MEMORIAL DRIVE A Daughter's Memoir

Poet Natasha Trethewey’s emotional delivery adds to the impact of this harrowing memoir. Trethewey was 19 when her stepfather murdered her mother. In this deeply moving story, she recounts her mother’s childhood in the segregated South and her own childhood in Mississippi, where she grew up the child of an interracial marriage. Her strong emotions are palpable as she offers listeners a detailed account of her mother’s abusive relationship, her own understanding and experience of it, and the events that eventually led to the murder. It is particularly powerful to hear Trethewey tell her story aloud. Though this memoir is a difficult and often viscerally painful listen, it’s a worthwhile one—a nuanced exploration of trauma, race, family, violence, healing, and art. L.S. 2020 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2020]