An uneven but noble amplification of under-heard voices.
A search for compassion and conversation surrounding the decision to cut ties with family.
Editor Bartoy strives to chip away at the myth that “adult family members belong together, that we can solve our differences, that blood is indeed thicker than water.” The collection’s narratives and poems each articulate a severed bond and reckon with the grief, uncertainty, and potential healing that emerges from that estrangement. In “The Cost of a Mother,” Hannah Bae recounts her parents’ abuse and mental instability while reconciling with her Korean roots. In “Clearing My Throat,” noam keim writes about their Arabic heritage: “I am trying to heal my mother wound, to complete a cycle, to free myself.” Bartoy’s introduction claims these stories “[shine] a light on the many facets of this difficult experience,” but the book struggles with its lack of variety, as a tonal consistency hinders its potential. The prose throughout many texts feels bloggy in its self-reflective candor, and many stories are similarly fleshed out with vivid memories of seemingly trivial details. The collection’s cultural representation is commendable, but nearly all works are written by cisgender women questioning their notion of daughterhood. Ultimately, the standout texts go against this grain: Geneva Phillips’ exceptional “Dichotomy of the Rejected” recounts the author’s incarceration and loss of her children to an “uncompassionate and corrupt Children’s Services Department.” “My name appears on their birth certificates,” she writes, “but of motherhood I have no proof, other than a series of one-sided memories and unreturned affections.” Cheryl Strayed’s “The Empty Bowl” buzzes with a refreshing sense of confidence, expertly balanced between a micro-memoir and an inspirational essay. While the collection’s stylistic uniformity is disappointing, the unity of voices effectively showcases how the idea of family can be so similarly upended for such a myriad of lives. “If stories teach us empathy,” Bartoy explains, “then a chorus of them can help drive a shift in ingrained perspectives.”
An uneven but noble amplification of under-heard voices.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781646223114
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Catapult
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.
Memories and life lessons inspired by the author’s mother, who was murdered in 2021.
“Neither my mother nor I knew that her last text to me would be the words ‘Think you’ll be happy,’ ” Avant writes, "but it is fitting that she left me with a mantra for resiliency.” The author, a filmmaker and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, begins her first book on the night she learned her mother, Jacqueline Avant, had been fatally shot during a home invasion. “One of my first thoughts,” she writes, “was, ‘Oh God, please don’t let me hate this man. Give me the strength not to hate him.’ ” Daughter of Clarence Avant, known as the “Black Godfather” due to his work as a pioneering music executive, the author describes growing up “in a house that had a revolving door of famous people,” from Ella Fitzgerald to Muhammad Ali. “I don’t take for granted anything I have achieved in my life as a Black American woman,” writes Avant. “And I recognize my unique upbringing…..I was taught to honor our past and pay forward our fruits.” The book, which is occasionally repetitive, includes tributes to her mother from figures like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton, but the narrative core is the author’s direct, faith-based, unwaveringly positive messages to readers—e.g., “I don’t want to carry the sadness and anger I have toward the man who did this to my mother…so I’m worshiping God amid the worst storm imaginable”; "Success and feeling good are contagious. I’m all about positive contagious vibrations!” Avant frequently quotes Bible verses, and the bulk of the text reflects the spirit of her daily prayer “that everything is in divine order.” Imploring readers to practice proactive behavior, she writes, “We have to always find the blessing, to be the blessing.”
Some of Avant’s mantras are overstated, but her book is magnanimous, inspiring, and relentlessly optimistic.Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9780063304413
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperOne
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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