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The Daddy Chronicles
One out of three women in the U.S. identify as fatherless. An absent father who occasionally appears to bestow his affections only to disappear again leads a daughter to seek out others like him - men who are charismatic, but emotionally unavailable - throughout her lifetime.
In this emotionally-charged memoir written in cinematic vignettes, Jayne Martin fearlessly bares the parts of her that were broken when her father left the family upon her birth and, in doing so, leads readers on their own journey toward wholeness and healing. Whether you are a fatherless daughter or someone who loves one, The Daddy Chronicles will tear at your heart and open a world of understanding.
In this emotionally-charged memoir written in cinematic vignettes, Jayne Martin fearlessly bares the parts of her that were broken when her father left the family upon her birth and, in doing so, leads readers on their own journey toward wholeness and healing. Whether you are a fatherless daughter or someone who loves one, The Daddy Chronicles will tear at your heart and open a world of understanding.
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 14, 2022
I want to begin this review by stating for the record that 1.) I am not a father, and 2.) my own parents have remained exuberantly happy and demonstratively in love throughout my entire life. I say this to highlight the fact that, were you to Venn diagram the target audience for Jayne Martin's The Daddy Chronicles, I probably wouldn't even make it onto the board. And yet, like only the most achingly open-hearted and hard-won writing can, this tough, spare little memoir - a Pandoric flurry of memories and secrets; ghosts and dreams - found a way to get to even me, the demographic least likely. It has the feel of a therapeutic masters thesis; the polished final report at the end of a painstaking, years-long journey through self-doubt, self-care, and self-discovery. Short enough to read on your lunch break (provided you're not eating anything that requires both hands), but overflowing with revelatory insights into childhood, familial longing, and the nature of true love, Martin has traced her own story all the way down through its complex roots to the very seed from which it sprouted (more on this in a moment), and in so doing, has nimbly expanded its audience Venn diagram into a beautiful, all-encompassing flower in bloom.
Martin's not-so-secret weapon is her voice. You'll notice it almost immediately. After a bleakly funny ode to the lone, ne'er-do-well sperm that went against her father's marching orders and snuck across enemy lines to bring her into being, The Daddy Chronicles opens with baby Jane (we don't discover the origins of the Y in Jayne until some time later) trying to redirect her neglectful father's attention from the TV to her crib. And though it seems safe to assume that Martin did not start writing her memoir from infancy, the way her authorial voice grows with her - each chapter seemingly learning something, right or wrong, from the one before it - feels steeped in the authenticity of her as-yet lived experience. When she is a child, she writes as a child. Upon becoming an adolescent, she writes as an adolescent. Largely eschewing hindsight in favor of a blunt, emotionally eidetic recall, her ability to tap into her younger selves at every inflection point - to write about the pain of youth not as she feels it now, but as she felt it then - functions as a kind of devastating authorial magic trick. With no frame of reference for why she felt the way she did, and no tangible promise that she would indeed come out the other side intact, this diaristic style effectively recreates the experience of growing up fatherless for the reader - the untethered sensation of a woman learning everything she knows about men without a safety net.
The ground she covers between childhood and adulthood runs the gamut from the searingly intimate to the seemingly mundane, but her father's absence hangs over it all with an invisible dead weight - a black hole, forever altering her personal gravity. A why? (or "Y") at the center of who she is. Martin doesn't cast much blame on anyone (up to and including a man who molests her as a child - one of her mother's post-divorce boyfriends). As her reader, you get the sense that if there was a time for that in her life, it is far behind her. Rather, these stories coalesce around simpler, more open-ended questions like "how was I supposed to know?" and "what else could I have been expected to do?" Women with "daddy issues" have been the object of chauvinist humor (and worse) for decades, but tired tropes about crazy ex-girlfriends looking for love in all the wrong places here get a tender, honest, and long-overdue debunking. Through all the favorite dresses he didn't see her in and the bad haircuts he didn't hold her while she cried over; the stupid boys he didn't mock as unworthy of her and the predatory men he wasn't there to protect her from - the defining effect Martin's father had on her life comes into focus as one of depriving her of examples; of a healthy marriage; of a committed partner; of what real love is supposed to look like.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will now admit that I'm maybe not as far outside this book's target audience as I initially let on. I bought this book for a reason - with a friend in mind - a woman who suffered a severe psychological breakdown and disappeared from my life, and the lives of everyone I know, a little over three years ago. I've never written about her before, and I'm not going to much here - this isn't the place, and I'm not really ready - except to say that no matter how many bad things happened to her, and how many bad habits she picked up to cope along the way, she was never shy about tracing her troubles back to her absent father. In picking up The Daddy Chronicles, I was hoping to gain some insight, and inasmuch as any particular experience of trauma can be effectively transmitted and understood at its most basic and universal level, I feel like I got what I was looking for. Jayne Martin's trauma was not the same as my friend's trauma (or anyone else's). But they'd definitely have a lot to talk about. Jayne Martin's emergence out the other side makes for a much happier and more hopeful ending than I've ever been able to imagine for my friend, wherever she is. But I hope she got there somehow. I hope she finds this book, and it helps her feel less alone. I hope you do too, no matter who you are, or where you might land on Martin's beautifully blooming Venn diagram. Because regardless of demographics, we've all got a Dad out there somewhere, and that should mean we're all in this target audience together.
Martin's not-so-secret weapon is her voice. You'll notice it almost immediately. After a bleakly funny ode to the lone, ne'er-do-well sperm that went against her father's marching orders and snuck across enemy lines to bring her into being, The Daddy Chronicles opens with baby Jane (we don't discover the origins of the Y in Jayne until some time later) trying to redirect her neglectful father's attention from the TV to her crib. And though it seems safe to assume that Martin did not start writing her memoir from infancy, the way her authorial voice grows with her - each chapter seemingly learning something, right or wrong, from the one before it - feels steeped in the authenticity of her as-yet lived experience. When she is a child, she writes as a child. Upon becoming an adolescent, she writes as an adolescent. Largely eschewing hindsight in favor of a blunt, emotionally eidetic recall, her ability to tap into her younger selves at every inflection point - to write about the pain of youth not as she feels it now, but as she felt it then - functions as a kind of devastating authorial magic trick. With no frame of reference for why she felt the way she did, and no tangible promise that she would indeed come out the other side intact, this diaristic style effectively recreates the experience of growing up fatherless for the reader - the untethered sensation of a woman learning everything she knows about men without a safety net.
The ground she covers between childhood and adulthood runs the gamut from the searingly intimate to the seemingly mundane, but her father's absence hangs over it all with an invisible dead weight - a black hole, forever altering her personal gravity. A why? (or "Y") at the center of who she is. Martin doesn't cast much blame on anyone (up to and including a man who molests her as a child - one of her mother's post-divorce boyfriends). As her reader, you get the sense that if there was a time for that in her life, it is far behind her. Rather, these stories coalesce around simpler, more open-ended questions like "how was I supposed to know?" and "what else could I have been expected to do?" Women with "daddy issues" have been the object of chauvinist humor (and worse) for decades, but tired tropes about crazy ex-girlfriends looking for love in all the wrong places here get a tender, honest, and long-overdue debunking. Through all the favorite dresses he didn't see her in and the bad haircuts he didn't hold her while she cried over; the stupid boys he didn't mock as unworthy of her and the predatory men he wasn't there to protect her from - the defining effect Martin's father had on her life comes into focus as one of depriving her of examples; of a healthy marriage; of a committed partner; of what real love is supposed to look like.
In the interest of full disclosure, I will now admit that I'm maybe not as far outside this book's target audience as I initially let on. I bought this book for a reason - with a friend in mind - a woman who suffered a severe psychological breakdown and disappeared from my life, and the lives of everyone I know, a little over three years ago. I've never written about her before, and I'm not going to much here - this isn't the place, and I'm not really ready - except to say that no matter how many bad things happened to her, and how many bad habits she picked up to cope along the way, she was never shy about tracing her troubles back to her absent father. In picking up The Daddy Chronicles, I was hoping to gain some insight, and inasmuch as any particular experience of trauma can be effectively transmitted and understood at its most basic and universal level, I feel like I got what I was looking for. Jayne Martin's trauma was not the same as my friend's trauma (or anyone else's). But they'd definitely have a lot to talk about. Jayne Martin's emergence out the other side makes for a much happier and more hopeful ending than I've ever been able to imagine for my friend, wherever she is. But I hope she got there somehow. I hope she finds this book, and it helps her feel less alone. I hope you do too, no matter who you are, or where you might land on Martin's beautifully blooming Venn diagram. Because regardless of demographics, we've all got a Dad out there somewhere, and that should mean we're all in this target audience together.
March 18, 2022
A quick but moving read, Martin's memoir certainly packs a punch! Giving glimpses in her life, Martin uses exactly the right words to let reader's into the most vulnerable parts of herself. I only wish it was longer!
Read the full review on my blog!
Read the full review on my blog!
April 7, 2022
A great flash memoir of what it means to have a father and to be fatherless. Beautiful, heartbreaking.
May 13, 2022
As a very close friend of Jayne Martin, I thought I knew everything about her. Well, guess again! After reading The Daddy Chronicles, a micro-memoir told in brilliant collages, or vignettes, the Jayne I know is there- sharp, crisp, deep, brave, insightful, revealing tomes. But also, neglect, suffering (without becoming the victim!), anger, trauma. Many of us have one parent or another who was not up to par, or barely present, or disappeared. Martin's entire life's path has been altered by her own missing father. And yet, we also get a glimpse of forgiveness, too. I plan to read this again. And then again. Place on repeat.
April 6, 2022
"The Daddy Chronicles" is powerfully told through the child's voice which creates a deeper haunting and mesmerizing horror to this memoir! Martin tells it through the eyes of the innocent and it resonates for so many! This is a courageous book told in flash which is my favorite novella! This is a book that can change and open lives which have kept secrets or forgotten them! Definitely a MUST READ! Unforgettable and beautifully written! LOVE LOVE!
January 4, 2023
Delving deep into her own memories, and exploring the ins and outs of her childhood, and the emotional trauma she grew up with, Jayne Martin invites you to learn her story, to join her and to relate your life to her own.
I find writing a review for such a deep book, wherein Jayne opens up her mind and allows you to step inside and have a look around, difficult. To give this book the credit it deserves, I find it tricky to review it as I would review any other book. Talking about fictional characters, and discussing their traumas is almost easy, but delving into words that speak of the past, that follow a real person – I find myself conflicted as to whether to go into things in quite so much detail.
I will start by saying, this is not the kind of book I would normally read. I am not generally a fan of memoirs, although I have never been entirely sure why. It is, perhaps, the way they are laid out, following a life from start to a finishing point, and the writing style of memoirs is always so much different than the writing style of fiction novels. This book, however, was different. Jayne has a truly unique writing style. The voice she uses to write in changes as she writes about herself at different ages, not going into subjects and reasons her younger self wouldn’t have understood, while making such things painfully clear to the reader. The layout and short chapters almost reminds me of a poetry book, which in itself is a very smart stylistic choice. When I think of reading poetry, I think of digging deeper, trying to find a meaning behind everything, and with this book, Jayne reminds that there isn’t always a meaning, there isn’t always a reason – sometimes, even though you feel otherwise, there isn’t anything that you could’ve done to change the outcome. I also particularly loved the way Jayne shows her attachment to different people by whether or not she reveals their names. While her childhood best friend may be named, the-girl-who-is-not-my-sister whom Jayne never grew close to remains simply that in Jayne’s mind. It gives a layer of distance between the person and the reader, for the reader can never really get to know them, as Jayne never did.
I cannot easily relate to Jayne, for I am lucky that my parents have been together and happy my whole life, although Jayne paints a very vivid picture of how, no matter what happens around her, not having her father around is something she is always painfully aware of. Like a stone in her shoe, Jayne constantly feels her father’s absence, although there is little she can do about it, and has to simply deal with the pain and keep on walking. I can feel Jayne’s pain and sadness through the words, as she desperately searches for a feeling of love and security that only her father can give her, but she isn’t going to receive from him. Throughout her life, she was lost, jumping around both mentally and physically, struggling through different traumas and an immense feeling of loneliness while moving from place to place through her mother’s relationships, and then her own.
This book itself is very short and easy to read, I read it within about twenty minutes, although I am a fast reader. It is a simple book if you are just consuming words and moving on. But, when you look even just slightly deeper than what is on the surface, you find a pool of emotion, and it is all too easy to fall forwards and start to drown. I fear losing my father, but to never have known him? To go my whole life without the love and support I feel is almost a given in life? Jayne’s words bring a perspective that I’ve never been able to properly observe before, and needless to say, this is a book that truly moved me.
I find writing a review for such a deep book, wherein Jayne opens up her mind and allows you to step inside and have a look around, difficult. To give this book the credit it deserves, I find it tricky to review it as I would review any other book. Talking about fictional characters, and discussing their traumas is almost easy, but delving into words that speak of the past, that follow a real person – I find myself conflicted as to whether to go into things in quite so much detail.
I will start by saying, this is not the kind of book I would normally read. I am not generally a fan of memoirs, although I have never been entirely sure why. It is, perhaps, the way they are laid out, following a life from start to a finishing point, and the writing style of memoirs is always so much different than the writing style of fiction novels. This book, however, was different. Jayne has a truly unique writing style. The voice she uses to write in changes as she writes about herself at different ages, not going into subjects and reasons her younger self wouldn’t have understood, while making such things painfully clear to the reader. The layout and short chapters almost reminds me of a poetry book, which in itself is a very smart stylistic choice. When I think of reading poetry, I think of digging deeper, trying to find a meaning behind everything, and with this book, Jayne reminds that there isn’t always a meaning, there isn’t always a reason – sometimes, even though you feel otherwise, there isn’t anything that you could’ve done to change the outcome. I also particularly loved the way Jayne shows her attachment to different people by whether or not she reveals their names. While her childhood best friend may be named, the-girl-who-is-not-my-sister whom Jayne never grew close to remains simply that in Jayne’s mind. It gives a layer of distance between the person and the reader, for the reader can never really get to know them, as Jayne never did.
I cannot easily relate to Jayne, for I am lucky that my parents have been together and happy my whole life, although Jayne paints a very vivid picture of how, no matter what happens around her, not having her father around is something she is always painfully aware of. Like a stone in her shoe, Jayne constantly feels her father’s absence, although there is little she can do about it, and has to simply deal with the pain and keep on walking. I can feel Jayne’s pain and sadness through the words, as she desperately searches for a feeling of love and security that only her father can give her, but she isn’t going to receive from him. Throughout her life, she was lost, jumping around both mentally and physically, struggling through different traumas and an immense feeling of loneliness while moving from place to place through her mother’s relationships, and then her own.
This book itself is very short and easy to read, I read it within about twenty minutes, although I am a fast reader. It is a simple book if you are just consuming words and moving on. But, when you look even just slightly deeper than what is on the surface, you find a pool of emotion, and it is all too easy to fall forwards and start to drown. I fear losing my father, but to never have known him? To go my whole life without the love and support I feel is almost a given in life? Jayne’s words bring a perspective that I’ve never been able to properly observe before, and needless to say, this is a book that truly moved me.
April 17, 2022
This is a very brief book but how could anyone take more heartbreak? Every one of the 37 tiny stories that make up this memoir conveys painful loss and longing. The central thread focuses on an absent father and the effect his abandonment has on the young girl who just wants his love. But it gets worse: there is neglect, molestation, depression, low self-esteem, alcoholism, failed relationships, and a host of unstable homes. But in eloquent, carefully edited prose, Martin proves over and over that she is a survivor and she shifts the tale toward a conclusion where healing and spiritual growth are invited in.
"Sometimes I leave my body, float up through the ceiling, sit on the roof and stare at the stars. Daddy sits on the Big Dipper and waves to me."
Here's an article by Jayne Martin discussing her own book, an overview, and a purchasing link from the publisher: http://booksbywomen.org/from-hurt-to-...
"Sometimes I leave my body, float up through the ceiling, sit on the roof and stare at the stars. Daddy sits on the Big Dipper and waves to me."
Here's an article by Jayne Martin discussing her own book, an overview, and a purchasing link from the publisher: http://booksbywomen.org/from-hurt-to-...
May 16, 2022
Brief, brutal, yet beautiful, Jayne Martin’s “The Daddy Chronicles” is a memoir of flash fiction that reaches the heart of how harmful the neglect of a parent can be.
Born to a lively mother and a man who had no interest in being a father, Jayne conveys the hurt of a girl who wonders why her dad shows up infrequently and seems to take no interest in her. Of an era when children and adults alike never talked about such internal pain, Jayne describes quietly carrying her desperate hope, that her dad would one day find her worthy, from one stage of life to another and the problems that causes.
