This is a tale for the ages! Each firstborn daughter's story could have easily been its own biography. 
In this memoire, Bernice weaves the stories of the women of her lineage and herself. It took me some time to get through it as it was very heavy at times. Ultimately, it's a story of resilience and triumph. As a Caribbean woman, I was triggered by the 'interfering with her'. the known predator in the family is so typical of the Caribbean, my blood ran cold reading it in this book. I had to take my time with this one as it is heavy. It's a plague on our society, the platitude and the frequency of the occurences on small islands and seeing those words on paper was just broke me. It was a tough read. i had to set it aside a few times, but it's a discussion starter for people of the Caribbean and the diaspora. There were a lot of heavy themes addressed in this memoir but ultimately it doesn’t stay there, the women rise above. I struggled a lot with ‘why’. Why do women of color have to be resilient? Why can’t we just be?
This one is well worth the read and discussion.

What a strong memoir. Intense and often difficult to read but so impactful. Such a courageous story, proving you can’t choose your family or your family’s history but you can choose how to go forward and incorporate that history into your being. A real pleasure to read about not only McFadden but the fascinating people and secrets in her heritage.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Dutton / Plume / Tiny Reparations Books for providing an advance copy of Firstborn Girls via NetGalley. I recommend it without hesitation for anyone who wants to learn “more of the story.” I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Bernice McFadden is a must read author for me and I was delighted to read her memoir. This book gives a lot of context to her writing as well as a bracingly honest look into her experiences as a black woman in America. I especially appreciated her commentary shaped in wisdom to the past events of her life.

Thank you Dutton Books and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy of this book.

This is a powerfully written memoir that not only captures the experiences of the author as a Black woman growing up in America but also the generations of women who came before her. As the title suggests, it’s an ode to the firstborn daughter, but it’s also a warning of the trauma that can be passed from each generation to the next.

McFadden is a compelling storyteller, and though it took me a bit to get into the book, I was completely sucked into the story halfway through, as she shares her experiences growing up in New York City with an abusive father and responsibilities put on her from a very young age. I found the descriptions of the bond between mothers and daughters to be particularly moving.

From a structural perspective, I did sometimes get confused by all of the family members/characters she introduced, especially when the timeline jumped around. I wish that there had been a family tree at the beginning! There were many moments that were hard or sad to read, and I encourage everyone to check content warnings.

Ultimately, this was a compelling read, and I definitely want to read McFadden’s novels now!

Penning a memoir is no easy task. You are giving everyone an insider’s peek into your world. This is exactly what Bernice L. McFadden did with Firstborn Girls. McFadden starts her story with the horrifying car accident that she survived at just two years old. She takes us from that moment all the way up to the publication of her first novel, Sugar.

What made this book so moving is how you’re traveling with McFadden through the different decades. She includes significant historical moments that were happening during that particular time period. McFadden does an excellent job of telling us about her family’s history and how they survived slavery, joined the Great Migration, and lived through many other moments in history.

Readers will find it refreshing to see who McFadden’s literary influences are and how she was a voracious reader from a very young age. When reading this book, readers will see that McFadden went through the same struggles that many black women go through as far as trying to establish their own place in the world. Firstborn Girls is a heart-wrenching memoir that is also full of hope and redemption.

Thank you Dutton for an unforgetttable memoir. I don't like to give stars to memoirs (that's not my thing) but I will rave about this and be recommending it! I have yet to read any of this author's books but goodness this memoir is fantastic
Bernice McFadden’s Firstborn Girls is a beautifully written, deeply personal memoir that weaves her own life story with the broader historical and generational struggles of Black women in America. With unflinching honesty, she explores family trauma, resilience, and the pressures of being a firstborn daughter, all while connecting her experiences to the larger forces of systemic injustice and erasure. Her vivid storytelling transports readers into her world, from a chaotic Brooklyn childhood to finding solace in books and summer visits to Barbados. McFadden’s exploration of the “mother wound” and the spiritual guidance of her “angelcestors” adds layers of depth, making this memoir as much about healing as it is about hardship. Her vulnerability and honesty make the journey feel raw and real, resonating with anyone who has grappled with family, identity, or personal growth. The only critique? I wanted more—especially about her journey to publication—but maybe that’s for another book. A powerful, emotional, and thought-provoking read that lingers long after the last page.

Bernice McFadden’s memoir not only recounts her life from her early childhood starting with the accident that almost took her life, but also doubles as an act of resistance through remembering: interweaving American state violence against minorities, in particular Black folks, and the double violence of erasing these atrocities from its history, McFadden sets the context for the tumultuous environment in which she grew up: as a young Black girl in America and an eldest daughter in a dysfunctional household.

McFadden writes with unabashed clarity, baring the ugliness of her home life, and how it impacted her relationships with her male partners, as well as the beginnings of her dream to become a writer after reading Black writers like Toni Morrison for the first time. I loved this memoir a lot more than I dared to hope, and it isn’t just the shared parentified eldest daughter trauma standing in for therapy. FIRSTBORN GIRLS is a remembrance that incorporates its tumultuous historical context, that reaches far into the past beyond McFadden’s own lifetime as she extends the threads of her family’s origins beyond borders and looks towards a future of making her mark in the soil in which she has been planted.

A beautifully written and at times painful- but always honest and open- story of generational trauma and resilience, McFadden uses the accident which changed her young life as a touchpoint to start but then she moves back and forth to tell the stories of the first born women of her family. They did not have easy lives but they persevered. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I was familiar with but not well versed in McFadden before reading this- and now I'm heading to her backlist (and looking forward to new work).

i have been waiting for Bernice L. McFadden's memoir ever since she announced she was writing one.
it is beautiful. the cover is beautiful. it is moving
i love it

I have not read any of McFadden's fiction novels, and despite not having previous experience with this author's writing, that did not stop me from absolutely enjoying this memoir! After reading the memoir, I plan to read her fiction novels, starting with Sugar. This memoir's writing level gives me absolute confidence that I will enjoy her fiction work.

I don't give a star rating to a memoir based on the events in a person's life. I consider what events/information the author chose to share, the writing style, has the writer connected with the audience and whether the events shared kept my interest. I can say confidently, that this memoir was satisfying in all those areas. Whenever I had to put this book down, I could not wait to pick it back up.

I enjoyed the focus on the Firstborn girls, her mother, the author and other women in her family. We know there are often different pressures or expectations from firstborns. I also enjoyed how the author weaved the current events for the focused time period into the memories. The reader follows her life, that of her parents and extended family, and the author's journey towards becoming a published author; the author is vulnerable in sharing her mistakes and struggles along the way. I appreciate the honesty and vulnerability in her writing. I felt connected to her story and could see similarities in my own life. That is great writing!

The only critique I would have is that I would have liked a couple of more chapters. More about getting her first book published. The memoir stops when she finally learns she will have her book published. But maybe we can get a second memoir about her journey in the publishing world.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC. These opinions are my own.

Inspired by writers such as Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Bernice L. McFadden has written critically acclaimed novels including Sugar, Gathering of Waters, and Glorious. She has received numerous awards. McFadden now shares her journey with her memoir Firstborn Girls. This engaging story begins in September 1967 when McFadden and her mother Vivian were in a horrendous car accident. While they both survived, it had a profound and lasting effect on McFadden. She believes their survival was aided by the voices of her ancestors, dating as far back as the days of slavery, whom she calls angelcestors. This connection to her predecessors became a guiding light for her. 

Growing up, McFadden witnessed her beloved mother endure years of abuse from her alcoholic father. Most women in her family experienced difficult relationships with the men in their lives. Out-of-wedlock pregnancies were present across generations. From her youth to adulthood, reports of riots and violence continually reminded her of the country's racial injustice. When McFadden began writing stories as a young girl, she knew where her future was headed. Learning about other Black women writers made her dream feel attainable.

This powerful book is about family, especially daughters, love, and resilience. While some challenges are universal, many are unique to Black families. As a white woman, I felt I was given special entry into McFadden's world. This love letter to her family, past and present, will stay with me.

4.5 stars.

The story of a family through the firstborn girls. McFadden writes about herself and her mother. As her mother deals with domestic violence, Bernice has to help raise her younger siblings.

I truly applaud this very talented author for her candor and frankness in sharing her Bio/Mem with readers. Ms McFadden's life's journey captured me from the first page and I was thoroughly mesmerized until the very end. I am sure a lot of these memories were very painful to put in writing but, Ms McFadden did a fantastic job doing it.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for the ARC of this outstanding Bio/Mem.

On September 27, 1967, award-winning author and creative writing teacher Bernice L. McFadden died at the age of two years old. She was resuscitated and rescued from a flaming car wreckage. In this new memoir, she chronicles her life from that moment to when she published her first novel, Sugar. Heavily influenced by Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, Bernice writes with care about her descendants, self and offspring.

Firstborn Girls is a true story of mother-daughter bonds, generational trauma, inherited family secrets and fierce love. Bernice takes us from the very beginning of her angelcestors to motherhood. The setting spans from Detroit to Brooklyn to Barbados. It is moreso a family history in novel format than a personal memoir, yet it beautifully defines the woman Bernice L. McFadden has become based on her family's past. It celebrates Black families while acknowledging historical events, much like a handmade quilt passed down through generations.

I recommend Firstborn Girls for fans of literature and memoirs.

Happy Early Pub Day, Bernice L. McFadden! Firstborn Girls will be available Tuesday, March 4.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

I love these type of books because this is the only way to learn about somebody else life and I found that the people in this book are those who do not let life stop them but try and try again and succeed. I love the women in this family not only for being strong, but also having a lot of gumption, because whatever challenges they find themselves in, they not only work through those challenges but also survive and exceeds those challenges.

I love the love in this family and how the women are ready to put their arms around each other and laugh and cry over the lives they are living.

I really like how the author show us an honest look into her life both the sad and the happy times, and also the indifference and domestic violence
that were part of her life and yet she didn't let it stop her.

I love the way this book was written, it reminds me of a storyteller who is telling a tale for someone to learn from and also enchanting us with their lives and making us laugh, cry and sigh along with them.

I want to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton | Dutton and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book that show the strength and love of a group of women.

This was a heartfelt memoir surrounding race, identity and family. It can be difficult to read as time seems to jump. I had to re-read parts because McFadden would jump around, discussing one set of people, then another, but overall it was good.

Bernice McFadden’s new memoir FIRSTBORN GIRLS is not only a personal history, it’s a constellation of family and cultural history that explores cycles of trauma, the effects of segregation, and the dogged determination of women to survive. I was a bit surprised at the length of this book—clocking in at 400 pages—but McFadden doesn’t let us miss a detail, and the majority of the time, I was fully engrossed.

To become who she needs and wants to be, McFadden finds the courage to leave her household at a critical moment in her development, during high school. McFadden’s family has enough money at the time to send her to boarding school, which she requests, and this space gives her the ability to begin to self-define.

I don’t typically read much nonfiction but the synopsis of McFadden’s memoir convinced me to give it a chance, and I’m glad I did. I love the interweaving of so many of the stories of the other women in her life and the focus on Black women’s experiences. I did struggle sometimes with the lack of linearity because stories would be interjected with historical context and it would make it hard for me, personally, to hold onto all the details and references and who had what experiences. That aside, though, this is a really intense memoir with lots of experiences and also an abundance of love. I’m really glad I read this and looking forward to trying some of McFadden’s fiction.

First Born Girls
By: Bernice L. McFadden

What Bernice L. McFadden has offered with First Born Girls, is a family memoir; and I loved it. It is one thing to to tell your story and include the people, places and events that are relevant; it is quite another to honor the people (mostly women) who loved, guided and pushed you to become the person that you are, by telling the collective story. That is what this book is. It feels like a “thank you” letter to all whom contributed to the brilliant author and dynamic woman that McFadden has proven to be time and time again. The story flowed with such beauty and ease that even the difficult and painful moments didn’t feel as biting. I loved the way McFadden would veer off and offer a story about a great aunt, or distant cousin that didn’t always seem to have a direct connection, but added so much texture to the narrative. It is not a full accounting of the author’s life, but she takes us from her birth to the birth of her debut novel Sugar. It was an enlightening journey and an all around fantastic read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. I love everything this author has written. This book definitely is not for the weak. What it gives us is her back story and insight to her other works. I heavily related to this book and the patriarchy in it. This was a very emotional ride and I can’t wait to read this one again. As a first born daughter it really reinforced my thought during adulthood and coming to terms as a mother. Things that could have been a lot different.This is a story that will sit with you and challenge everything you think a parent should be. I loved the author’s vulnerability and honesty. I will forever recommend this book to my audience.