I enjoyed this book but not nearly as much as the author’s previous book. In the end I felt that there wasn’t much explanation of how the treatment actually helped the main character and I found the final chapter painful to read with the repetitiveness from earlier sections of the book both of which left me not liking this book as much as I otherwise would have.

I found it hard to follow this book and rate it 3.5 stars rounded down. umping 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.

Dorothy, who struggles with episodes that leave her stunned and not understanding what happened. She becomes even more concerned when her daughter, only five, shows the same behavior which plagues Dorothy. Panics ensues and she seeks the help of a revolutionary treatment which endeavors to connect her with female ancestors.

We are presented with Fay Moy, Zoe Moy, Lai King Moy, Greta Moy, and Alfong Moy (purported to be the first Chinese woman to land in the United States). Seven women are presented all of them having a relationship to one another and all of them experiencing trauma.

The story was interesting but very sad, seeing how the women were affected by the cruelty and indifference of their fellow man. I would have liked to have better understood how Dorothy may have changed what had happened to something different.

What an utterly fascinating book. I will admit that I felt a little lost at times and had to look up what epigenetics was. Once I wrapped my head around it I fell head first into a fascinating story.

This is a tale of 7 women. They are related and have something called transgenerational trauma. This is when one of them experienced trauma (lets say a holocaust survivor) that trauma would follow it's way down through their children, grandchildren, etc...genetically.

Each of these women can feel emotions from a past that never happened to them and many don't know the exact details of the trauma that occurred.

A sad story for sure but I still really enjoyed it.

This is an absolutely magnificent novel. Jamie Ford covered so much important Chinese history! I learned quite a lot from the historical timelines in this novel. It's written extremely well, and you can tell the author did their research. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Every mother passes on the deepest memories of her mothers, along with a few of her own. This was something my mother told me often. She believed it with all of her heart. She'd listen to my dreams, that felt like deja vu. . . . when I read the description of this book, I had to read it!

The stories of Afong, Lai King, Fei-jin, Zoe, Greta, Dot and Baby-Bel were engaging, tied to history - always a huge bonus for me in a read - and related to my stomping grounds, the Pacific Northwest: best ingredients for a book ever! I just wish hope Mom has read it from wherever she is to see her belief about epigenetics is a real thing. (If she were still living in this plane of existence, I'd be giving her a copy of this book for Mother's Day!)

Also a plus, an author's note to readers, that made me smile and pleased to be so taken with his work. Can't wait for whatever next comes from his magical crayons. I'm off to research what color Grandma's Perfume could possibly be. . .?mauve? pinky purply?

Lastly, I send my fond thoughts and gratitude to and for all the Afongs in each of our maternal lines. . .brave women who showed us the way through. Gratitude to Jamie Ford for putting her in our paths.

A Sincere Thank You to Jamie Ford, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review.

A very interesting story... can we hand down our personalities and idiosyncracies? This story elaborates on this and I was sucked into it! I believe in some ways we do hand down our whole selves ... the good the bad and ugly... and if we recognize it, we may be able to stop the vicious circle..

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is a beautiful story about the descendants of Afong Moy, one of the first Chinese women to be sent to America. The book has seven different timelines, each pertaining to one of seven women. I went in blind on this, so it took me a minute to realize how much I needed to pay attention. I was well into the book when I realized how each of the women were related to each other. But the effort was well worth it! The story begins with Dorothy in the year 2045, a national acclaimed poet, but one who also suffers from depression and feelings of being lost. She discovers the theory of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance where traumas are passed down to future generations, perhaps through DNA. While the book bounced from character to character each in a different time, each of their stories were tragic and engaging and their lives all interwoven by their traumas and loves. Ford brings to life the Chinese culture and the many discriminations these women faced.
This was a book like no other that I have read. I feel like there is so much to this story and calls for a rare re-read.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is a beautiful multi-generational novel following the descendants of a family tree, similar to Homegoing. The book is very beautifully-written and I really enjoyed the stories of most of the characters shared. There were some stories that felt like they could have used a little more time and attention (or that were slower and dragged), but overall a very compelling story. I was surprised to find that this was inspired by a real woman, Afong Moy, who is suspected to be the first Chinese woman to come to the US. It is important for these stories to be told, as they're written out of history.

3.25-3.5 stars overall. I really liked The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford. Afong Moy, historically, was the first Chinese woman in America. We meet 5 generations (I’m pretty sure 😊) of her female descendants. Afong’s story takes place in 1836, and Dorithy’s story takes place in 2045. Over those two centuries, Afong’s descendants struggle with love and each experiences trauma that in 2045, Dorothy experiences in flashbacks, to the point that she wonders if she’s having a mental breakdown. Dorothy visits a clinic on epidemics, the story of inherited trauma.

I liked some of these women’s stories more than others. And I especially liked the ending.

If you like literary fiction that deals with women’s issues over time, this book is very fascinating. If you like stories of the Chinese experience in America, or during WWII, this book is very good.

This was not an easy read, though some parts were easier than other parts. The scientific aspect was a little difficult for me to understand, but I did get the gist of what was happening. The ending was a little bit “La La land”-ish. But I loved La La land so that didn’t bother me.

