Somebody's Daughter

"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."—The New York Times

"Rather than reduce these painful memories to a reflective interpretation, Ford lifts the language into a shimmering lyric register that is polyphonic . . . Her understanding that the ones we love are imperfect crafts a shining star for the reader to follow."—San Francisco Chronicle

"A shining example of story and craft that embodies how exquisite a memoir can be."—Sarah Neilson, The Seattle Times

"Ashley C. Ford, a journalist and host of the Chronicles of Now podcast, makes her much-buzzed book debut with an intensely personal story: her relationship with her incarcerated father."—Lebanon-Express (OR)

"Layering in the complexities of her relationship with her mother, her changing body and a boyfriend who grows abusive, Ford offers a heart-wrenching coming-of-age story."—Time

"Her coming-of-age story gets at how to both acknowledge and break away from what we’re born into."—Cosmopolitan

"In this beautiful, delicate memoir, writer Ashley C. Ford recounts a childhood defined by her incarcerated father's absence . . . and she starts a journey toward true and powerful selfhood."—Elle

"Ashley Ford’s much-awaited memoir chronicles her complicated relationship with her father . . . expect a deeply moving, nuanced story"—Buzzfeed

"Her writing shines with extraordinary insight and grace, and Somebody’s Daughter is a book so many of you will want to read."—Electric Literature

"Expect to see Somebody's Daughter make waves this year."—LitHub

"Ashley C. Ford writes with lyrical vulnerability . . . Her most powerful personal essays have delved into her girlhood, race, incarceration, poverty, and family ties—themes she expands on in this recollection of her childhood and her father’s imprisonment."—Garden and Gun

"I think it’s going to resonate with so many young girls of color who grew up in this kind of adversity and how you can come up out of that."—Boston.com

"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."—SheThePeople

“Ashley C. Ford’s wrenchingly brilliant memoir is truly a classic in the making. Ford’s writing is so richly observed and so suffused with love and yearning that I kept forgetting to breathe while reading it.”—John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A memoir so clear, sharp, and smooth that the reader sees, in vivid focus, Ashley C. Ford’s complicated childhood, brilliant mind, and golden heart. The gravity and urgency of Somebody’s Daughter anchored me to my chair and slowed my heartbeat. Ashley C. Ford is a writer for the ages, and Somebody’s Daughter will be a book of the year.”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed

“A masterpiece of acceptance and exploration, of growth and forgiveness, and—maybe most important of all—learning how not to forgive. Ashley C. Ford’s talent is on full display, as is her heart.”—Isaac Fitzgerald, bestselling author of How to Be a Pirate

“Ashley C. Ford went deep into the well of herself and her history and came back to the light with the book now in your hands. A piercing interrogation of who we are—to ourselves and to the people laying claim to us—Somebody’s Daughter is an opportunity for each of us to illuminate the ties that bind, entangle, and connect us to one another.”—Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives

“An achingly honest account of a complicated childhood. Through heartache and grief, Somebody’s Daughter is the portrait of someone determined to love deeply, to honor the person they are meant to be, and to tell their story in service of a greater truth. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I closed it, and neither will you.”—Aminatou Sow, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Big Friendship

“A comfort to those who feel lost, Somebody’s Daughter is a powerful book that will give everybody the courage to love again.”—Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the National Book Award finalist Speak

"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."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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