I received an advanced unproofed copy of Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am in no way obligated to give it a positive review. 

This book to me was about the ability of a person's mind to suppress the memories that would cause them emotional pain. Natasha tells the story of her family's origins and demise in gbr voice of the child that she was. As she grows up her mind created scenarios that prevented her from dealing with the reality of the dysfunction that existed in her mother's second family.  Natasha herself never really felt apart of that family. With an abusive stepfather who didn't miss an opportunity to demoralize and belittle her she needed to create for herself a narrative that would allow her to survive. She was an excellent student in spite of what was going on in her home. The worse things became at home the more estranged she became from her mother. 

I did enjoy the book. At times I found it difficult to follow her recollection of the events that led up to her mother's murder because of the author's tendency to go from past to present in a manner that sometimes detracted from the memory she was recounting.

This is a really beautiful memoir by former Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.

Probably the one word that could distill this book?
Memory.

Much of Trethewey's book focuses on her early childhood and teenage years, much of which was suppressed after the traumatic murder of her mother. The book is a process of returning to the site of trauma in hopes of a resolution, or a sense of closure:

"Of course, we're made up of what we've forgotten, too, of what we've tried to bury or suppress. Some forgetting is necessary and the mind works to shield us from things that are too painful, even so, some aspect of trauma lives on in the body, from which it can emerge unexpectedly."


As I expected, Trethewey's prose is absolutely beautiful; as a poet, she has a great eye for metaphor and description. The book itself can be circular, returning to specific memories, ideas, photographs, etc., but that's definitely an artistic choice that replicates the ways that trauma returns to you (and you return to trauma), forcing you to make meaning from chaos.

This book is beautifully written. Natasha takes us on a journey of growing up in the south as a biracial child in the 60s through the divorce of her parents to her abusive stepfather who ultimately murders her mother. I, along with the author I think, am still trying to make sense of it all and feel haunted. I want to know more -- how is her brother? What about her relationship with her father? Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Natasha Trethewey's memoir MEMORIAL DRIVE simply took my breath away. In it, she writes about growing up biracial, and about the abusive stepfather who shot her mother dead on the sidewalk outside of their home. The writing was raw, urgent, powerful and I couldn't put the book down until the last page. MEMORIAL DRIVE will be considered one of the classics of the form, and an unforgettable look at the lingering effects of trauma on one person's life and soul.

Beautiful book - part poetry, part mystery. The mother's character is particularly vivid, which is part of what propels the story forward. The author is well-known, but I read this book more for "story" than for insight into Natasha Trethewey's auto/biography. This memoir would be fun to teach, thanks to the researched component.

Memorial Drive
A Daughter's Memoir
by Natasha Trethewey
HarperCollins Publishers
Ecco
Biographies & Memoirs
Pub Date 28 Jul 2020   |   Archive Date 28 Jul 2020

Powerful and well-written memoir!  I will recommend this to our readers!  Maybe a little too sad for the times we are living in Covid19 but this book and its words stay with you! 
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Memorial Drive opens within the first few sentences with the quote, "Do you know what it means to have a wound that never heals?" This saying stays with the reader as you continue on the emotional, raw journey of grief and truth, where one sees that years are not seen by their dates, but by how many Trethewey has lived without her mother. Finding out, so many years later, the "truth" with what could've been done to change the course of their lives, is both unsettling and physically upsetting. The reader is left with the same emotions as the author, with a chorus of "if only" hanging in the air by the time you reach the last page.

Natasha Trethewey handles the circumstances of her mother's murder with tenderness and grace. I realized very quickly that this must have been a book that has been on her mind for so many years, and I can't imagine the thirty-five years of emotional build-up that she had to confront in order to share this story with her readers. It's so bittersweet that something so traumatic and devastating can result in such a calm, muted, and poetic memoir. Trethewey isn't on her knees begging God for a different outcome; she's looking completely horizontally, from the past to the future. But above all, Trethewey's love for her mother is the driving force behind this story, and it's a gift that she is able to use her talents to humanize her mother and capture the stalwart love they both had for each other.

Natasha takes us on a journey while growing up in the south as a biracial child in the 1960s.  She gives us a glimpse into her life while her mom was married to her stepdad who would be her up and later shot and killed her mom for not being with him. This book is eye-opening.

Why didn't I know about Natasha Trethewey before coming across this future release? She's brilliant. This memoir was difficult to read at times due to the vivid scenes of domestic abuse. Readers know the outcome from the beginning, thus a heavy sense of foreboding is present throughout. Yet, the author managed to weave hope into the darkness. Ultimately a daughter's quest to understand her mother's life prior to her death.

As familiar as I am with her work, Trethewey continues to startle me, make me think and re-think what forms us as human beings.  “Memorial Drive” is not only about memory, but also gaps (real and subconscious) in memory. A tragically lovely tribute to her mother and an incredible window into the events that made Tretheway into the woman and writer she is today.  A memoir not to be missed (and I have a read quite a number of memoirs in the last few years).

"Memorial Drive" is the story of Natasha Trethewey's attempt to live a life after her mother's death in which she simultaneously tries to move away from and move backward toward the event that changed her life. The book recounts her life growing up in the South and her relationship with her mother (and other family members) before her mother meets Joels and after.  What stands out to me the most, especially after reading Rachel Louise Snyder's "No Visible Bruises" several months prior to my reading of this book, is the great difficulty that we place upon women to find a safe and successful way out of abusive situations. "Memorial Drive" is one true story of how people cope with grief, find ways to revisit painful experiences, a testimony to a loving mother's strength in the face of a horrible situation, and a reminder that, as a society, we must not fail women and families who are unsafe.

This book broke my heart into a million little pieces. The raw emotion the author portrayed on each page was too much to handle at times. 

I loved everything about this book and I pray WHOEVER is dealing with domestic violence to the point where their lives are being threatened can find safety away from their abuser. You deserve a safe and happy life. Living in utter turmoil is NOT normal.

Natasha Trethewey has twice been appointed poet laureate of the United States. Her beautiful words, her turn of a phrase, her ability to reach inside the reader and herself by turning thoughts into language in Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir, testify that this was a well-deserved appointment.

Ms. Trethewey takes us back to her childhood, growing up as a mixed-race child of an African-American mother and a white Canadian father. She brings forth memories of her relationship with each parent, but most especially of her mother, as her parents divorced when she was small. The author writes about racial situations that occurred in her life, and her touch on these topics is deft, meaningful, an underlying but not overwhelming focus of her story.

She tells with pride and love of her mother throughout the book, and although we know ahead of time that her mother was killed, shot point-blank in the head by her stepfather, it's still a shock to read her description. Her mother did the right things, reported her abuse to the police, kept detailed records and recorded phone interviews of and with her abuser, but he was still able, in a quick moment, to end her life.

The author tells of her stepfather's brief times in mental health facilities, yet her mother's recorded phone conversations with him pointed to a severely unstable and dangerous person who needed extensive help that he didn't receive. I can't help but wonder how things would have turned out if he had received that help.

This book is written beautifully and poetically. As I read each chapter, I kept getting the feeling that Ms. Tretheway was still trying to make sense of what happened and how often situations could have played out differently. So many times at the end of the chapter, I felt a wistfulness, and wondering, a "perhaps," in her trying to understand it all.

This is a poignant, touching book that I recommend. However, be aware of the descriptions of domestic abuse depicted within.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers/Ecco for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars

Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethwey is by all means, heartbreaking. It is the narrative of the authors life leading up to the murder of her mother, at the hands of her stepfather. Memorial drive is raw, intensely sad and an absolute eye opener in regards to the lives of domestic violence victims and their families. 
•
Natasha’s writing is phenomenal. She left her heart on these pages by way of perfect prose and transparency. She serenades her sadness and keeps you actively engaged in the story. I literally did not want to put this down while reading! This story will stick with me for a very long time. 
•
I strongly encourage everyone to grab their copy this summer. It releases July 28th, and I’ll for sure be picking up a copy for my shelf!
•
✨Thank you @netgally & @harpercollins for providing me with this free e-copy in exchange for my honest review✨

Wow! What a profoundly compelling and tragic memoir. There are points throughout that I found myself almost uncomfortable sitting in Natasha Trethewey’s grief, as it feels as though she is simultaneously writing and processing her own grief. As a survivor of domestic violence, this was such a powerful and impactful detailing of the power and control dynamics that exist in these types of situations and even though I knew exactly how this story would go, I couldn’t help myself in fighting against the reality, wanting to believe that Gwendolyn Grimmette could have been saved. This memoir was simply incredibly.

A very special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for sending me a copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

I almost feel inappropriate describing this book as I will, but Memorial Drive is a beautifully haunting chronicle of a family living through abuse, which ultimately lead to murder.  At the same time, it is also a terrifying picture of someone who is severely mentally ill, and not seeking or recieving proper medical care.  It is lovely and heart-wrenching tribute to the author's mother, and I felt honored to be reading something that felt so strongly like part of the grief she still carries.  I imagine this book will be triggering for some, but for others, like me, it makes me ask the question of how I can help - how can I change someone's life by simply asking, "Do you need help?"