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My Daughter's Army
Has a gay man been chosen to raise the Daughter of God? Or is Adam Goodwin’s adopted daughter plagued by a benevolent delusion that threatens to undermine her global campaign for women’s rights?
From the moment Adam Goodwin discovered baby Sera abandoned in Grand Central Station, they shared an unexplainable bond. Sera grows into a compassionate and charismatic young woman, despite Adam’s worries that she may have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Does her hypersensitivity to the suffering of others show compassion—or troubling obsession?
Adam channels Sera’s growing fixation on gender inequality into uniting her army of social media followers to battle the worldwide oppression of women. But the encouragement he hoped would alleviate the symptoms of a possible mental illness only appear to make matters worse. The stress and success of her crusade seem to have brought on a mental break when she confides that she believes she is the female Messiah, sent to redress the injustices women face.
With enemies of her cause multiplying, Adam must protect Sera from the threats they pose—and from the threat she may pose to herself.
From the moment Adam Goodwin discovered baby Sera abandoned in Grand Central Station, they shared an unexplainable bond. Sera grows into a compassionate and charismatic young woman, despite Adam’s worries that she may have difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality. Does her hypersensitivity to the suffering of others show compassion—or troubling obsession?
Adam channels Sera’s growing fixation on gender inequality into uniting her army of social media followers to battle the worldwide oppression of women. But the encouragement he hoped would alleviate the symptoms of a possible mental illness only appear to make matters worse. The stress and success of her crusade seem to have brought on a mental break when she confides that she believes she is the female Messiah, sent to redress the injustices women face.
With enemies of her cause multiplying, Adam must protect Sera from the threats they pose—and from the threat she may pose to herself.
- GenresFiction
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Greg Hogben
4 books249 followersBritish author based in Washington D.C. I'm a human rights advocate with a special interest in raising awareness of worldwide women's rights and LGBT equality.
You can contact me at -
Email - greghogben@gmail.com
Facebook- Greg Hogben
Twitter - @mydaughtersarmy
Blogger - TheHuffingtonPost
You can contact me at -
Email - greghogben@gmail.com
Facebook- Greg Hogben
Twitter - @mydaughtersarmy
Blogger - TheHuffingtonPost
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 22, 2015
My Daughter’s Army is a thoroughly gripping, moving, and highly accessible story of a father’s struggle to save his daughter as she tries to save the women of the world. The novel tracks the life of Sera Goodwin through the eyes of Adam, her adoptive father: from her childhood (including an especially emotional chapter of her experience on 9/11), to her teenage years as a popular blogger for issues facing young women, to her extraordinary efforts after college to motivate her online followers around the world (the “army” of the title) to confront some of the worst issues women can face, from sex trafficking to honor killings to female genital mutilation. But she’s guarding a secret that she shares only with her father: she believes she is the Daughter of God, a female messiah sent to liberate women from oppression. Adam has to balance his love for his daughter and support for her cause with his concern and fear for her mental stability.
The story weaves in veiled allusions to biblical themes, but you don’t have to be a biblical scholar to understand them. They’re just enough to give you reason to legitimately wonder whether Sera’s claims just might be true. And a female messiah, if there were one, definitely would focus on women’s rights, and the author has done a terrific job of raising awareness of these issues, but in a way that isn’t lecturing. Instead, women of all races, backgrounds, and ethnicities get to tell their stories themselves, in their own voices. The book describes male oppressors without caricaturing all men as the bad guys – particularly since the main character is a father looking out for and being supportive of his daughter. And though Adam is gay, his sexuality is almost incidental. The book makes the point about the religious perceptions of gay people without that being the focus. Instead, Adam represents the universal desire to protect his child that all parents feel. And the question of Sera’s mental stability that drives Adam’s concern is presented with subtlety and nuance rather than as a raving lunatic. And it’s that nuance that leaves just enough room for the reader to determine for yourself whether Sera is delusional or whether she really might be sent from above to save the women of the world.
If pressed to find fault, I might say that the book spends a lot of time (about half the book) laying out Sera’s upbringing and development into a young woman before you get to the heart of the action. But in fairness, the early chapters build a believable background for her accomplishments and explain what influences and experiences might inspire and guide a modern messiah.
The story weaves in veiled allusions to biblical themes, but you don’t have to be a biblical scholar to understand them. They’re just enough to give you reason to legitimately wonder whether Sera’s claims just might be true. And a female messiah, if there were one, definitely would focus on women’s rights, and the author has done a terrific job of raising awareness of these issues, but in a way that isn’t lecturing. Instead, women of all races, backgrounds, and ethnicities get to tell their stories themselves, in their own voices. The book describes male oppressors without caricaturing all men as the bad guys – particularly since the main character is a father looking out for and being supportive of his daughter. And though Adam is gay, his sexuality is almost incidental. The book makes the point about the religious perceptions of gay people without that being the focus. Instead, Adam represents the universal desire to protect his child that all parents feel. And the question of Sera’s mental stability that drives Adam’s concern is presented with subtlety and nuance rather than as a raving lunatic. And it’s that nuance that leaves just enough room for the reader to determine for yourself whether Sera is delusional or whether she really might be sent from above to save the women of the world.
If pressed to find fault, I might say that the book spends a lot of time (about half the book) laying out Sera’s upbringing and development into a young woman before you get to the heart of the action. But in fairness, the early chapters build a believable background for her accomplishments and explain what influences and experiences might inspire and guide a modern messiah.
January 18, 2016
The story begins with Adam Goodwin grieving over the loss of his companion, Michael, and then finding an abandoned baby in Grand Central station.
The baby was handed over to the authorities. But Adam couldn't stop thinking about her, and wondered if she was ok. Being he's an attorney, he did a little investigating and found her. He winds up adopting her and names her, Sera. He raises her as a single parent with the assistance of his brother Aaron, and three women who live in his building.
Based on peculiar and unusual occurrences surrounding Sera, Adam became concerned she may be delusional, especially when she continues to speak of her friend, Sophia, whom he deems as fictitious or imaginary.
After she graduates high school, she decides to take a trip around the world with her three friends. When she returns however, she doesn't look herself. She had lost a lot of weight, and appeared frail, drained and exhausted. It all makes sense once she begins telling her father and uncle the types of things she and her friends experienced.
To read more of this review, please visit http://www.ordinaryservant.com/?p=3474
The baby was handed over to the authorities. But Adam couldn't stop thinking about her, and wondered if she was ok. Being he's an attorney, he did a little investigating and found her. He winds up adopting her and names her, Sera. He raises her as a single parent with the assistance of his brother Aaron, and three women who live in his building.
Based on peculiar and unusual occurrences surrounding Sera, Adam became concerned she may be delusional, especially when she continues to speak of her friend, Sophia, whom he deems as fictitious or imaginary.
After she graduates high school, she decides to take a trip around the world with her three friends. When she returns however, she doesn't look herself. She had lost a lot of weight, and appeared frail, drained and exhausted. It all makes sense once she begins telling her father and uncle the types of things she and her friends experienced.
To read more of this review, please visit http://www.ordinaryservant.com/?p=3474
December 6, 2015
A powerful & enlightening read.
January 17, 2016
I liked this book. It was a giveaway and not usually what I read but I thought the summary was interesting.
I found the topic interesting and the book felt very well-documented - the topic of women's rights is clearly something the author has carefully researched and I liked that because I don't get to read about it that much in novels. The story is well-developed and the characters are really what makes it a great book. I found several chapters especially very moving - the beginning, when Sera is found by Adam, and he has to fight to keep her, while facing his own doubts; the relationship between the little girl and the three elderly neighbours who look after her when her dad is at work; the 9/11 attacks. Strangely enough given she's the main character, I didn't find Sera very likeable. I found her a very mysterious character, which in that case probably didn't help to getting attached to her; we know nothing of her origins of course, but also very little of what goes on in her mind since from a young age, she's told "not to talk about it anymore" as she believes herself to be (it's not a spoiler, it's what the backcover says) the daughter of God. I think that explained a lot about her mission to save the women of this worl, but I would have liked to know more about how she came to believe that and I would have liked the author to play a bit more with that ambivalence - could she really be the daughter of God or is she just completely mad? It is a possibility but it came quite late in the book to my taste and could have been developped more.
But I loved the rest of it. I especially liked the narrator, her father Adam; I found him a likeable and sincere character and I liked that for once, his sexuality wasn't defining or important. He's a gay man who adopted a little girl and his sexuality is hardly mentioned ever. I hate when a character is gay and it's a big thing, the most important thing about that character. In this case, the most important thing about Adam is his daughter and how much he cares about her, while still doubting her at times. It felt true and possible and if I had to give one reason only to read the book, I would say the father-daughter relationship. I found it heartwarming, even though many passages in the book, for example the blog entries about women's stories all over the world, were very hard to read because they are so horrific.
It's quite an original book overall and I would really recommand it to anyone looking for something different to read.
I found the topic interesting and the book felt very well-documented - the topic of women's rights is clearly something the author has carefully researched and I liked that because I don't get to read about it that much in novels. The story is well-developed and the characters are really what makes it a great book. I found several chapters especially very moving - the beginning, when Sera is found by Adam, and he has to fight to keep her, while facing his own doubts; the relationship between the little girl and the three elderly neighbours who look after her when her dad is at work; the 9/11 attacks. Strangely enough given she's the main character, I didn't find Sera very likeable. I found her a very mysterious character, which in that case probably didn't help to getting attached to her; we know nothing of her origins of course, but also very little of what goes on in her mind since from a young age, she's told "not to talk about it anymore" as she believes herself to be (it's not a spoiler, it's what the backcover says) the daughter of God. I think that explained a lot about her mission to save the women of this worl, but I would have liked to know more about how she came to believe that and I would have liked the author to play a bit more with that ambivalence - could she really be the daughter of God or is she just completely mad? It is a possibility but it came quite late in the book to my taste and could have been developped more.
But I loved the rest of it. I especially liked the narrator, her father Adam; I found him a likeable and sincere character and I liked that for once, his sexuality wasn't defining or important. He's a gay man who adopted a little girl and his sexuality is hardly mentioned ever. I hate when a character is gay and it's a big thing, the most important thing about that character. In this case, the most important thing about Adam is his daughter and how much he cares about her, while still doubting her at times. It felt true and possible and if I had to give one reason only to read the book, I would say the father-daughter relationship. I found it heartwarming, even though many passages in the book, for example the blog entries about women's stories all over the world, were very hard to read because they are so horrific.
It's quite an original book overall and I would really recommand it to anyone looking for something different to read.
December 23, 2015
Perhaps because I'm a bleeding heart, liberal, feminist, LGBT equality, tree hugging, pro choice, etc etc etc...this book was candy to me. I gobbled it up. There were a few times I wanted to tell the dad to chill out, or some times it felt a little "very special episode," I still enjoyed the story the author wove. I loved Sera's care takers, not expecting those tears. And I appreciated the brother. But now that I know the ending, I want to know what happens next!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 10, 2016
I can't praise this book enough. Author Greg Hogben's work in My Daughter's Army reflects his research on the true scenarios for millions of women around the world and brings them close to home.
If you want to get people to start talking about feminist issues, have them read this book. In Mr. Hogben's own words, "Awareness is the first step." In order for there to be change, people need to be educated. This book can do that.
If you want to get people to start talking about feminist issues, have them read this book. In Mr. Hogben's own words, "Awareness is the first step." In order for there to be change, people need to be educated. This book can do that.
April 26, 2018
I loved this book, I mean really loved this book! I can’t say it enough. In fact, I plan to buy a copy for my mum and a copy for my sister-in-law (and recommend it for her book club). This is such an amazing book. I like to think I have paid attention to women’s issues, but man, I need to learn more. I like the slow build to being God’s daughter and the symbolism was great (I didn’t catch the stigmata but I caught most – which for me, is quite a miracle). I was quite shocked at first and then knew that Adam really had one love and that Michael was waiting for them. I am not very knowledgeable about the bible, but I am sure there is some meaning to the three awesome ladies who had such an impact on Sera’s life.
I liked Sera’s steadfast compassion and willingness to help, and I thought it was neat to show the caring and understanding she showed to the world in the same way Jesus did only with a much more technological manner, bringing the bible into the 21st century.
This is one of the best books I have ever read and I can't believe I forgot to put my review up.
I liked Sera’s steadfast compassion and willingness to help, and I thought it was neat to show the caring and understanding she showed to the world in the same way Jesus did only with a much more technological manner, bringing the bible into the 21st century.
This is one of the best books I have ever read and I can't believe I forgot to put my review up.
February 27, 2019
This is a beautiful account of a father and his band of supportive women on raising an empowered daughter who went on to fight for the rights of oppressed women everywhere. It's a proof that raising girls don't have to be dramatic and loud, and it really does takes a village to raise a baby.
If you are wondering why exactly people are fighting for women's rights, this book provides a gentle, albeit horrific and graphic at times, thorough background read.
If you are wondering why exactly people are fighting for women's rights, this book provides a gentle, albeit horrific and graphic at times, thorough background read.
May 30, 2018
Although I was gripped by this book, and couldn’t put it down, I found it more than a little frustrating. The story jumped from one time to the next very quickly, and I found the central character really quite irritating.
July 12, 2017
KU
Flawless writing with wonderful characters. This book is both very spiritual and scarily plausible. I loved it.
Flawless writing with wonderful characters. This book is both very spiritual and scarily plausible. I loved it.
October 23, 2017
Very sad. Womens issues.
August 15, 2019
Absolutely loved this book from start to finish. Best book I’ve read for ages.
April 3, 2016
My Daughter's Army. I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. Let me start by saying this book was beautifully written. This is a spiritual, mystical story firmly grounded in reality. I felt at any given moment in the story that the events could really be happening today. Even though the book is about a woman who is possibly the daughter of God and sister of Jesus, the author's use of historical events as well as the gradual introduction of social media into Sera's campaign was a brilliant way of making the reader feel that any of these events could happen at any time. The story at times was heartbreaking, sometimes joyful, but always had an undercurrent of hopeful possibility throughout. For those who are not overly religious, atheist or agnostic, do not shy away from this book. The author does not espouse any religious view and has his narrator view events with healthy skepticism. I was deeply impressed by the author's research into human rights and women's issues. I don't want to say more because I want to stay away from spoilers, but this is a story that made me really think about our world and each individual's responsibility toward humanity as a whole. It is a book I will re-read many times. I loved it.
March 5, 2016
My Daughter's Army is a story of love, compassion, and strength. The unbreakable bond between Adam and Sera is formed the moment Adam's daughter enters his life. The wonder of what Adam or Sera would do next kept enticing me to read just one more chapter.
As a parent, I connected with Adam's concern to protect Sera and his desire to always keep her safe. Sera's innate compassion for others leads to compromises between father and daughter throughout Sera's life. It is their ability to speak openly and honestly with one another that makes both Adam and Sera feel valued and understood.
As a woman, I admire Sera's strength as she travels around the world listening to the stories of women who have been suppressed, raped, physically attacked or beaten. Share my story is a request many of the women make to Sera which ignites Sera's passion to speak and take action to bring equality to the life of every woman. Through Sera we see the power that one person has to make a difference in the life of another.
My Daughter's Army evokes the question in each reader's mind; are we as individuals willing to do what is humane and just without the need for applause or recognition by others?
As a parent, I connected with Adam's concern to protect Sera and his desire to always keep her safe. Sera's innate compassion for others leads to compromises between father and daughter throughout Sera's life. It is their ability to speak openly and honestly with one another that makes both Adam and Sera feel valued and understood.
As a woman, I admire Sera's strength as she travels around the world listening to the stories of women who have been suppressed, raped, physically attacked or beaten. Share my story is a request many of the women make to Sera which ignites Sera's passion to speak and take action to bring equality to the life of every woman. Through Sera we see the power that one person has to make a difference in the life of another.
My Daughter's Army evokes the question in each reader's mind; are we as individuals willing to do what is humane and just without the need for applause or recognition by others?
March 13, 2016
I don't often give a full five star rating on anything. But what Greg Hogben has created here is strong, and well-wrought, and intensely necessary. He explores religion, and meaning, and purpose through a thoughtful and nuanced lens. His story is heavy-handed (and at times a bit over-the-top) but in a GOOD way-- in all the right ways. Because the reader will have no doubt that he's writing from the heart. Each word is powerful, and poignant and carefully chosen. And he's not afraid to address the flaws of all groups and factions- or of the circles we paint ourselves into when we bind ourselves to a particular belief system. This is a good story, a well-composed story, and one that gripped my heart and flung me from chapter to chapter in a powerful and gut-wrenching tale of (in)humanity. Well done.
April 13, 2016
My Daughter's Army is a well-written and compelling story about family, love, strength and what we can do if we stand together. Not only does the novel have a very important message, but it is also a very good read with a gripping story, excellent language and very good dialogue. The novel catches you from the very first page and you just have to keep reading. The message of empowerment of women all over the world and how it can be achieved is a very important one, not least because of how the novel shows that women and men are not adversaries in this cause. A powerful book, thought-provoking and original.
April 2, 2016
A must read!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews