... Ford creates fully three-dimensional portraits of her mother, grandmother, and other key players, using a child's-eye view to show us their failings and the calculations, negotiations, and survival tactics she developed in response to them. Sure to be one of the best memoirs of 2021.
Journalist Ford debuts with a blistering yet tender account of growing up with an incarcerated father ... This remarkable, heart-wrenching story of loss, hardship, and self-acceptance astounds.
