This is an amazing book, taking the scientific study of epigenics, mixing it with a family saga, and wrapping the entire package with historic fiction settings. The story is based on the first Chinese woman to set foot in the US, who actually existed. Her life was one of struggle, fame, and exploitation. The story goes on to outline how Afong’s trauma could have been inherited and handed down to her “many daughters.”

Fascinating, well done, finely drawn. Highly recommend. Actual rating 4.5

Have you ever looked at someone in your family and commented "He/she has the exact same mannerisms and expressions as (an older generation member)" when the two have never met? This book takes that concept to a whole new level by exploring transgenerational epigenetic inheritence (I know, say what??), which means trauma can be inherited across generations.

Jamie Ford based this novel on a real person, Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to come to America. She arrived in New York City in 1834. Her middle years were a combination of fame and exploitation. She died penniless and alone.

The story is told in the voices of Afong and six generations of women who followed her. The time periods range from 1834 to 2086. The chapters vary between the women and their time period and are not put forth in any apparent order.

The premise is intriguing, and the women and the times they live in are well drawn and interesting. I love family sagas, but this is the first I've read with a scientific theory at its core. That added a whole new dimension to things!

My thanks to Atria Books for allowing me to read an e-ARC of the book via NetGalley. Publication is set for 8/2/22. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

I’ve enjoyed all the historical novels that Jamie Ford has written. But this is something different and I wasn’t sold on the premise. Jumping back and forth through time, from 1836 to 2085, it covers seven generations of Moy women. The premise is that trauma can be passed down from generation to generation, just like a physical trait. I can understand that an author would want to try something different. But Ford’s attempt to include this weird scientific theory just didn’t work. In fact, I didn’t get a clear understanding of this premise. It seemed that what was passed along was an endless streak of bad luck, not an initial trauma somehow being re-visited on each succeeding generation.
The story worked best for me when it focuses on Afong Moy, who initially comes to the US and is exhibited throughout the country. Some of the other characters were also interesting, but the individual stories didn’t hold together to form a unified whole. All the stories were deeply depressing although the ending brought a bit of hope. In his Author’s Note, Ford outlines some of the historical events/places that inspired certain chapters.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book.

For context, one of my favorite novels and a novel that inspired me to write was The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I was assigned to read the book as an undergrad and I could not put it down. I still have my copy sitting on my shelf. When I found out Jamie Ford was releasing this book, I had to have it. It did not disappoint, Both as a child of immigrants and as a writer, I am fascinated and voraciously read any materials about intergenerational trauma. This book nails it. The perspectives of these different women and how their trauma manifests itself is heartbreakingly beautiful. Ford encapsulates it so well I found myself emotional at certain points and I read some heavy stuff that doesn't cause me to feel that way. I also love that he had the seven women show up in different time periods and how living in those times affected the way they viewed their mental health and the symptoms as well as how their generational trauma, lingering feelings deep inside them they did not quite understand, affected their responses to traumatic events actually happening to them. Finally, the characters were fuly formed and he connected their stories seamlessly. Well done!

This was fantastic storytelling for me.

I think anyone that dabbles in different genres can enjoy this book.

I am a huge historical fiction reader. The historical nuggets the characters emerged from on the timeline were all so interesting.

I can also enjoy science fiction and futuristic stories without letting unfamiliar terms bog me down. The science of

Epigenetics is very intriguing and as research advances on DNA study, more discoveries are bound to happen.

This book also includes two other interests in my reading choices, female centered and different cultures, with climate change thrown in the mix.

Jamie Ford has written a book that would take most authors many more pages, or even volumes, to relay the story. He gives the right amount of information to know the characters and visualize the setting.

I bet this book will be a great audiobook with 6 different narrators.

ARC was provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've just finished reading this book, and I already know that these characters and ideas will stick with me for some time to come. This sweeping generational story looks at the possibility that not only physical characteristics are inherited in a family, but emotional and traumatic memories as well.

