DigeeBooks

This program is read by the author, and includes a bonus conversation between the author and Clint Smith.

One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the looming absence of her incarcerated father.

Through poverty, adolescence, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley Ford wishes she could turn to her father for hope and encouragement. There are just a few problems: he’s in prison, and she doesn’t know what he did to end up there. She doesn’t know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates. When the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Still reeling from the rape, which she keeps secret from her family, Ashley desperately searches for meaning in the chaos. Then, her grandmother reveals the truth about her father’s incarceration...and Ashley’s entire world is turned upside down. 

Somebody’s Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor, Black girl in Indiana with a family fragmented by incarceration, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she embarks on a powerful journey to find the threads between who she is and what she was born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them. 

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books

"Ashley Ford's prose is glass - so clear, sharp and smooth that the reader sees, in vivid focus, her complicated childhood, brilliant mind, and golden heart. The gravity and urgency of Somebody’s Daughter anchored me to my chair and slowed my heartbeat - like no book has since Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Ashley Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody’s Daughter will be a book of the year." (Glennon Doyle, author of number-one New York Times best seller Untamed and founder of Together Rising) 

"This remarkable, heart-wrenching story of loss, hardship, and self-acceptance astounds." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir is a poignant and thought-provoking memoir by Ashley C. Ford, an acclaimed writer and podcaster. In her book, Ford delves into her personal experiences as a Black woman growing up in America, exploring themes of identity, race, family, and trauma.

With raw honesty and vulnerability, Ford recounts her childhood in Indiana, where she faced poverty, abuse, and neglect. She shares the challenges she encountered in her family relationships, particularly with her mother, who struggled with addiction and mental illness. Ford also reflects on her experiences with racism and discrimination, both overt and subtle, shedding light on the systemic inequalities that exist in our society.

Despite the hardships she faced, Ford's story is ultimately one of resilience and hope. She writes about finding strength in her community, her friends, and her own determination to succeed. She also explores the healing power of writing and storytelling, highlighting the importance of using one's voice to speak out against injustice and to create a more inclusive and equitable world.

Somebody's Daughter is a powerful and important memoir that offers a unique perspective on the intersection of race, gender, and class in America. Ford's writing is insightful, evocative, and deeply moving, leaving readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and triumphs of being a Black woman in today's world.

If you are interested in reading more about the experiences of Black women in America, here are some additional book recommendations:

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston