Ashley Ford entices the reader into memoir SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER with a powerful introduction into her life as young woman. Having just moved in for the first time with her partner, Kelly, Ashley receives a call from her mother. She can tell by her mother's voice, something serious is awry. Cutting to the chase, her mother informs her the father who has been absent her entire life is about to be released from prison. Not knowing how to process this information, Ashley turns to Kelly to access her feelings. Ford skillfully guides us back to her early, happy childhood with a single parent and beloved younger brother and colorful maternal grandmother. Being raised in financial constraints with one parent may not be foreign to many, but understanding the impact growing up with a father incarcerated throughout childhood into adulthood, poses additional obstacles unbeknown to many which seem overwhelming. Furthermore, Ashley's mother had a short fuse and the two sustain a combative life-long relationship. Their frustrating and difficult relationship also had its share of humor and tenderness. The enigma of why her father is incarcerated is kept secret until it is surprisingly and inadvertently revealed by her grandmother. Ashley has been keeping her own secret. She was raped by her ex-boyfriend after trying to terminate their relationship. Ashley struggle to process her own trauma along with needing to forgive her father convicted of raping two women. Ashley's memoir is bookended by the announcement of her father's impending release and their anxious bus joyous reunion. However, this still leaves a quandary not satisfactorily addressed. How did receiving the news and the reality of having her father in her life for the first time imprint upon her life? Ashley Ford is a talented writer but her accessible bio fails to stir an emotional response able to galvanize a compelling read. Still, her memoir offers an alliance for readers who share the heinous experience of rape or the angst longing for a parent serving long prison sentences. Ashley's resilience and her unflappability prevail over these traumatic trials in a manner that doesn't trivialize their impacts but appear to significantly mitigate them.
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