Shadow Daughter, Harriet Brown
Shadow Daughter, Harriet Brown
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Shadow Daughter
A Memoir of Estrangement

Author: Harriet Brown

Narrator: Harriet Brown

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 11/06/2018


Synopsis

A riveting, provocative, and ultimately hopeful exploration of mother-daughter estrangement, woven with research and anecdotes, from an award-winning journalist.

The day of her mother's funeral, Harriet Brown was five thousand miles away. For years they'd gone through cycles of estrangement and connection, drastic blow-ups and equally dramatic reconciliations. By the time her mother died at seventy-six, they hadn't spoken at all in several years. Her mother's death sent Brown on a journey of exploration, one that considered guilt and trauma, rage and betrayal, and forgiveness.

Shadow Daughter tackles a subject we rarely discuss as a culture. Family estrangements -- between parents and children, siblings, multiple generations -- are surprisingly common, and even families that aren't officially estranged often have some experience of deep conflicts. Despite the fact that the issue touches most people one way or another, estrangement is still shrouded in secrecy, stigma, and shame. We simply don't talk about it, and that silence can make an already difficult situation even harder. Brown tells her story with clear-eyed honesty and hard-won wisdom; she also shared interviews with others who are estranged, as well as the most recent research on this taboo topic.

Ultimately, Shadow Daughter is a thoughtful, provocative, and deeply researched exploration of the ties that bind and break, forgiveness, reconciliation, and what family really means.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ramona on June 27, 2019

This book resonated with every cell in my body. If you have never experienced or considered family estrangement, much of what the author has to say may be difficult to understand. The research Brown has done, along with other studies she cites throughout the book, is enlightening and comforting to t......more

Goodreads review by SundayAtDusk on October 01, 2018

Family estrangement is an interesting topic, but remind me never to read another book on it by an author who is obsessed with her own estrangement issues. “Obsessed” is not too strong a word, either, in my opinion. By the time I reached the final chapter, I did not want to ever read another word abo......more

Goodreads review by Pamela on October 14, 2018

A nonfiction description of the experience of estrangement with a touch of poetry. Harriet Brown writes beautifully combining her experience with others' to illuminate this difficult problem. Her story is described with heartbreaking specificity but will lead you past the heartbreak to look at the p......more

Goodreads review by Angela on April 08, 2019

This book didn't really tell me anything I didn't know. It did help me find words to a few questions I had but it definitely did not give me answers to those questions. The book was definitely more of a you are not alone in how you feeling and there aren't really clear answer for the situation eithe......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on June 15, 2019

I picked this up from the new biography shelf at my library, not something I would normally read. The theme is family estrangements and since we have a lot of that I decided to read on. I was amazed at how this affects so many people dramatically. If you don’t want a relationship with a family membe......more