I thought this was a great depiction of the authors life and the historical events that she lived through, I thought it felt more academic than I would have liked for a memoir, I felt we were missing more connection to the author and were reading a long winded historical non fiction. It was densely packed with information and interesting in its own right.

I reviewed the book for my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/bkBR5nyNVbA?si=RnlA8OnYkEbxyQjM&t=40

Note on the audiobook: I loved hearing Faust read her own story. She sounded both passionate and down to earth, and her reading brought a sense of immediacy that added to the text.

Audio script:

Faust's "new memoir—about her childhood in the US south and her growing commitment to activism in the Civil Rights Movement and other movements—is a magical combination of memoir and history—focused on the cultural forces at work throughout the country and across the globe—forces that shaped the world she was born into. She puts her own growth into the context of the history of the mid-twentieth century, and she also frames her analysis of that history with the context of her own childhood and young adulthood.

"The most powerful part of her book to me was her discussion of how she was shocked to suddenly see the world of racial hierarchy that surrounded her. As a young child, she had taken all for granted, never thinking to ask questions or even wonder about why her family and community functioned as it did. Again, I’ll talk about this book much more fully in a future video. What I want to talk about today is that we watch her as a young person suddenly become conscious of the fact that segregation and even racial violence was at the bedrock of her society, completely surrounding her but in a way that white people seemed to take for granted, to accept without even thinking. It made her angry—partly to see the injustice but partly also because she felt lied to. WHY hadn’t people told her what was happening? And then, we see her, in her shocked state, become fiercely committed to working for change.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media and Drew Gilpin Faust for an advanced copy in return for an unbiased review. I received the audio book.

Drew Gilpin Gaust was the first woman president of Harvard University and tells the story of her family and her upbringing. She tells of being raised in the segregated2 U.S. South with family that had servants. She also tells of her need to break with her family tradition, get an education, and march in the 1960s to fight racist policies.

It was an interesting story, though it lagged at times because, while her grandparents and great grandparents stories were important to her upbringing and her parents' upbringing, they lagged at times.

The audio book was great.

This was interesting to listen to. I was compelled by the story. Any future writing from this author I will be picking up.

This wasn't for me, I dont think I was the audience for it, Given her background and career I expected more anlysist of the histgory she lived through, not just the regular same old history we learned from it.

I’ve enjoyed listening to Drew Gilpin Faust’s memoir Necessary Trouble over the past few days. Reading about this historian’s life experiences was fascinating, as she touched on some of the most significant events of the late 19th and early to mid-20th centuries.

Faust was born in 1947 in New York City but was raised in a ‘well-to-do’ family in segregated Virginia. She tells her story by introducing us to her family. I was absorbed by the stories of her family’s (grandfather, father, and brothers) involvement WWI and WWII. This provides an excellent context to understand how Faust ended up the way she did, a woman with a formidable sense of social justice, a strong moral compass. A ‘good lefty’ methinks.

As a young girl Faust saw the freedoms her brothers enjoyed and wanted that for herself. This put her at odds with her mother, something that lasted until her mother’s death when Faust was a young woman. I remember her saying, she “didn’t want to return home when her mother was alive, but also didn’t want to return home when her mother had passed”. That was so sad to read.

As a college student in the 1960’s, Faust was an active student advocate as well as being heavily involved in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam movements. I found her experiences in segregated Virginia illuminating, it really wasn’t so long ago.

This story also got me thinking about the never-ending conga-line of important social causes humanity needs to confront and deal with moving forward. To be sure, the 20 century was packed full of significant events and important social issues to be addressed. But this continues – today we have inequality, climate change, LGBTQI+, populism, conflict, AI and so, so much more. This made me feel a little pessimistic (and I’m a glass half-full of cream kind of bloke) about humanity’s ability to deal with these matters.

There is much more in this memoir, it is worth a read. I love the way this woman has a strong moral compass and was and is willing to be active in making this world a better place to live. I like her.

4 Stars

Necessary Trouble is a memoir of Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female leader of Harvard University. She was raised in a traditional and moderately affluent southern family and most of the memoir describes her experiences coming of age in the 1960s. Faust was dedicated to the civil rights movement, took part in the events at Selma, and worked with John Lewis.

I found Faust’s story to be incredibly informative about the Civil Rights movements that she participated in. I went into this book not knowing anything about Faust. From the description of the book I thought it would have more to do with her time at Harvard, but it was mentioned more in passing. I would have liked a little more from Faust,

In "Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury," Drew Gilpin Faust offers a compellimh memoir that delves into her privileged upbringing as an affluent white young woman during the Civil Rights era.

With remarkable resources, education, and a wealth of experiences, Faust paints a vivid picture of her youth as an outspoken advocate for civil liberties and a fervent anti-war demonstrator.

Her journey from being a leader at Bryn Mawr to becoming Harvard's first female president is truly inspiring.

While the focus remains on her formative years, this book stands as a testament to her allyship and unwavering support for underrepresented communities.

Special thanks to Dreamscape Media for sharing this insightful audiobook via the NetGalley app.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook copy of "Necessary Trouble" written and read by Drew Gilpin Faust.

When I was raising my children, part of our summer ritual was swimming in one of the community pools where I met an Iranian mother. She said to me," You Americans think you have no class system in the United States but you do."

Drew Gilpin Faust draws on her upbringing as a white privileged girl from rural segregated Virginia in the 1950s to explain her personal rebellion. But she fails to see the struggle around her. Her mother insists she wear white socks while the rest of the girls wore garter belts and nylons. Was it because her mother wanted to treat her as a child or because her mother wanted to hold on to her precious daughter that she knew would be sent to New England for private boarding school as she and Drew's grandmother had? And was her mother painfully thin because she had to pick and choose her own food among the bounty prepared by the cooks?

Faust mentions that "President Kennedy had noted in a 1962 speech that there were four places in the world where children were denied the right to attend school: North Korea, North Vietnam, Cambodia and Prince Edward County." The plight of black children in Prince Edward County during the '60s is still discussed in Virginia today.

Her discussion of conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War was incomplete. Conscientious objectors in America at that time had to cite religious reasons for their objection to war and were asked to provide a letter from their clergyman. It was then not easy to be given Conscientious Objector status and the religious affiliation requirement was not lifted until the '70s.

In all, Drew Gilpin Faust is consistent throughout her book in her support of political activism. Her choice of the end quote from Martin Luther King when he closed his speech at Groton illustrated its point perfectly.

"Necessary Trouble: Growing Up At Midcentury" by Drew Gilpin Faust left me feeling quite ambivalent and conflicted, ultimately leading to a 2.5-star rating. While there were elements of the book that piqued my interest, I found it challenging to fully grasp the purpose and intended audience of this memoir.

The book follows the life of Drew Gilpin Faust, who grew up in 1950s Virginia, attended elite boarding schools in Massachusetts, and later pursued her undergraduate education at Bryn Mawr University in Pennsylvania. Her upbringing in a conservative Southern household sets the stage for her narrative, which takes us through her childhood, adolescence, teenage years, and early twenties as she seeks to achieve equality and peace for all.

One of the main issues I encountered while reading this book is a lack of clarity regarding its purpose. I struggled to discern what the author wanted readers to take away from her story. While many biographies or memoirs aim to convey a specific message or insight, this book left me questioning its intended impact.

Some reviewers have criticized Faust for portraying elements of white saviorism in her narrative, and while I did detect traces of this, I don't necessarily believe it's inappropriate for her to share her perspective. Everyone has the right to recount their experiences, even if their viewpoint is somewhat one-sided. However, the real problem here is that Faust, who grew up in an upper-middle-class white household, attended elite schools and universities, didn't seem to fully acknowledge her privilege and the differences in her experiences compared to those she was advocating for.

What troubled me the most was the absence of self-reflection in the book, especially concerning Faust's role in the events she describes. It left me feeling disconnected from the author and unable to muster much sympathy or empathy for her cause. It's challenging to relate to someone who seems disconnected from the reality faced by those she's striving to support.

In conclusion, "Necessary Trouble" leaves readers with a sense of uncertainty about its purpose and intended message. While it offers a glimpse into the life of Drew Gilpin Faust, it lacks the self-awareness and introspection needed to make a meaningful connection with the reader. This, coupled with the disparities in Faust's life compared to the people she champions, leaves the book feeling somewhat disjointed and uncomfortable to engage with.

Thank you for providing me the opportunity to review "Necessary Trouble" audiobook by Drew Gilpin Faust.. I am appreciative and leave my sincerity review voluntarily.

I was excited to read this as I had taken her class at the Univ of PA and she was one of my most memorable professors. An interesting looking at a 20 year period but I wished it included more of her ground breaking work in her later years (maybe book 2?). She mixes history and personal experience in an interesting way.

This memoir hooked me on the first page! What an amazing life the author has led - she's so impressive. I started with the audiobook then moved to print because the narration wasn't great, but this book is definitely a must-read.

Review: I enjoyed this audio, the author’s narration was engaging. I learned a lot about what it was like for a women to grow up in the Northeast, US in the 60’s.
Recommended For: Those who wants memoir set mostly in the 60’s by a women who was college educated and fought for civil rights.
Book-opoly #23

Oof - I have a lot to say about this one, and have been stewing on my review for a few days now.

The book itself: I felt this one was slow, but had little nuggets of interesting information. It seemed to gloss over a lot of time, while not really taking the time to look inward and really see why things fell into place that way. It felt more like blips of a story that a relative would tell you over drinks one night. Just high level things that make you realize that person had a life you may not have acknowledged or been aware of before.

The title: I know that in the notes after, Faust takes time to explain why the book is titled in the way that it is, and shares that the blessing was given. However, it made me really look at this book and the story it tells and wonder - what trouble does she think she actually found? What times did she risk literally anything to be where she was? She risked a bad grade on one paper. She risked being woken up by a security guard on a campus. But beyond that, was she aware of the risks she took, or did she do it blindly because she felt drawn, and never really understood the true potential costs? After all, courage without wisdom is foolishness.

Overall, when I finished the book, I felt a bit icky. Although this is obviously her story to tell, I can’t help but feel like it’s a grab to secure her place in the history of the movement, and I’m not sure who this book was aimed at.

I do believe it is a perspective of someone who lived through it, but I’m just not sure this perspective should be the frontrunner here.

2.5 stars rounded up.

It is fascinating to read someone’s memoir who lived through these historical events and shift in so many issues. Her grandfather stood against women’s rights to vote, her parents and her college employed BIPOC as basically slaves, while she fought for equality and social justice. She grew up with wealth and privilege, but became a social warrior. Yes, her story comes from a place of privilege. Yet, it is inspiring that she used her position to fight against what her upbringing stood for. We need more women like her, to combat today’s social justice issues. Feminism at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, etc has a lot of work to do in today’s day and age. We owe gratitude to the work that was done, however imperfectly, in previous generations.

I loved this quote:
“Suffering is not measured in millions or thousands, but in many individual cases.
It is only when we see the meaning of an individual suffering that we can begin to multiply it into statistics.”