Somebody's Daughter

A Memoir

By: Ashley C. Ford

Narrated by: Ashley C. Ford

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Ashley C. Ford brings listeners into her life in this outstanding coming-of-age story.... Listeners will cheer as Ford attends college and weep as she visits her father in prison, and when he is finally released." (AudioFile magazine, Earphones Award winner)

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)

“Ford’s wrenchingly brilliant memoir is truly a classic in the making. The writing is so richly observed and so suffused with love and yearning that I kept forgetting to breathe while reading it.” (John Green, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

©2021 Ashley C. Ford (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

Christian Science Monitor Best Books of the Year, 2021

Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, 2021

Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2021

Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2021

New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2021

It gives words to the journey of so many brown girls.

It’s a beautiful memoir but also familiar. When I saw the negative review here in Audible, it’s clear that it was from a voice that couldn’t come close to relating to the stories. But as a brown girl, so much of it was so familiar... Her emotions and feelings were validating. The letter she read from her dad at the beginning was one I wish I had received from my dad...and he never went to prison. He lived down the road.

It’s a memoir and, if you’re not looking to understand the experiences of Ashley Ford, it’s not for you. But if you’re a brown girl who has ever desired to find your brand of “normal,” you will find space here. You’ll find your words here.

Unexpected, real life, free of a moral

This wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be about the author's relationship with her father and, funnily enough, she says the same thing in the interview at the end. It ends up being a collection of memories across a period time that aren't necessarily connected by much aside from the author herself and the relationships she had. There were times that portions seemes to build some sort of moral, and then another shock is delivered. There is the complexity of family many us know too well and there is the desperation to be good while being convinced she is bad. It is hard to sum this book up because so much happens and there is no specific takeaway because it truly is about a real life. It is a quick and easy listen, even with the difficult themes and events. I like that it is read by the author, so the tone helps to make the meaning clear.

Loved this book!

What an amazing story of forgiveness and family. I especially liked that the author narrated.

What a wonderful read!

What a gift to listen to this story and be inspired by Ashley's strength and resilience. She has a moving story to share with the world and is a wonderful narrator for her story. I thoroughly enjoyed the listen.

A story for every woman

I originally grabbed this because Ashley Ford is from the same city as me and I saw an article in the paper about her book. I just thought it would be a good way to support a local woman and didn’t expect much from it but I was blown away. Ashley’s writing is achingly beautiful.

For me, the most special and important aspect of this memoir was listening to this incredible person’s story about growing up in a familiar place, and having such a different experience than I had, based on the color of her skin and her socioeconomic class. This is one of those stories that really hits home about the inequity of experience that shapes the way our country is broken today.

Thank you, Ashley, for sharing this beautiful part of your self with us.

Well rounded memoir

It’s very difficult to write ones own history from a bird’s eye view. To be able to elegantly highlight the heights and the valley’s from your own childhood is nigh impossible. However, Ashley C. Ford has captured this beautifully. The strengths and the struggles of her past come through in how she has authored her story to share with the world.

Real, raw and honest

I'll keep this brief because my eyes are already watering again. This is one of THE most raw, honest and real memoirs I've read about childhood and young adulthood...EVER. Listening to the interview between Ashley Ford and Clint Smith was icing on an already magnificent cake.
If I had the writing skills and courage of Ms. Ford, I believe a memoir of my young life would be similar.
Thank you for sharing this with us.

Still waiting

Waited for her to tell me how she worked through her pain and confusion with her mother, as she did with her father.

Memoir about finding oneself

I liked that the author narrated the story. She has a powerful voice and way with words that I felt as I was right there peering into the window of her house and her soul, feeling what she felt. My heart broke at parts, I cried, I smiled, I cheered her own and loved her bravery and healing process, and acknowledgment that life and relationships can be messy and complicated but it’s better to speak our truth and be authentic.

The Daughter

Hard to listen to - the story teller will never forget the pain. So many of us have gone thru parental issues and pain. Maybe we all need professional help to finally live a life we can enjoy. Her story kept taking me back to memories I had buried. But it did explain a lot.