Spanning from 1836 - 2085, the lives and POVs of seven women, all descendants of Afong Moy are explored. Each female is facing a pivotal point in her live. An abusive relationship, escape from a plague, a mental breakdown, a failed career, a missed love connection and all of them searching. Searching for something better, something more meaningful, something more fulfilling, something that they can't quite pinpoint. As Dorothy, one of the characters in 2045, seeks out an experimental treatment for depression called epigenetics, the female stories begin to intersect. She travels through her ancestral memories in an effort to overcome her issues with depression and disassociation and break the cycle that is poised to also affect her daughter. Each artistic and vulnerable character stood on her own. Each of their stories was unique and well developed. However, there was an aspect of the reader needing to let go of all the details and go with the flow. The ancestral line was obvious because of the POVs - but not all of the details for each birth or family was discussed.

I would call this book is a mash up of several genres - women's fiction, historical fiction and speculative fiction. The author's notes at the end were excellent and really brought this story full-circle. Some of the characters based on history, others imagined. I read and loved this author's previous book, The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Although this book feels very different from that one, I felt the same pull toward the characters, and a deeper understanding of the Chinese experience. I was immersed in the different time periods and different locations. This is a very deep, character-driven story that does center around oppression and depression - so reader be aware.

An exploration of loss and grief traveling through generations, I found this story to be original and powerful. It made me want to learn more about this concept of transferred memories. I highly recommend it to the right reader. A deeply emotional book that looks at generations of sadness will not be for everyone - but if subjects like this interest you, be sure to pick this book up. I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: August 2, 2022.

3.75 stars……Epigenetic’s, a very new concept I had not heard about until reading Jamie Ford’s new book The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. I absolutely love and continue to love Ford’s writing style, even though the execution of this book fell short for me. Seven different generations of women inherit their ancestors trauma. Their stories are told out of order and are confusing to follow but individually I loved all of their stories. Afong Moy was the first Chinese woman to set foot in America in 1834. This story is about her and her descendants and how things that happened to her affected six generations of women related to her. I would love Ford to rewrite the book in sequential order so I could easily follow each generations story and how they connect.

Jamie Ford did a tremendous amount of research on many of the people and places discussed in this novel along with thoroughly researching the subject of epigenetics. I spent the day today researching and reading about this subject and found it fascinating. This alone made the book worth reading. The concept of epigenetics has been looked at in the children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and in Native American cultures. Are we shaped by some form of “genetic predetermination”?

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting premise. Built into our DNA is past trauma experienced by our ancestors. For instance say a distant relative was in a plane crash and so you are afraid of flying and you have no idea why.

The story follows seven women, Afong Moy (1836), Lai King (1892), Fei-Jin or Faye (1942), Zoe (1927), Greta (2014), Dorothy (2045) and Annabel. Dorothy's life in 2045 is falling apart. Her partner is a jerk, she is no longer the poet laureate for Washington State, she has dissociative episodes and now she is seeing the same type of episodes in her daughter. She decides to undergo an experimental treatment to get to the root of what is going on with her and then be able to be a better mother to Annabel.

I liked the women but since there were seven of them I didn't feel like any of them were really well defined. There was a tiny bit of romance in that each woman seemed to come across a man she felt an instant connection with. I wish that had been talked about more. I also didn't feel a sense of place for the same reason I didn't connect with the characters. It wasn't written in any chronological order, jumping from woman to woman. I knew they were all connected but sometimes finding the connection was elusive. I would have enjoyed it more if it didn't jump around like that. Kind of sad that the only things passed down were the bad experiences and not anything joyful.

I would give this more of a 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Atria for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Many Daughters of Afong May

Author: Jamie Ford

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Chinese characters and MC, Queer characters mentioned

Recommended For...: fantasy, historical fiction, magical realism, mental health

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction Fantasy

Age Relevance: 17+ (gore, violence, death, war, misogyny, sexual assault, cursing, PTSD, anxiety, depression, illness, derogatory words, sex trafficking, racism, suicide, drugs, rape, romance, religion)

Explanation of Above: There is some gore, in the form of blood and vomit, and physical and weapon violence shown in the book. There is also death shown and mentioned, as well as war. The book shows and mentions a lot of mental health disorders such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and suicide. There is some misogyny shown in the book, as well as derogatory words said in the book in a historical context but not directly at any particular people or in a rude manner. There is some racism shown and mentioned as well in the book. Sexual assault is mentioned, sex trafficking is vaguely mentioned in the book, and there is a non-graphic rape scene in the book. There is cursing throughout the book. Illness is mentioned in the book. There is some romance in the book. The Christian religion is sparsely mentioned in the book.

Publisher: Atria Books

Pages: 384

Synopsis: Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living.

As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.

Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.

As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.

Review: For the most part, this was a fun read. The book reads a lot like everything everywhere all at once. The highlight of the book was all the different daughters and how they lived their lives and what they experienced. The world building was great for every story and the character development was well done.

However, all of the different plot points are a bit discombobulating. It was really confusing in the beginning and it took a lot to get into. The book was also kinda slower paced in a couple of places, which slowed down the story. The ending was also really confusing and not well explained.

Verdict: It was good!

The premise of this book really intrigued me as I haven't seen a whole lot of fiction novels that delve into the topic of epigenetics. However, this novel fell short for me. For a book that was supposed to be about how trauma connects generations of family members, they all felt very disconnected and their stories, disjointed. I would have liked to know more about how the treatment worked from Dorothy's POV. We got each woman's story in chapter form, sure, but how did that work for Dorothy? When she did her treatment, did she live the lives of these women or view it on the outskirts? Did she just enter a deep sleep and wake up, seeing the hallucinations of the characters in her ancestors' lives and ~feeling~ their feelings? It was just not developed enough for me to enjoy it, and I felt like the plot was too rushed to really flesh it out.

Three stars for trying, and for a relatively entertaining story.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

This book covers 250 years in the lives of women who descended from a historical figure, Afong Moy. She is believed to be the first Chinese woman in America, arriving in the 1830s. It is not historic fiction but rather the author’s theory of how the emotional results of traumatic events can be passed from one generation of a family to the next like DNA.

Afong was the daughter of a prosperous Chinese family who was sold to merchants visiting from America after the man she married died. Her bound feet were a curiosity and she was used to sell Chinese products, displayed on stage and even in the circus. Afong had wanted to marry another man of a lower station in China but ended up dying after giving birth to a daughter in America.

The next descendent we meet is Afong’s granddaughter, Lai King, who returned to Canton, China after the death of her parents in a Chinatown ,San Francisco fire. Lai King met another orphan, a white boy, on the ship. They bonded but eventually he became contagious and died.

Lai King’s daughter, Faye, gave birth to an illegitimate daughter at 14 but the child, Zoe Moy, was adopted and raised in England. Zoe attended the famous Summerhill school. A social experiment at the school resulted in the end of close friendship between Zoe and a beloved teacher. In 1942 Faye was a nurse with the American forces in China. She helped a dying soldier and found a photo of herself in his belongings even though they had never met before.

In 2014 Zoe’s granddaughter, Greta, was tricked by a devious capitalist and lost her job as well as a man with whom she had fallen in love.

Finally we met Dorothy, Greta ‘s daughter in 2045. Greta, who had a daughter of her own, tried to find a way to end the cycles of trauma and loss with medical help and Buddhist monks.

This book deals with quantum biology and reincarnation. It also imagines what the world will be like in the near future. I found the stories of the women interesting but was not that interested in the medical experiments and the Buddhist ideas.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this ARC from the publisher. I have never read any books by Jamie Ford so I happily accepted it. This book has 4/5 main characters, at times I was confused who was who since it jumps back and forth so I created a genealogy tree to keep track of them. Each story was interesting on its own but it was just too much, I found myself skipping thru quite a lot..

Thanks for the opportunity to read this new author. Thanks NetGalley, Atria Books, and Jamie Ford.

I requested this book because I very much enjoyed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet AND it looked very interesting/unusual.

This is a multigenerational [7 generations] story about love, loss, and struggle--indeed as the eponymous title says. The women in this novel have all been traumatized--different times/different issues. The novel spans three continents and more than 250 years.

Dorothy Moy, a large focus of the novel, is Washington's [state] former poet laureate. She channels her "...dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help..."--through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, This is epigenetics--which seeks to examine how trauma or events genetically impact subsequent generations. Dorothy's visits and treatments with Dr. Shedhorn form a huge part of this novel [the dystopian part--generally something I shy away from].

During her treatments, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy.

As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories.

The title character's story was the most interesting--and heartbreaking. Afong Moy--a real person--was believed to be the first Chinese woman to set foot [no pun intended] in America. With her tiny, bound feet, she became part of a freak show.

Kudos to Ford for extensive research on each generation and their setting/s. The acknowledgments also contain information on subjects other than epigenitics that are touched upon in the book: ARkStorms, Buddhism, various nonfiction characters.

Very little humor--this is a very serious book.

One description I liked: "pruned her face."

I would have benefited [liked?] more if I had read continuously as there is a varied cast of characters and timelines. Per my usual, the dystopian was the least favorite part though it did capture my attention.

3. 5 but rounding up because this uneven [to me] novel is unique and often very good--but [again, for me], not consistently.

The Many Daughters of Afong May examines inherited trauma. These pieces of our lives we pass on to our descendants. And the fragmented memories and experiences which are passed on to us. How the history of racism evolves in our lives. At the beginning, there was a bit of confusion to figure out the daughters of Afong May and their lives. While there are timelines and a key at the beginning, it's natural with set ups like this that it takes time for each character to establish themselves.

For me, it took a bit longer than normal, but I think it's also due to the fact that with multiple POVs there are often certain ones that resonate with you more. Some end up being ones that aren't your favorite and then others sometimes resonate more with you for some reason. Pretty early on I realized I had two or three favorite POVs and a few of them are not focused upon as much. Overall, The Many Daughters of Afong May examines the dignities - both quiet and loud - that we give up, that are stripped from us.

I'm a big fan of Ford - from his first book, Hotel On The Corner of Bitter And Sweet to Love and Other Consolation Prizes. Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Hoiping, China to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the western name Ford. I admire that Ford's books always pay homage to his family history, exploring the Chinese American experience.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy pulls together generations of those experiences as it explores the idea of epigenetic, or intergenerational trauma (to learn more about inherited trauma, check out this article from the BBC). Ford launches his exploration of epigenetic with the fictionalized account of Afong Moy, who was the first known female emigrant to the United States from China in 1834. While she did achieve fame, she achieved it as a curiosity. Ford's book imagines what her life must have been like, from the reason she ended up in America to what indignities and abuse she might have endured.


In Ford's telling of her life, Afong Moy becomes pregnant through rape and the trauma she has endured is passed down through her subsequent generations, each generation adding their own traumas.

Dorothy is living in a future Seattle, where hurricanes now regularly affect the Pacific Northwest, a landscape that reflects Dorothy's inherited trauma and tumultuous relationship. When Dorothy begins treatment to deal with what the past has wrought, Ford is given the chance to explore the lives of the women who came before Dorothy.

Each of these women has an interesting story in their own right and each is incredibly sad, making this an emotionally difficult book to read (which is not unusual for Ford's books). While there does appear to be treatment for inherited treatment, the treatment that Ford imagines allows Dorothy to find herself in her ancestors' lives. This was a bit problematic for me. While I believe there is enough evidence of inherited trauma, I can't imagine that the trauma imprints itself in such a way as to allow later generations to fully envision it. Still that approach also allows Ford a way to heal Dorothy, which was satisfying as it also allowed a way for him to heal the women who came before Dorothy.

Although this is a much different book for Ford, he once again explores our need for love in our lives through his memorable characters set in books that tell stories we haven't read before.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
by Jamie Ford

Dorothy Moy is a renowned and decorated poet but her life is falling apart. Dorothy’s mental health struggles, with depression and some form of dissociative disorder, are effecting her ability to keep a job and her marriage is crumbling. Worst of all she fears she will lose her daughter if something doesn’t change. In a desperate move to reclaim her life and save her daughter from a similar fate, she takes a referral from her therapist to undergo a radical experimental treatment. Dr. Shedhorn thinks of DNA as less of a blueprint and more of a scorecard. By mapping out the epigenetic trauma across generations of Moy women, she hopes to successfully process and integrate these traumas and set Dorothy free.