The brevity of each vignette, and that of the entire book, allows the author to focus on crucial moments in which her choice of words proves poetic in their power. She describes not only working through the pain of rejection, but becoming an independent person who finds the time, place and heart to forgive a person who had so little to give.
Born to a lively mother and a man who had no interest in being a father, Jayne conveys the hurt of a girl who wonders why her dad shows up infrequently and seems to take no interest in her. Of an era when children and adults alike never talked about such internal pain, Jayne describes quietly carrying her desperate hope, that her dad would one day find her worthy, from one stage of life to another and the problems that causes.
The brevity of each vignette, and that of the entire book, allows the author to focus on crucial moments in which her choice of words proves poetic in their power. She describes not only working through the pain of rejection, but becoming an independent person who finds the time, place and heart to forgive a person who had so little to give.
August 29, 2022
The classic memoir is multi-layered, filled with details, both the quotidian and momentous, that give meaning to the experiences that shaped the narrator’s life. Jayne Martin’s ‘The Daddy Chronicles’ speaks to the maxim that sometimes less really can be more. The powerful short sequences that make up her memoir have the quality of dreams that fill it with lingering resonance. In some cases they are dreams. A master of flash fiction, Martin brings her gift for cutting to the chase in writing compelling stories to the art of memoir. What she does, with so much heart and skill, is bring the reader into the mindset of a daughter at different stages of her life, shining a light, searing at times, on the real-life repercussions of a daughter’s longing for the father who left.
April 11, 2022
A heart cry from an abandoned child's and a woman's POV, Jayne Martin's THE DADDY CHRONICLES presents a life in pieces, each a miniature story on its own. This micromemoir series will resonate with anyone with an absent or inadequate parent. Poignant and redemptive.
Read
June 13, 2022[Thank you to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review]
This book is not my thing personally. It did get me out of my comfort zone though. The subject matter gave me a new perspective on those who didn’t have a father figure growing up.
This book is not my thing personally. It did get me out of my comfort zone though. The subject matter gave me a new perspective on those who didn’t have a father figure growing up.
Read
May 31, 2024A stunning, heart wrenching memoir in flash from the perspective of a daughter whose father didn't want her. We're still seeking reviews and interviews if you're interested!
March 30, 2022
A beautiful and unsparing micro-memoir from a flash fiction writer.
May 28, 2022
I enjoyed reading this well-written memoir. The writing is clean and clear, laying everything bare.
July 2, 2022
Loved this book. Moves quickly and draws emotion in every chapter. A closeup on a life as the narrator is a child, teenager, grown-up. Voice in each stage rendered perfectly. Highly recommended
June 14, 2022
Heart and Soul
Wow…it is my honor to know Jayne as a friend from many decades ago. It is my sorrow and shame to have never known her pain as revealed in this amazing piece of work/art.
I have told her for years that her flash fiction writing was always unsatisfying to me, not because it wasn’t brilliant (because it always is), but because I’m always hungry for more. So here is the “more” - an amazingly compact work, that leaves me satisfied and forever amazed at what this woman can accomplish in a few short paragraphs. Her use of imagery and concise prose combines to make one totally understand the beauty of brevity in telling a story with emotion and depth, where what isn’t told is almost as “telling” as what is.
Bravo, my friend - you’ve done it!
Wow…it is my honor to know Jayne as a friend from many decades ago. It is my sorrow and shame to have never known her pain as revealed in this amazing piece of work/art.
I have told her for years that her flash fiction writing was always unsatisfying to me, not because it wasn’t brilliant (because it always is), but because I’m always hungry for more. So here is the “more” - an amazingly compact work, that leaves me satisfied and forever amazed at what this woman can accomplish in a few short paragraphs. Her use of imagery and concise prose combines to make one totally understand the beauty of brevity in telling a story with emotion and depth, where what isn’t told is almost as “telling” as what is.
Bravo, my friend - you’ve done it!
April 22, 2022
Well done. Martin draws on her own deepest feelings and pivotal memories of her childhood in a situation that is all too common. Each one of the chapters is a moving meditation of one those pivotal memories. This memoir combines elements of flash fiction and prose poetry into a unique (novel?) form.
August 6, 2022
What a privilege to follow the experiences of the 'fatherless daughter' though such beautifully told stories, painful and honest. The final piece, Seismic Shift, is such a great way to end - an earthquake, a new beginning, a direct address to the absent father. I loved this book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews