My Mother's Daughter: Finding Myself in My Family's Fractured Past

by Tracy Clark-Flory

From the journalist and author of Want Me (an NPR Best Book of the Year) comes a “tender, revelatory, and deeply moving” (Amanda Montei, Touched Out) story of family secrets, sisterhood, and the importance of untangling all that we inherit from our mothers.

Tracy Clark-Flory had a sister out there, somewhere. She knew that her mom, Deb, was sent to a home for unwed mothers as a pregnant teenager in the Sixties. After placing her baby for adoption, Deb was committed to a mental institution in her grief. Decades later, she had Tracy, who grew up as an only child longing for her sister. Now, in her thirties and a mother herself, Tracy takes a DNA test in hopes of finding her sister—and she does.

Newly connected with her half-sister Kathy, both daughters start asking questions about the past that their mom, who had died years earlier, could no longer answer. Tracy sets out to make sense of what happened back in 1965. She learns that their mom was pulled into a racist and sexist system designed to turn “bad girls” into proper women and wives. Tracy realizes that her own life has been profoundly shaped by her mom’s past, but she also uncovers a bigger story about patriarchal control, mother-daughter dynamics, and the way that shame keeps us divided—both within ourselves and from each other.

Blending powerful memoir with cultural criticism, My Mother’s Daughter is a moving, intimate tale of traumatic inheritance and intergenerational healing.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir, Adoption

288 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Ella Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

My goodness, what a treasure of a memoir.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is beautifully written. It’s full of compassion and really goes there with earnest examinations of the complex ways race and class roles are upheld. I’m left with so much hope for the ways we can connect when we come to each other with openness and love. And not in a pie in the sky way. More so what could be possible if we as white folks were truly willing to own our collective ish and stop upholding systems that enforce race and class roles.

[Kailin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems no matter how well we know our mothers, they are still mysterious creatures.

[Lu Chekowsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the cover blurb promised, I cried! In a good way!

What a joyous, layered, glorious account of love and family, connection and forgiveness, and the threads of history and trauma passed on from our parents. Although my own family history is very different from the author's, I somehow related to almost every turn. What sorcery is that!?

Every page made me more and more invested in Tracy's discovery and I felt well so well-taken care of as a reader. Like, she wanted me there, every step, along with her. She never held back in sharing her vulnerability, fear, and hope. I was all-in from the first page and I rooted for her from start to finish. I felt like I was sitting in the room with every single character she wrote about. They were all vibrating off the page! The living and no-longer living!

I was blown away by the depth of this story, which its masterfully layered with relevant historical details, societal context, and the propulsive momentum of the mystery. I'm in awe of how beautifully the book honored both her mother -- and herself. This book is a masterclass in honoring our impulses to make sense of the world, even when everything tells us to stand down and simply accept what we've been told about how it works, and to trust the way "things have always been." The Truth is vital and healing and this makes the case for that in such a profoundly meaningful way. An incredible book!

[Darcia Helle · Rating 5 out of 5]

At its core, we have a woman who, in the 1960s, was sent to a home for unwed mothers, where she was forced to give up her first daughter for adoption. Tracy Clark-Flory, the author and second daughter, takes us on a personal, emotional journey as she learns more about her mother while searching for, and finding, her older half-sister.

The author explores the issues surrounding sexuality at that time. We look at the differences between the way men and women were perceived by society, as well as the differences between the way white and Black women were treated.

We’re brought into this world with writing that is unflinchingly honest, vulnerable, and unapologetic. Clark-Flory shows us the results of both generational trauma and the trauma society inflicts, but she takes us through to the other side with hope and love.

The author narrated the audiobook, which was like listening to a friend.

*Thanks to Gallery Books for the free hardcover, and to Simon Audio for the free audiobook download!*

[Catherine Tyrrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of how a young woman transferred her mother's shame, guilt and sorrow onto herself. It has difficult themes of generational trauma, racism, privilege and patriarchy. It showcases the horrible way unwed women were treated in the 1960s, sent away, forced to give away their babies and then labeled crazy when they couldn't just resume their lives.
It ultimately has a beautiful resolution.
I did not love the author's writing style and I felt the story was disjointed at times, but I am very glad I read it.
I also just read 2 novels by Meagan Church, The Mad Wife, and The Girls We Sent Away, that could be sister books to this memoir. It was enlightening to read fiction and memoir genres about the same subject at the same time. Perhaps this is why the flow of the memoir didn't appeal to me because I was also reading fiction about the same subject and obviously fiction is can be tidied up in a way memoir can not.

[Reading Xennial · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read the book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

This was a beautiful and thought provoking memoir. It seems poignant even now with the changes in reproductive rights women are currently dealing with. Even though what happened in the 60s is in the past, in some ways it feels like it could be our future.

Two half sisters reunite after the passing of their mother. They’re trying to make a timeline to how things ended up the way they did without their mother being there to answer questions. They find so many things that should never have happened, but with the way the world was at that time, these kinds of events were somewhat commonplace. This book is eye opening and I recommend it to anyone interested in reproductive rights and racial issues that shaped the world we live in today.

