So I thought this was a fiction novel and not a memoir. But I recently picked this up from the library so I decided to go ahead and review it. This was pretty short and narrow for a memoir topic. I found the story compelling, I just felt it could’ve been flushed out to be about More than it was about. I think I was more interested in hearing about her mother and her relationship with her mother than her journey to adopt her brother as her son. It was fine to listen to while I did things around the house.

A short but deep and affecting memoir. Nikkya grew up mostly with her grandparents, as her mom was in and out of drug addiction and jail. She was just a few years out of college when her mom gave birth again after smoking crack, and child protective services are going to take the baby away - until Nikkya steps in to be the guardian of her much younger half-brother. The book focuses primarily on the few years after this (along with flashbacks to her earlier life), as Nikkya works hard to figure out how to take on this new responsibility, and also whether she can find love as a young queer black woman with such big responsibilities and the trauma from her past.

I haven’t seen much attention for this book, so I highly recommend this one. Reading/listening to stories of people with experiences different from our own is so important for building empathy and understanding. And this was just such an emotional book, often sad but hopeful as well.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. I loved reading it!

Mama was an excellent read, I read along on audio and liked the narrator there. It is sad but also hopeful. I appreciated the author's insight into being queer, raising a child who is not your own, and dealing with a difficult mother.

“Being a mother requires so much emotional, physical, and spiritual strength. It can be exhausting, but as parents—good parents—we make the decision to be better people. We choose to put our children ahead of our own dreams and desires, reassured by the belief that one day we will be able to hold both our dreams and parenthood in the same space.”

This beautiful and powerful memoir is a story of one Black queer mother and her resilience, faith and courage in facing all the challenges in store for her family. At a very young age, Nikkya became responsible for her own mom, who was in and out of prison. While her mother was in jail, she became the temporary guardian for her own baby brother and eventually went on a journey to officially adopt him.

This was a very emotional story and I love the found family aspect of it. I love that Nikkya and Dinushka found each other and were there to support Jonathan no matter what. There were times that I felt angry and annoyed with their situation. I held my breathe while reading the pages on court hearings. I also celebrated with them during their happy moments. It was definitely quite a journey reading this one!

Overall, I highly recommend this book. Nikkya’s story was compelling from start to finish and very thankful for this author for sharing her story. ❤️

Thank you @algonquinbooks for gifting me a copy of Mama by Nikkya Hargrove.

I just love memoirs. There are so many that inspire me so much and this is no exception. The author had a very difficult childhood with her mother in prison. She takes us on the journey of getting custody of her brother which brings on many other challenges. She raises him and cares for him through autism and ADHD. What a wonderful story about motherhood and the struggles of getting through life while impoverished. I also loved the author's vulnerability around her mixed race, queer relationship. It's such a powerful and beautiful book and I am glad to have read it.

This was such an incredible memoir! I feel so honored to have the opportunity to read this. This was an eye opening story, difficult at times. But powerful all the same. I would easily recommend this to anyone who enjoys memoirs.

Many thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC!

Nikkya Hargrove's memoir explores generational trauma and shines a light on family court and poverty in America. It is about giving your all for your family and fighting for their rights. As a queer Black woman she deals with some major injustices in family court while fighting for custody of her baby brother. Then again when he is diagnosed with ADHD she must fight the education system to get him the help he deserves. It is a story of hope and perseverance. It's not an easy read learning about their struggles, but it grabbed my full attention as I finished it in a single day.

Your mom is in and out of prison and you grow up being raised by your aunt and grand parents. Despite your circumstances, you mange to graduate college. Then your mom comes out of prison, addicted to cocaine and gives birth to a son. When she passes away, she leaves behind her infant son. He will either be put into the system or raised by his eldest great grandparents. You decide to take a chance and raise your brother on your own, in order to give him a chance of having a stable home and growing up with a mother.

This is the memoir of Nikkya Hargrove, a beautiful and emotional story, reflecting on her relationship with her mother and her own children. A realistic and authentic story, I was hooked from the beginning and got through this book quickly.

Thanks to Algonquin Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

#mama #nikkyahargrove

MAMA is such a raw, powerful, and hopeful story of one woman's triumph over the adversity of an absent father and an addicted, incarcerated mother. I could not put it down; I was in a rush of hoping to reach the happier parts of her story.

Nikkya recounts vivid details of visiting her mother in prison, all the rules she knew must be followed. She tells of making the choice to raise her newborn little brother Johnathan even though she had just graduated from college. We learn about her struggles finding a path as young black queer woman yearning for acceptance and love.

I finished this story feeling so proud of a woman I don't even know, for not just surviving but thriving. She didn't just find love, she created it all around her and made a safe space for her family.

Thank you so much to Algonquin and NetGalley for this ARC to review!

When her mother had another child who needed emergency family placement, Nikkya knew that she needed to be that safe haven for her newborn brother Jonathan. She also knew that it was time to break the cycle of her mother’s parenting (or lack thereof) by becoming Jonathan’s permanent legal guardian. That is a heavy decision for a woman in her early 20s to make, but Nikkya knew it was the only way to give her brother a safe and stable life.
This is a powerful memoir about overcoming all of the obstacles thrown at you. Hargrove doesn’t hold back anything while telling her story. She is real and raw with her story and the emotional rollercoaster that came with everything she went through.

This is a memoir written by a young, queer, Black woman who commits to raising her infant brother when she is in her early 20. Her mother who was in and out of jail and drug addicted couldn't care for her baby, so Nikkya stepped up with intention and determination to provide him with the stability she never experienced. Told in a conversational tone, this memoir pulled me in and had me rooting for Nikkya pretty much from page one. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

A beautiful story of family, queer love and hope. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC. But more importantly, thank you to Nikkya Hargrove for sharing your story with the world.

Brave and powerful. Hargrove's writing is full of emotion. I felt like I was a part of the family. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars!

I was captivated by this book from the start. The book’s exploration of motherhood, spirituality, and resilience was really refreshing and impactful. Nikkya’s queer journey and her experiences in a mixed-race, queer relationship resonated deeply with me and the portrayal of her wife and the handling of their cultural differences were beautifully done. I was especially touched by the depiction of Dinushka and the couple's determination to make their relationship work despite numerous challenges. I admired Nikkya's vulnerability in sharing her financial struggles and her difficulty in setting boundaries with her son's birth father. I also thought the larger discussion on Child Protective Services, the brokenness of that system, the challenges of finding affordable childcare, and the stigma associated with government assistance was particularly impactful. This story is one of resilience and unconditional love and will stay with me for a long time. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to read it.

This is great read. The characters were engaging and I couldn't put the book down. I would recommend this book for a book club or a friend.

This book was amazing. I loved so many things about it. I felt as I was reading the pages that I was experiencing life’s ups and downs along with the characters. I literally didn’t want to put this book down because I was afraid that I would miss something. It really pulled at my heart ❤️.