Afong Moy was the first Chinese person to be brought to the USA. Dorothy, the poet laureate of Washington, is experiencing severe bouts of depression and she seeks help. She discovers some past regressions from a previous life or rather from a previous relative, Afong Moy. And this leads to many discoveries about herself and possibly a past life lover.

This story follows several characters through several time periods. Some time periods were more interesting than others. But all the characters are related through one person, Afong Moy. And what they are experiencing in their lives all go back to her.

I fluctuated between 3 and 4 stars. I ended up giving this book 4 stars based on originality and uniqueness. Plus, this book had me researching Afong Moy. And yes she did exist! So, this story is very unique in its premise. It is just slow in places.

Need a good book which will have you reflecting on your life…THIS IS IT! GRAB YOUR COPY TODAY!

I received this novel from the publisher for an honest opinion.

"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."

I hesitated with this book. I generally shy from books described as "sweeping" or "multi-generational". Sweeping generally means long-winded, and "multi-generational"? Character death.

This book, with it's gorgeous mélange of history, fiction, and sci-fiction, took my assumptions and knocked me on my arse.

9/10

Jamie Ford. Where have you been all my life?

Thanks to both NetGalley and Atria Books for this fantastic ARC.

This is a book with a fascinating premise: what if your behaviors and environment cause changes that affect the way your genes work, thus causing a ripple effect on subsequent generations? Dorothy Moy takes part in an experimental study in epigenetics that allows her to see how her maternal ancestors’ lives have shaped her life and continue to affect her daughter’s life. I was very thankful for the list of characters at the beginning of the book, because for a while I had a hard time keeping 7 generations of women straight.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a fantastic book that I highly recommend. The author beautifully weaves multiple timelines together and all of the women feel equally and wholly developed. The ending delivers a massive emotional catharsis that left me in tears and made me wish I could explore what the women who came before me in my family went through.

This was an uneven read for me. I think I had trouble with the narrative skipping around. The subject behind the story of passing genetic memory on to the next generation is fascinating and the thread of motherly love was heartwarming and real. I liked Dorothy's story the best and found myself rooting for each descendant. The hype may have raised my expectations but it was still a good read.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

The idea of this book is interesting --that we carry trauma and feelings within us leftover from generations before. I feel the author tried to include too many generations and, while most of the characters' back stories are interesting, they do not meld into a cohesive story. Some of the characters have better stories, and I wanted more of those. One character's story set in the future is so depressing that it goes nowhere. She ultimately is the one chosen to tie the stories together, and it becomes too confusing.

I found myself skimming a lot of this book.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford was a very powerful read. I had read Jamie Ford’s book The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet many years ago and loved it so I was very excited to read this new book. It was a little confusing in the beginning since it explored several generations of women. Just as I was getting involved with one of the women’s story, another one was introduced. I have to admit I almost gave up but decided to persevere and I was glad I did. Jamie Ford brought all the life experiences and resulting trauma of each woman together by the end in a way that was quite satisfying. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was a Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick. When I heard Jenna talk so passionately about this book I knew I just had to read it. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy explored the themes of love, loss, separation, women’s dictated roles, motherhood, struggles and the trauma mothers pass on to their children. It viewed multigenerational trauma and how one generation passed that trauma onto the next. How would the effects of that passed on trauma be felt on future generations of women and mothers?

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy plotted a unique look at the women of the Moy family and how each woman passed on an inherited trauma to her daughter until one of those women tried to put an end to it so her own daughter could live a life that was absent from trauma. It all began with Afong Moy who was the first Chinese woman to arrive and live in America. Faye Moy was a nurse in China during the 1940’s. She worked with The Flying Tigers. Zoe Moy was a young, impressionable, sensitive and artistic student that had attended a progressive school in London. Lai King Moy was sent away by her parents to protect her against a plague epidemic. She had to quarantine in San Francisco during this epidemic. Greta Moy was a very bright and talented young tech designer. She designed a dating app that was an instant success. It wasn’t until Dorothy Moy, daughter of Greta Moy and former poet laureate, was introduced that the burden of carrying these traumas was truly explored. Dorothy lived in the future (2045). She had one five year old precocious and artistic daughter. When Dorothy realized that her daughter, Annabelle, was experiencing some of the same visions and flashbacks she was, Dorothy decided to seek help. Dorothy appeared to have many mental health challenges as a result of the inherited trauma she carried. She decided to seek professional help to guide her through trying to understand what was plaguing her. Dorothy accepted help in an experimental treatment plan designed to help her manage her inherited trauma. While undergoing this treatment, a window of sight and understanding opened up for Dorothy. She was able to examine the lives and choices the women in her family who lived before her made and how those choices impacted the trauma they were burdened with. This was Dorothy’s attempt to finally break the cycle of pain and trauma the women of the Moy family were compelled to live with and pass on. Would Dorothy be successful in ending this inherited trauma?

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was well written and quite powerful. It reminded me of a book, The Long Tail of Trauma by Elizabeth Wilcox, that I had read in 2021. That book centered around trauma mothers passed on due to the effects of living through World War I or World War II. The trauma these women felt was real and made a significant impact on their daughters. I really enjoyed reading The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Atria Books for allowing me to read The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Publication was on August 2, 2022.

"My whole life, an echo of so many generations, so close to love, to acceptance, to happiness, to joy, but always ending with so much ... misadventure."

This multi-generational, multi-layered novel of love, loss, sorrow, family and forgiveness is a must read. So much to learn from the story of others' lives. And in Jamie Ford's latest novel each of us can find ourselves. Regardless of gender, class, creed - each of us bears of the story within us from our ancestors. Some we recall, others we have no knowledge of - yet there is a lineage of pain that is passed on.

Enjoyed this after I figured out the generational back and forth of story line. Very interesting and enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this story! Love love loved the writing! Beautiful characters!! Highly highly recommend

Hands down the best book I've read in a long while.
This clever take on epigenetics/intergenerational trauma was a treat for my summer reading pleasure! I truly enjoyed the interplay between generations of characters, which transported me to different periods in Chinese history. The use of neuroscience to treat Dorothy's (and, by extension, her ancestors') suffering was fun, but I especially enjoyed Dorothy's inspired leap toward her own healing (read: risky and gutsy, inspired by her love for her only daughter).
I was especially interested in Jamie Ford's inspiration, so was pleased to read the research that inspired this book.
This book is out now for you to enjoy!

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for my egalley!

This book is beautiful and I loved it. It's also hard to read the experiences of all the characters, whose lives are filled with trauma and heartbreak, but in the end it is all worth it.

I'm also going to say that I consider this book science fiction and about time travel in a non-traditional sense, even though I don't think it's being marketed that way. You'll have to read it to see if you agree with me. I didn't know it going in, but I'm very happy that it was the case.

The novel deals with heavy subjects like depression, inherited trauma and climate crisis in nuanced ways. It is also a beautiful love story about finding your person and keeping them, no matter the odds. The prose is also beautiful. I just finished and am having a hard time describing this book.

I would recommend it to anyone, but especially those with troubled family lives hoping to break that cycle in their families. It also taught me about the history of Chinese women in America, so would be great for readers interested in that subject who don't know where to start. I think Colson Whitehead fans would also really like this book.

I was provided an ARC by Netgalley for an unbiased review.

Fascinating and ever so different. I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. The characters and story line were wonderful!

A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.
Absolutely loved this story! I think Jamie Ford is quickly becoming a favorite author for me! Just magical!

Might go back and round this up to a 5 🎉

I really loved this one - it's weird, and maybe not for everyone because the structure is a little confusing. It's based on the science of epigenetics, the theory that things in our lineage can imprint themselves on our DNA somehow (if your great-great-great grandmother loved lychee tea and you do also, if your early relative drowned and you're afraid of the water...things like that). There are some studies mentioned in there...but basically this is the story of Dorothy, who is suffering from a slew of things like depression, anxiety, periods of dissociation, etc in the year 2045. She goes to a doctor who specializes in healing traumas far back in the family line. So then alternating with her chapters are chapters of her ancestors - almost like linked short stories but not quite. And they were all so good and interesting and very Lisa-See-feeling (if she were to try a new/odd structure).

The premise of this story is very unique, jumping between generations of women who were descendants of Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman in America. The women often get flashbacks of strong memories experienced by previous generations, which helped to tie the stories together. Each woman faced her own struggles but throughout it, exhibited tremendous strength and courage.

The execution of this story is done artfully and the amount of research done for this book is evident in the historical references. The ability of Jamie Ford to capture the voices of these Chinese women is quite impressive and believable.

There were times in which there were a few too many plot lines to keep track of and loose ends that didn't seem to tie up. But the sense of place for each voice was strong and helps the reader to re-orient themselves to the story at hand.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I was so excited to get this book and was not disappointed. Jamie Ford has done it again. The story of women from multi generations and the trauma of their lives. It explores epigenetics and how over generations trauma is within your DNA. The story of these women will stay with me and I find myself thinking of their stories. It is a different kind of story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I will DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!

Very different story. So glad I took the opportunity to read it. Haunting story of tragedies that happened in past generations and the effect it can have of mind and body. Probably thought about this book after I read it for as long as it took to read it! Very thought provoking and a subject I have not heard of before.

The premise of this book is the idea of inherited trauma or inherited epigenetics. Dorothy Moy is a successful poet laureate until her episodes of dissociating from reality begin to happen more frequently to the point she loses her university job and her partner threatens to take her daughter. Dorothy seeks an experimental treatment that allows her to revisit traumas that happened to her previous generations.

The stories of the previous generations are told alternating with Dorothy's present. This can get confusing as it sometimes appears the reader is rereading the same pages twice as Dorothy experiences her past. However, as Dorothy experiences her past, she's seeing the pattern of trauma and desires to learn as much as possible to prevent it from being passed along to her daughter. Additionally, along with the trauma, there is someone searching for her through the generations. This leaves the reader curious if love can will be able to transcend the generations.

What an interesting story of epigenetics. Generational trauma is a beast and it's crazy to think how our stories can be passed down through the body.