In this beautifully executed novel about the devastating effects of generational trauma and the enduring power of love, Ford transports us to the past, the present and the distant future. In this wonderfully complex genre mash up of historical fiction, science/speculative fiction and romance, Ford artfully interweaves poetry, philosophy, science and faith. I will read whatever @JamieFordOfficial writes next!

Many thanks to @NetGalley and @AtriaBooks for the privilege of reading this advance digital copy.

This highly original novel spans over 250 years. In 1836, Afong Moy becomes the first Chinese woman to immigrate to the United States. Her story is a poignant one. The lives of her ancestors are also tragic. The Moy women include Faye, a nurse serving in China during World War II; Faye’s mother, Lai King Moy; Zoe Moy and Greta Moy who, in 2014, is living in Seattle and is a tech genius. By the time it is 2045, Dorothy Moy, a poet and teacher, is filled with memories that are clearly not her own. Her partner, and father to her daughter Annabel, is unsupportive. Dorothy’s therapist feels she is a perfect candidate for experimental treatment in epigenetics, which studies the transmission of trauma through genetics. Trauma is something each of the seven generations of women have experienced. Is there a chance to stop the past from repeating?

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is an intriguing, thought-provoking story by author Jamie Ford (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet). The lives of each of the Moy women were interesting and heartbreaking. While Afong Moy was a real, historical figure, her family history is fictionalized. The story of her exploitation by two American promoters, however, is real and well described. She was paraded across the country in a traveling show. Her tragic life would have been worthy of a whole book. After Afong, the majority of the story is devoted to Dorothy and her own trauma and pain. Whether the subject of epigenetics provides any interest to you or not, the book is a compelling one. The experiences of each of these women during different periods in history provides the book’s greatest appeal. As the story progresses, it delves more into magical realism, which was a bit complicated yet still held my interest. A very powerful book!

“I wanted to use all of my colors to draw a story, with the old and the new, the familiar and the unfamiliar. To create a word-picture with as much wonder and possibility as history and remembrance.” Author Jamie Ford

Do our ancestors’ experiences affect our DNA? Can we analyze our personal history to better inform future generations? Would embracing this practice affect the philosophical concept of karma?

The science of epigenetics is at the heart of this sweeping novel and the abstract and heady themes will resonate with a particular type of reader. The cleverly crafted plot spanning the years 1836-2086 is tethered by 7 generations of women, all descendants of the actual first known Chinese woman to arrive in America. Within each time period is the story of a man trying to find a “daughter” and this “daughter” trying to find Home. I referred back to the Dramatis Personae list many times to keep my timeline straight and was truly carried away by each and every story. My patience was rewarded as the novel culminated with a gratifying ah ha moment in Chapter 20 (Echos), where this jumped from a 4 to a 5 star read for me.

Especially for readers who are ready for a bigger, bolder and more complex version of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Mr. Ford’s latest should satisfy and inspire readers who enjoyed Cloud Cuckoo Land and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an incredible journey to read! Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. This is a story of 7 generations of Chinese-American women spanning over 250 years and their shared experiences and trauma. The characters are vivid, the magical realism is great and there is a lot to think about in this one.

Thanks to Atria and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. I have loved Ford's previous books, and I heard from a podcaster that this was excellent, so I was so excited to receive a digital copy. This was such a compelling, evocative read. It's a feminist genre mashup of historical fiction, science fiction, and mystery, involving Dorothy Moy's past five generations of trauma, and how she goes about coming to terms with that trauma and finding peace for herself and her daughter. The POV switches between the generational women, and the longer chapters help the reader really get to know each character and start to find connections between them. I learned about historical events I knew nothing about, but I also loved the views from 2045 and later as Ford imagines them to be. I was not sure how Ford was going to bring it all together at the end, but it was so empowering. The author's note at the beginning and the acknowledgements at the end really tie it all together. 5 stars!