The Ditchdiggers Daughters, Yvonne S. Thornton, M.D.
The Ditchdiggers Daughters, Yvonne S. Thornton, M.D.
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The Ditchdigger's Daughters
A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story

Author: Yvonne S. Thornton, M.D., Jo Coudert

Narrator: Fran L. Washington

Unabridged: 8 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 03/28/2008

Synopsis

Donald Thornton was a ditchdigger who wanted more for his six daughters, saying: "I love you better than I love life," he assured his children. "But I'm not always gonna be around to look after you, and no man's gonna come along and offer to take care of you because you ain't light-skinned. That's why you gotta be able to look after yourselves. And for that you gotta be smart." Donald decided to do the grandest thing he could think of: force them to make a success of their lives. Along with their mother, Tass, he cajoled and inspired the girls to succeed while working two full-time jobs to keep them properly fed and clothed. All six became successful, independent, accomplished women: two of his six daughters became doctors, one became a dentist, one a lawyer, one a nurse, and one a court stenographer. The Ditchdigger's Daughters is the inspirational story of a family with a strong role model who set family values about all else. Donald's persuasive common sense, folk wisdom and right-on insights gave them the skills they would need to overcome obstacles in their paths to success.

About Yvonne S. Thornton, M.D.

Donald's daughter, Dr. Yvonne S. Thornton, is a double-Board certified Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist and Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Thornton lives with her husband in New Jersey. Jo Coudert is also a playwright and lives in Califon, New Jersey.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jessica on January 29, 2011

Okay. This is tricky to review. The story is astounding: a black ditchdigger has a goal of all 5 of his daugthers becoming doctors--in the 1950s. Yvonne and her father are amazing people, who deserve a lot of credit for what they did in their lives and are exemplary in lots of ways. However--I reall......more

Goodreads review by Nandi on May 31, 2015

I got to read this book some years back and it was one of the most inspiring books I have read in some time. I wish I had kept it because I probably would have gone the distance now. Nevertheless, it's about a regular laborer who had six daughters, no boys in the plan whatsoever. Yet, he would tell......more

Goodreads review by Molly on January 20, 2012

Loved everything about this book . . .it was so well written and inspirational! It was amazing to read how much strength and determination the family had. . . Loved it!......more

Goodreads review by Sharaya on August 18, 2022

An absolute minefield of a book. I'm still torn on how exactly I might express whether I "liked" it or not. I should have known just what I was getting into when I was #triggered by the first sentence of the first page, "You kids are black. You're dark-skinned and ugly." To put things into context, I'm......more

Goodreads review by Darcie on March 02, 2012

Interesting read about the life of an uneducated, yet overly determined black man, and his dreams for his five daughters. Though I didn't always agree with his parenting strategies, and didn't always agree with the views of the Yvonne (one of the daughters and author of the book), their story is a g......more

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