Overall I liked this book and wish I had picked it up earlier.

Thank you to #netgalley and #atriabooks for the e-copy of #themanydaughtersofafongmoy .

As a trauma trained teacher, I have learned that trauma is generational. Trauma changes our dna.

So what happens when we don’t only carry the trauma, but also carry the memories to understand where it all comes from?


Such an interesting story. I wish I could go back to see and understand about what I carry in my own DNA.

This story was so inspired….it makes me want to draft my own.

I found the Many Daughters of Afong Moy to be a fascinating read. Not only does it address in a science fictiony way intergenerational trauma, but also does an amazing job of tying together several people, places, and times in history. Even though we met so many characters, I felt drawn to all of them and invested in their stories.

I love this author. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was and interesting look into inherited trauma. I did have a bit of problems following all the timelines. Futuristic novels aren’t usually my interest. Overall I think he did a great job of broaching this subject.

This book surprised me. I went into it kind of intimidated by the genre but discovered pretty quickly I had nothing to worry about. I wasn't aware how easy to read Jamie Ford is, even about a culture I am unfamiliar with. She took a scientific theory and turned it into a beautiful story about how trauma can be passed down through generations. Each "daughter's" story was equally interesting and pulled me into their worlds. The timelines jump around pretty drastically so you have to pay close attention to that but I felt it worked well for the type of book this is. I loved that she even went into the future several years and didn't just focus on the past, although, the Chinese American history was a valuable lesson as well. I believed her stories and could have continued reading even more!

This is a fantastic book that touches on generational trauma and the unseen emotional costs of motherhood. This book had me hooked from beginning to end. Sharing our stories, and working through our past issues is the best way to help the next generations because, as this book shows, we all have some shared experiences that could use some help to get through.

The author’s introduction is extremely helpful for understanding the manner in which the stories unfold. It can become confusing as there are “many daughters of Afong” as the title states. The theme of the story is the concept of epigenetic trauma. The idea that certain experiences and memories can be “inherited” in some way. The author focuses on the life of a real person, Afong Moy, who was the first Chinese woman to land in America in 1836.

The story is told primarily through the experiences of Dorothy Moy who despite her fame as a Washington poet laureate, struggled with continual episodic mental health issues. Her depression and dissociative state created much discord in her life so she agreed to and experiment in 2045 to mitigate “inherited trauma”. Only time will tell if such intervention is possible to alleviate the suppression and violent treatment that can occur due to ignorance.

The “daughters” are introduced in different time periods experiencing their own version of emotional difficulties relative the era in which they live. Ethnicity plays a role in the cultural traditions which are passed on and the perceived expectations that they bring to each new generation.

Thank you to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Simon&Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC. My review contains my honest and unbiased opinion.

The Many Daughters Of Afong Moy as many reviewers had written before, was a book that I had a hard time getting into as I was reading something very new for me, I've read about epigenetics with Dr. Joe Dispenza, yes I do his meditations, and work. anyway back to the subject, I've read this book and I thought I was going to have some similarities in there but no I got a little lost with all the characters as this book transcends from many years and eras repeating the same over and over again.

This is the story of seven women, all of them related and suffering from the sesame type of traumas over and over again. all of them can even feel the traumas from the past these women were encountering as if they were feeling the feelings of their predecessors. Most of them are living the same things, rejection, and misogynistic treatment for men, it was a book that I spend the majority of the chapters angry about, mostly because the men in this story were very ignorant, their costumes and traditions, everything was terrible as they lower women's value to the point that I felt in rage.

It was very sad how their families will even reject them because they were not a boy, borning as a woman was already a burden for her parents, they will even make some type of precessions that will indicate they were morning there was no boy and there was a girl.

The saddest part of all is to really understand how no matter the years or even the change of an era men still treated women as less, and every new character will suffer some type of rejection.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy is based on the first Chinese woman that arrived here in the US, her sad story continues with many generations after her. The way they were treated, the way men treated them as if they were nothing but a problem, everything was very sad to read.

This was a long book but I'm glad I had the opportunity to immerse myself in this magical world.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the advanced copy of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to netgalley.com for this ARC.

I have read this author's other books and enjoyed them. I really enjoyed this book as it was very different from his others. I liked the historical fiction aspect combined with the futurist perspective tied in with an interesting psychological concept. It all wove together well and was fascinating reading.

Well done and a page turner. A great book to start my reading year.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford. The premise of this book is inherited trauma. Do you have an irrational fear of dogs or tight spaces? This book tells us that perhaps our great great grandmother was attacked by a dog or locked in a tiny closet, and that is why we fear those things. It follows Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America and her various descendants. Beautifully written, but it ended up being a bit hard to keep track of the different time periods. Jamie Ford wrote The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet which is excellent. This book didn’t do it for me. 3.5 stars. Many thanks to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.

Unfortunately, this was a book that I just could not finish. I had trouble grasping the story as we alternate between daughters as the story unfolds. It had an interesting premise in that we are tied to our ancestors in unexpected ways - I was just unable to connect.

We were delighted to recommend this on Episode 354 of What Should I Read Next: Book festivals for beginners, about planning and serendipity at literary festivals. The show notes are linked below!