Somebody's Daughter

One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the ever looming absence of her incarcerated father and the path we must take to both honor and overcome our origins.

Ashley had idolised her father for as long as she can remember. She thinks he is the only person in the world who can really relate to her, even though she can only hazily recall her first encounter with him. She believes she comprehends him as well. Like her, he's sensitive, an artist, and maybe even equally terrified of the dark. She's sure that when they're together once again, she'll feel whole at last. There are just a couple issues: she doesn't know what he did to go into jail, and he is incarcerated.

Despite facing hardships such as poverty, puberty, and a strained relationship with her mother, Ashley finds solace and support in her father's image. She's not sure how to manage the constant anxieties that keep her awake at night, or how to cope with the physical changes that attract unwelcome attention from males. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates; when the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Ashley, who has been hiding the rape from her family, is still in shock when she learns her father's reason for going to jail. And that's where the story really begins.

The novel Somebody's Daughter delves into the world of impoverished Black girlhood, examining the alienating and intricate nature of such an upbringing. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she provides a poignant coming-of-age recollection that speaks to finding the threads between who you are and what you were born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them.