Author: Jamie Ford
Published: August 2nd 2022 by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
First Sentence: Faye Moy signed a contract stating that she would never marry.
Blurb: Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living.
As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.
Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.
As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.
My Opinion: I must admit I was concerned when I first picked up this book -- the number of women and the ability to keep their time in history correct worried me. Faye, Dorothy, Afong, Greta, Zoe, Lai, and Annabel are a large cast to remember but don’t worry, that’s the easy part.
Not told linearly, yet easy to keep all the players straight, Jaime Ford opened a new world -- Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance/inherited trauma/generational trauma. Not knowing these strange new words, I had to rabbit trail my way through Google to get a better understanding. Still, a bit confused if the premise was built on literal science or pseudo-science, yet I eventually realized it didn’t matter.
A deep, painful, and satisfying narrative as each woman’s story unfolds. As their lives are laid raw, each woman becomes your favorite, the one you root for most. They each meld together and hold a place in your heart. A heart that will be broken and repaired time and time again.
Historical fiction, fiction-fiction, non-fiction, women’s fiction, speculative fiction, and dystopian fiction all at the same time. And yet, all originating from a true story.
As a side note, don’t skip the acknowledgments. I found them to be just as fascinating as the book itself.
Blurb: Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living.
As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.
Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.
As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.
My Opinion: I must admit I was concerned when I first picked up this book -- the number of women and the ability to keep their time in history correct worried me. Faye, Dorothy, Afong, Greta, Zoe, Lai, and Annabel are a large cast to remember but don’t worry, that’s the easy part.
Not told linearly, yet easy to keep all the players straight, Jaime Ford opened a new world -- Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance/inherited trauma/generational trauma. Not knowing these strange new words, I had to rabbit trail my way through Google to get a better understanding. Still, a bit confused if the premise was built on literal science or pseudo-science, yet I eventually realized it didn’t matter.
A deep, painful, and satisfying narrative as each woman’s story unfolds. As their lives are laid raw, each woman becomes your favorite, the one you root for most. They each meld together and hold a place in your heart. A heart that will be broken and repaired time and time again.
Historical fiction, fiction-fiction, non-fiction, women’s fiction, speculative fiction, and dystopian fiction all at the same time. And yet, all originating from a true story.
As a side note, don’t skip the acknowledgments. I found them to be just as fascinating as the book itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment