What do you think?
Rate this book
Daughter
Daughter, a penetrating novel by Essence editor asha bandele and chosen by Black Issues Book Review as Best Urban Fiction for 2003, follows a young woman through life that changes in one night from a horrific incident with police brutality.
At nineteen, Aya is a promising Black college student from Brooklyn who is struggling through a difficult relationship with her emotionally distant mother, Miriam. One winter night, Aya is shot by a white police officer in a case of mistaken identity. Keeping vigil by her daughter's hospital bed, Miriam remembers her own her battle for independence from her parents, her affair with Aya's father, and the challenges of raising her daughter. But as Miriam confronts her past—her losses and regrets—she begins to heal and discovers a tentative hopefulness.
Moving between past and present, the novel builds to a dramatic, heart-wrenching but ultimately redemptive conclusion. Daughter is a novel that appears to be about police brutality, but police brutality is only the landscape. The heart of the story is about the silence between generations--the secrets mothers keep from their children in an effort to protect them.
At nineteen, Aya is a promising Black college student from Brooklyn who is struggling through a difficult relationship with her emotionally distant mother, Miriam. One winter night, Aya is shot by a white police officer in a case of mistaken identity. Keeping vigil by her daughter's hospital bed, Miriam remembers her own her battle for independence from her parents, her affair with Aya's father, and the challenges of raising her daughter. But as Miriam confronts her past—her losses and regrets—she begins to heal and discovers a tentative hopefulness.
Moving between past and present, the novel builds to a dramatic, heart-wrenching but ultimately redemptive conclusion. Daughter is a novel that appears to be about police brutality, but police brutality is only the landscape. The heart of the story is about the silence between generations--the secrets mothers keep from their children in an effort to protect them.
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 16, 2003
10 people are currently reading
1767 people want to read
About the author
Asha Bandele
14 books132 followersAn award-winning author and journalist, asha bandele first attained recognition when she penned her 1999 debut book, The Prisoner’s Wife, a powerful, lyrical memoir about a young Black woman’s romance and marriage with a man who was serving a twenty-to-life sentence in prison. With the hope that they would live as a couple in the outside world, she became pregnant with a daughter. A former features editor for Essence Magazine, she returns with her latest memoir, Something Like Beautiful, the continuation of her love with Rashid and its ultimate loss, with another emotional disappointment and a serious bout of depression. She is also the author of two collections of poems and the novel, Daughter. She lives in Brooklyn with her daughter, Nisa.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
September 8, 2015
Have you ever read a book that evoked so much emotion that you felt it was familiar and it made you shed a tear? That hasn’t happened to me in ages. Daughter begins with the story of Miriam and her daughter Aya. They are keeping things together and getting on the best they can with no other family links. One night Aya goes out for her usual run and doesn’t come back. She is shot down by a police officer who mistakes her for a young black male suspect in a recent robbery in the area. Follow link for more... http://browngirlreading.com/2015/08/2...
May 24, 2015
This book spoke to me on so many levels. As a mother, a daughter, a Black woman in America, a survivor, a human being sometimes unsure which way is up. Miriam represents generations of women like me- so often raised to hide our emotions, ignore our wounds, forget our past. No time for whining, dwelling, talking about what's wrong, or trying to fix the brokenness inside. For the sake of our children, and the tomorrow we hope awaits them, we skip our healing and focus every ounce of energy on survival. Miriam's childhood, young adult years, and her journey as a mother reflect the decisions we make in order to hold it all together; and how we see those choices differently when things fall apart. In this book, we see Miriam as a daughter, learning the subtle lessons passed down through generations. We see how her upbringing impacts her own decisions as a mother. If we look close enough, we see the connection to our grandmother's mothers, those naturally strong yet unnaturally enslaved mothers whose survival techniques live on in our homes today.
February 28, 2020
The pain & sorrow in this book. Whew! I am just broken, just broken! You will not walk away from this book without tears in your eyes.
“I shall become, I shall become a collector of me. And put meat on my soul.”
— Sonia Sanchez
“I shall become, I shall become a collector of me. And put meat on my soul.”
— Sonia Sanchez
February 25, 2016
Beautiful and heartbreaking. A must read!
March 5, 2021
Aya has made mistakes in her life, but she has worked hard to turn her life around and is now on the straight and narrow. When she is out for a jog, she is mistakenly shot by the police. As her mother waits to find out what is going to happen to her daughter, she reflects back on her own life and how they have arrived to this point.
This was recommended by @browngirlreading on Instagram.
This book made me think about how well I knew my own mother when she was in her teens and early 20s. I really don't know too much about what her personal life was like. I know she went to community college and got married and had me by the time she was 24. But I don't know if she went to parties or what she and her friends did on the weekends. I'm sure she doesn't know much about what I did in my late teens and early twenties either.
Miriam, Aya's mother looks back on the life she lived before Aya was born and the years right after she arrived. Each choice she made was to make a life for her daughter. Aya's father was killed shortly after she was born and the manner in which this happens I think is the most chilling part of the experience for Miriam.
This is a touching story that will make you think about mother/daughter relationships as well as how to be the best parent and protect your children as best as you can.
This was recommended by @browngirlreading on Instagram.
This book made me think about how well I knew my own mother when she was in her teens and early 20s. I really don't know too much about what her personal life was like. I know she went to community college and got married and had me by the time she was 24. But I don't know if she went to parties or what she and her friends did on the weekends. I'm sure she doesn't know much about what I did in my late teens and early twenties either.
Miriam, Aya's mother looks back on the life she lived before Aya was born and the years right after she arrived. Each choice she made was to make a life for her daughter. Aya's father was killed shortly after she was born and the manner in which this happens I think is the most chilling part of the experience for Miriam.
This is a touching story that will make you think about mother/daughter relationships as well as how to be the best parent and protect your children as best as you can.
September 4, 2018
I loved the concept of this book and the story was definitely worth
telling but the writing style fell a little short for me. At any rate it is
always important to show and tell
your daughter/son how much you love them and to be honest with issues that truly matter. Sometimes the way we raise our children is either the way we were raised or the total opposite of our childhood. In most cases, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
telling but the writing style fell a little short for me. At any rate it is
always important to show and tell
your daughter/son how much you love them and to be honest with issues that truly matter. Sometimes the way we raise our children is either the way we were raised or the total opposite of our childhood. In most cases, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
October 24, 2017
Part of me thinks I read this book at a bad time because I’m actually upset at the injustice Miriam has lived through. Without giving too much away, no one should lose every person they’ve loved. Daughter is Miriam’s story, one that contains love, heartache, and bitterness. Aya, Miriam’s daughter, is a teenager who gets in trouble by defending herself against a would be rapist. That act of rebellion is another spin of the same rebellion Miriam put her parents through and to a lesser extent her own parents. The resulting question is always “was it worth losing “?
There are many issues the author touches on that are relevant today. The most obvious, police brutality, highlights why BLM exists. A second lesser topic is classism in the Black community. On the surface, Miriam appears to have it all growing up-2 parents in the home fulfilling traditional roles, not lacking any material need, an exceptional student with a bright future. So what attracts her to Bird, a young Army veteran working as a janitor at her high school? The one missing thing was something that can be freely given, a simple relationship. To be treated as a person capable of thought and emotions, not as an object unable to think logically. Bird offers Miriam love, which doesn’t end in happily ever after. Bird did not grow up with his parents, was raised by his grandmother, enlisted in the Army to escape poverty which brought another set of problems (treatment of African American soldiers). A third issue is the mother-daughter dynamic. Aya and Miriam spend their year together at odds because of perceived failure. Because there’s no real communication, a chance to stop the cycle never happens, leading to the greatest heartache.
This novel is one that I hope other people find by chance as I did. I was not expecting Daughter to read as part suspense, part romance, mostly drama. It’s definitely got the makings of a great movie.
There are many issues the author touches on that are relevant today. The most obvious, police brutality, highlights why BLM exists. A second lesser topic is classism in the Black community. On the surface, Miriam appears to have it all growing up-2 parents in the home fulfilling traditional roles, not lacking any material need, an exceptional student with a bright future. So what attracts her to Bird, a young Army veteran working as a janitor at her high school? The one missing thing was something that can be freely given, a simple relationship. To be treated as a person capable of thought and emotions, not as an object unable to think logically. Bird offers Miriam love, which doesn’t end in happily ever after. Bird did not grow up with his parents, was raised by his grandmother, enlisted in the Army to escape poverty which brought another set of problems (treatment of African American soldiers). A third issue is the mother-daughter dynamic. Aya and Miriam spend their year together at odds because of perceived failure. Because there’s no real communication, a chance to stop the cycle never happens, leading to the greatest heartache.
This novel is one that I hope other people find by chance as I did. I was not expecting Daughter to read as part suspense, part romance, mostly drama. It’s definitely got the makings of a great movie.
April 28, 2016
This was one of the best books of 2015 for me! Click the link for my complete thoughts
https://youtu.be/W-Nnoou4MPQ
https://youtu.be/W-Nnoou4MPQ
September 19, 2013
I read it over a period of two days and nights. Every mother who has a daughter should read this. Especially every mother with a daughter who strives to follow her faith in an orthodox way should read this. Without a doubt it will touch you profoundly one way or another.
Asha Bandele's style of writing I found challenging at first but it didn't take me long to appreciate and enjoy it. With this book she writes from the perspective of the characters featured within however big or small their part is giving you a sense of insight of their feelings beyond their apparent presence.
She is a breathe of fresh air to the writing world.
Asha Bandele's style of writing I found challenging at first but it didn't take me long to appreciate and enjoy it. With this book she writes from the perspective of the characters featured within however big or small their part is giving you a sense of insight of their feelings beyond their apparent presence.
She is a breathe of fresh air to the writing world.
March 15, 2017
Wow! We're can I began with this book. I love the story/writing, in fact I find this story to be very strong because it relates to what is really happening in today's world. No parent should bury their child, police brutality have become a very strong point in this story, it shows what a parent go through when they lost there child. This book also shows how communication is broken within the family and that is what I love about the author, she knows how to really touch right inside the story.
October 15, 2012
I loved the concept but not the execution. Unfortunately, Bandele decides to give us the watered down version of what this book should have been. The language, the feelings and voices of the characters just fall flat. Aya is a believable character but she is not done justice by this writing and neither is her mother. I think it could have been better.
February 16, 2019
Painfully visceral novel about silences and avoidance in mother -daughter relationships, parent -child relationships passed down by generations before.
I find her writing painful, tragic and emotionally excavating. She has a keen sense of stripping the psychology thread bare and examining feelings and choices meticulously and raw.
She writes about love with desperate longing and makred with tragedy of the realities of the legacy and presence of racism, slavery and chronic injustice that black folks whose lives are not treated as if they matter in this the United States :(
I find her writing painful, tragic and emotionally excavating. She has a keen sense of stripping the psychology thread bare and examining feelings and choices meticulously and raw.
She writes about love with desperate longing and makred with tragedy of the realities of the legacy and presence of racism, slavery and chronic injustice that black folks whose lives are not treated as if they matter in this the United States :(
June 17, 2015
If you have a daughter, if your are a daughter, if you know a daughter, if you plan on having a daughter. Yes, you need to buy this book!
This novel is about the relationship between a mother and daughter who never really knew on another until it was too late.
Miriam is the giving mother who would do anything to ensure Aya's need were meet. She felt the less Aya knew about her past, the less hurt and disappointed she would be. So wrong!
This novel is about the relationship between a mother and daughter who never really knew on another until it was too late.
Miriam is the giving mother who would do anything to ensure Aya's need were meet. She felt the less Aya knew about her past, the less hurt and disappointed she would be. So wrong!
March 30, 2008
Daughter tackles the tragic subject of a mother who experiences the loss of a child.
Though the theme of the book was relatively heavy, Ms. Bandele's words were thought-provoking. I felt every emotion the characters were feeling and deeply empathized with the protagonist, Miriam.
This novel is a must read.
Though the theme of the book was relatively heavy, Ms. Bandele's words were thought-provoking. I felt every emotion the characters were feeling and deeply empathized with the protagonist, Miriam.
This novel is a must read.
August 8, 2013
This book is disturbing, uplifting, inspirational - all at the same time. A very good peek into the cofused life of a character - the things that make us the way we are and the ways a person can change. I am really having a hard time writing about this book but it has had an impact on me. I look forward to reading more from this author.
February 25, 2018
This was a nicely written book on reflection & how history repeats itself. Very sad what Aya & Miriam experienced. Once Miriam's story was told, she was better understood. Storyline was detailed & held my attention. This is a book daughters & mothers alike should read.
December 17, 2007
tragic beauty can be a captivating force
June 29, 2015
Bandele has a very poetic way writing that is a pleasure to read.
November 1, 2020
Beautiful and devastating all at the same time
July 9, 2014
This was a heart felt book for me. The same thing happened twenty years later! Thank you for writing this book and giving readers an idea of what Black Women go through as far as having to hold things in when really we need to be discussing past and present events good and bad. Time to stop sweeping things under the rug and talk about it. Thank you now I have to go and get your other book The Prisoner's Wife!
August 12, 2012
I love this book about a mother who must come to grips with losing her daughter while at the same time realizing that she was never really close with her daughter. As she sits by her daughter's bedside in the hospital and after the funeral, this mother confronts her past. In confronting that past, she examines her relationship with Aya's father, her own parents, and herself. Loved it!
September 7, 2015
Simply excellent. Can serve not just as a compelling story about a complex mother-daughter relationship, but as a history of black American experience in the last fifty years. Subtle, multidemensional writing that communicates most through what is left unsaid.
March 12, 2016
This one made my heart ache. The writing was exquisite -- almost lyrical. So much about being a mother, being a daughter, dealing with senseless loss -- a lot to think about here. This would be a very good choice for book groups.
September 27, 2017
One of the best - and most difficult - books I've ever read. Asha Bendele offers a primer on love and loss, parenting, and being true to oneself. We must never forget the violence against others simply because of the color of their skin. We must keep telling our story and their story.
January 9, 2019
The ending doesn't live up to the rest
The first 90ish% of the book is amazing. But the end just fizzles before it dies. It's like a roller coaster with all the twist and turns during the journey and the end is smooth but abrupt.
The first 90ish% of the book is amazing. But the end just fizzles before it dies. It's like a roller coaster with all the twist and turns during the journey and the end is smooth but abrupt.
November 30, 2014
This is the first book that evoked the most emotion in me. I cried so hard. Such a touching story for anyone. As a woman, this book was powerful for me.
December 25, 2017
4.5
Such an intense and heartbreaking book that I think more people should read. I highly recommend this book.
Such an intense and heartbreaking book that I think more people should read. I highly recommend this book.
August 4, 2017
I read this book in two days. It is a sad novel, representative of racial injustice and police brutality in America. Well written.
April 18, 2019
This book was so beautifully written and brought me to tears multiple times throughout the story. I MUST read more of Bandele's work!
August 6, 2020
What I most appreciated from my reading of Daughter was learning about the love between Miriam and Bird. The love that the two shared was beautiful while it lasted! This book for me was a coming of age story. Miriam grew up from a sheltered faith filled girl, to a woman madly in love with a man carrying his child. It was also a book that covered the love a mother has for her daughter. This book resulted in varying tragedies that Miriam had to face and get through. To lose the love of your life has to be traumatic, but to lose your child in the same manner has to be unbearable. Having someone you love be killed is something that I’m familiar with- it’s a pain that sticks with you. Standout Quote: “and there was a universe of difference between dying and getting killed.”
Overall I would recommend this book for you to read. I’m giving it 4/5 stars. If you’ve read what were your thoughts?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews