The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

“It’s okay to miss someone. It means you loved them.”

I have been a fan of Jamie Ford since reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Now whenever I see he has a new book coming out, I get very excited. Jamie Ford is such a talented and gifted writer. In this book he looks at inherited trauma/multigenerational trauma. This is a huge undertaking. The book goes back and forth in time telling the stories of 7 women of previous generations. The women are: Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America; Faye Moy, a nurse in China, Zoe Moy, a student in England; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during an epidemic; Greta Moy, an executive for a dating app, Dorothy a poet in 2045 and her daughter, Annabelle. Ford also showcases how Chinese immigrants were treated when they came to the United States.

Ford uses a creative concept as he tells the individual stories of inherited trauma and how they are connected. Whew! This was a lot for me to wrap my head around at times.

The story line is different from his other books. Very different and while reading, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. What I can tell you is that his writing and passages are quite beautiful. This was different but worthwhile.

“Strangers are the people we forgot we needed in this life.”

Thank you to Atria Books and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.