[Savala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute, no-question must read, especially for moms, daughters and sisters. The writing is vivid, and the storytelling is brave and full of grace. The author gives us an extremely deft and inspired examination of the love and mysteries between moms and their children. She's very self-aware and has a steady hand as a storyteller, which is essential in a story with this much mystery, grief, joy, and other big emotions. What came to mind after reading this was the phrase "delicate and sacred—and as solid as a rock." The story itself is so, so delicate, almost like lace--but she tells it with so much sureness and not a drop of sentimentality that the end result is as strong as iron. Really, really wonderful. Can't wait to share with other women!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful, intimate, and moving memoir of the journey the author took as she uncovered a mystery in her family history that needed to be revealed. Reading this was transformative. It offers a deep, emotional look at the bonds between mothers and daughters, and between sisters. Years after her mother died, the author, Tracy, takes a DNA test and finds her sister. But it’s so much more than just discovering a long-lost sister. Tracy’s journey to discover what her mother went through as an unwed mother in Chicago is one of emotion and deep complexity. This is a memoir well worth reading. Tracy’s story will stay with you long after the last page. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

[Amanda Montei · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Mother's Daughter is a tender, revelatory, and deeply moving look at how family is shaped in the shadows of patriarchal power. Tracy probes her own history with curiosity and openness, expanding the possibilities of both grief and inheritance, even when they are touched by reproductive control. By unearthing her mother's story, Tracy steps into the light and creates something altogether new. Defiant, transformative, and incredibly timely, this book will forever change how you understand motherhood, love, and the power of sisterhood.

[Diane Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so, so good. What effects did the practice of sending young, pregnant, unmarried women to homes to birth and give up their babies? Tracy Clark-Flory traces her mom’s experience, and meets her half-sister. I loved how her mother’s story shines a spotlight on the result of these cultural and policy decisions. It’s infuriating and heartbreaking and quite possibly coming soon with the current rollback of women’s rights in the US. But also, it was delightful to read of these two long-lost sisters connecting and suddenly having a huge expansion of their known family. I loved this.

[Kelly Parker]

The author writes of her experience seeking to track down and forge a relationship with her older sister, whom her mother was forced to give up as a teenager.
I found this a little boring at first, but it definitely picked up once the writing focused on the sisters' relationship, rather than just on the author's life.
Closer to three and a half stars.
Thanks to #netgalley and #gallerybooks for this arc of #mymothersdaughter in exchange for an honest review.
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#goodreadschallenge2026 #bookreview

[Courtney Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible exploration of the personal and the political through the lens of adoption. This is a triumph of weaving Tracy's mother's history, that becomes her own, into racial, gendered, and class dynamics of the 60s and 70s that led to so many women going to Homes for Unwed Mothers and being disciplined back into "good womanhood." So many women were traumatized. So many daughters have been living with the shadows of it all. This book pulls back the curtain.

[Reid Burroughs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about loss and finding lost family. It’s difficult to read about the cruelty of forced adoption services in the 1960s. Not all mysteries are solved and Clark really makes her mother carry most of the burden of the story. Her bonding process is described in many details. It’s over the top with her finding and bonding with so many people. It feels slightly unbelievable. Like everyone is a good guy who overcomes the patriarchy in one way or another.

[Stefanie O’Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a timely reminder that the ugly history of misogyny that has been used to shame and control women for decades, is still very much a part of the world we live in today. And that recognizing where that shame comes from and who it really serves (as Clark-Flory so beautifully exposes in this work), is essential to liberating us (all of us) from it.

[Angela Stillson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really know what to expect, and I really liked learning about the author's journey to find out the truth about her mom and the child that her mom was forced to give up. I do think sometimes it got a little wordy and I wasn't really sure where it was headed, but at the heart of it, I really enjoyed the story.

[Katherine Burd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really engaging as a memoir — well paced and organized, and I appreciated that the author’s political background is front and center to establish the basis of her logical, persuasive analysis of the roots and rootedness of her own story in American culture. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook, which drew lines and introduced specific history while remaining intimate.

[Sarah Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an interesting story -- beautifully and fluidly written! The author weaves between her own family's fascinating past and the important and hidden history of girls forced to have babies and give them up for adoption. Easy to read but hard to stop thinking about!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written book. Though my thoughts on some of the author’s positions are not the same as hers (e.g. the morality of abortion and also her feelings about the plight of most homemakers) I found this to be a valuable book.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit tough because it brought to light some of the ways racism and patriarchy are so entrenched in the US. Made me angry.

[Sally Tartaglione · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible - Excellent writing with an intriguing family story placed within an eye-opening cultural context.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly beautiful story chock full of feminist insights as well as deep love and empathy — a stirring celebration of sisterhood 💜

[Gemma Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wholly engrossing and beautifully rendered, this memoir is not only a poignant journey for the author but for the reader as well. You will find yourself changed by reading Clark-Flory's account of finding herself.

[Darby Saxbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this gripping, beautifully written memoir, Tracy Clark-Flory tracks down her half-sister, who had been adopted shortly after birth. But _My Mother's Daughter_ is more than just the author's journey - it also retraces her mother's steps, from a college romance to a home for unwed mothers. Clark-Flory skillfully toggles between her personal story to a broader indictment of sexual shame and double standards. A must-read for mothers, daughters, sisters, and anyone with a complicated family history.