Walking Gentry Home: A Memoir of My Foremothers in Verse
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- Create Date：2022-08-02 07:19:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Alora Young
- ISBN：0593498003
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Summary
An "extraordinary" （Laurie Halse Anderson） young poet traces the lives of her foremothers in West Tennessee， from those enslaved centuries ago to her grandmother， her mother， and finally herself， in this stunning debut celebrating Black girlhood and womanhood throughout American history。
"A masterpiece that beautifully captures the heartbreak that accompanies coming of age for Black girls becoming Black women。"--Evette Dionne， author of Lifting as We Climb， longlisted for the National Book Award
Walking Gentry Home tells the story of Alora Young's ancestors， from the unnamed women forgotten by the historical record but brought to life through Young's imagination; to Amy， the first of Young's foremothers to arrive in Tennessee， buried in an unmarked grave， unlike the white man who enslaved her and fathered her child; through Young's great-grandmother Gentry， unhappily married at fourteen; to her own mother， the teenage beauty queen rejected by her white neighbors; down to Young in the present day as she leaves childhood behind and becomes a young woman。
The lives of these girls and women come together to form a unique American epic in verse， one that speaks of generational curses， coming of age， homes and small towns， fleeting loves and lasting consequences， and the brutal and ever-present legacy of slavery in our nation's psyche。 Each poem is a story in verse， and together they form a heart-wrenching and inspiring family saga of girls and women connected through blood and history。
Informed by archival research， the last will and testament of an enslaver， formal interviews， family lore， and even a DNA test， Walking Gentry Home gives voice to those too often muted in America: Black girls and women。
"A masterpiece that beautifully captures the heartbreak that accompanies coming of age for Black girls becoming Black women。"--Evette Dionne， author of Lifting as We Climb， longlisted for the National Book Award
Walking Gentry Home tells the story of Alora Young's ancestors， from the unnamed women forgotten by the historical record but brought to life through Young's imagination; to Amy， the first of Young's foremothers to arrive in Tennessee， buried in an unmarked grave， unlike the white man who enslaved her and fathered her child; through Young's great-grandmother Gentry， unhappily married at fourteen; to her own mother， the teenage beauty queen rejected by her white neighbors; down to Young in the present day as she leaves childhood behind and becomes a young woman。
The lives of these girls and women come together to form a unique American epic in verse， one that speaks of generational curses， coming of age， homes and small towns， fleeting loves and lasting consequences， and the brutal and ever-present legacy of slavery in our nation's psyche。 Each poem is a story in verse， and together they form a heart-wrenching and inspiring family saga of girls and women connected through blood and history。
Informed by archival research， the last will and testament of an enslaver， formal interviews， family lore， and even a DNA test， Walking Gentry Home gives voice to those too often muted in America: Black girls and women。
Reviews
Katja （Life and Other Disasters）
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*I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review， which was first published on Life and Other Disasters！*CW: slavery， racism， rape， domestic abuse， teen pregnancy， teen marriage， loss of loved onesWalking Gentry Home by Alora Young is a book， or should I say memoir， told in verse。 That in itself is something you don't come across every day， never mind find a review for on my blog。 I will be the first to admit that I'm no expert on the matter， so I want *I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review， which was first published on Life and Other Disasters！*CW: slavery， racism， rape， domestic abuse， teen pregnancy， teen marriage， loss of loved onesWalking Gentry Home by Alora Young is a book， or should I say memoir， told in verse。 That in itself is something you don't come across every day， never mind find a review for on my blog。 I will be the first to admit that I'm no expert on the matter， so I want to clarify that these thoughts I'm trying to compile are mostly based on what the writing made me feel - and that was a lot。I've tried to learn a bit about my family's history， but there's many gaps and missing pieces， so I was impressed by what Alora Young uncovered and managed to bring to life on the page。 Not only did she find a way to give a voice to generations that came before her， but she did so with few and yet impacting words。 Her verses faced harsh realities of generational pain and trauma， but also let the light of mother- and womanhood shine through。 As we followed key moments in Young's maternal ancestry， I felt the connection and ties grow beneath each one of them and me as a reader。 Sometimes it was as if we read from their perspectives， sometimes it was told from Alora Young's POV and other times it almost felt like a collective consciousness。I know this is quite the brief review， but I thought Walking Gentry Home was masterfully done。 I felt the emotional tether throughout， even if I got mixed up with the timeline sometimes。 All of it seems not just rooted in Young's personal family history， but that of Black history in America in general。 Often thought-provoking and unflinchingly honest， it is sure to linger in your mind。Fazit: 5/5 stars！ Wonderful and impacting family history！ 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Walking Gentry Home is a lyrical history of the author’s lineage。 Set in poetic style， Young explores her female heritage。It’s an interesting approach。 I am not a fan of poetry since I prefer prose， but she gets her message across。I liked the family history and the stories。Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the early read。
Shiv
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A very lyrical piece。 It's a story but it rhymes in the best ways。 I really enjoyed it。 A very lyrical piece。 It's a story but it rhymes in the best ways。 I really enjoyed it。 。。。more
Fritz
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I loved the poetry。 They told stories and gave insight to her history。
Ryo
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I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway。I'm not really a poetry person， so it's kind of hard for me to judge。 I was impressed with how， using so few words， the author manages to trace her family lineage back several generations， while also examining racism from various angles， slavery， poverty， and femininity， among many other topics。 The events of centuries ago are still relevant to the present day， and the author captures the injustices in this country that have lasted I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway。I'm not really a poetry person， so it's kind of hard for me to judge。 I was impressed with how， using so few words， the author manages to trace her family lineage back several generations， while also examining racism from various angles， slavery， poverty， and femininity， among many other topics。 The events of centuries ago are still relevant to the present day， and the author captures the injustices in this country that have lasted for centuries， as well as her own anger about them。 There were some parts that were basically prose broken up across lines， though， and I would've appreciated these parts as just regular prose in a longer essay-like format， but overall I enjoyed this new experience I had with poetry。 。。。more
D'Linda Pearson
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4。75⭐️Loved this piece of art so much！ This book spans over generations of the history of this country through her （our） people， through slavery， through segregation， through the Black Tax， through still not being “good enough”， to being what our ancestors fought for。 This was such an inspiring piece and I’m so impressed with the authors way of words and visualizing everything。 This is a tough read as anything that’s true with our history， it’s not black and white like our history books want us 4。75⭐️Loved this piece of art so much！ This book spans over generations of the history of this country through her （our） people， through slavery， through segregation， through the Black Tax， through still not being “good enough”， to being what our ancestors fought for。 This was such an inspiring piece and I’m so impressed with the authors way of words and visualizing everything。 This is a tough read as anything that’s true with our history， it’s not black and white like our history books want us to believe it is now。 The only very very tiny issue I had was the timeline and the characters in the beginning， you think you’re following one timeline of a family but really it’s the family but still it’s the black community as a black people in it’s entirety。 TW: racism， slavery 。。。more
Haerlee
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Books in verseare lyrical。Walking Gentry Home: A Memoir of My Foremothersexemplifies this。 It pays homage to the Black women in her familyand mineand me。
MaryAnn McLean
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I was lucky enough to receive an Advance Uncorrected Proofs of this book。 I'm usually not into Verse， but as a genealogist I LOVED THIS BOOK。 It was a very easy read， a page turner， could not put it down。 The author starts out with her first foremother， and with imagination she brings this unnamed woman to life。 The author then takes the reader on a wonderful journey down to her great grandmother Gentry， to her own mother and to herself。 This is a book so relevant to what is happening today。 Eve I was lucky enough to receive an Advance Uncorrected Proofs of this book。 I'm usually not into Verse， but as a genealogist I LOVED THIS BOOK。 It was a very easy read， a page turner， could not put it down。 The author starts out with her first foremother， and with imagination she brings this unnamed woman to life。 The author then takes the reader on a wonderful journey down to her great grandmother Gentry， to her own mother and to herself。 This is a book so relevant to what is happening today。 Everyone should read this book。 。。。more
Emily
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Oh my goodness！ This book was absolutely amazing！ It was everything！ I really loved the concept of Alora recounting the lives of her foremothers through verse。 It was interesting to read about her family history， the small town she and her foremothers lived in， and the changes in history。 Walking Gentry Home was absolutely a beautiful book to read， and I think everyone should read it。 Well done， Alora， well done！*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review。*
Mama Cass
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The last time I was this moved by a poetess I was reading Maya Angelou， I LOVE poetry， and have been reading and writing it since I was a child。 Moved by the rhythms and beauty of the allegories that poetry brings， became a huge fan of Slyvia Plath， Emily Dickinson， Maya Angelou， and countless others。 I tend to be a bit picky about what I consider good and truthfully the last one I liked was Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb"。 Until I read Alora Young's "Walking Gentry Home"。 Alora has created The last time I was this moved by a poetess I was reading Maya Angelou， I LOVE poetry， and have been reading and writing it since I was a child。 Moved by the rhythms and beauty of the allegories that poetry brings， became a huge fan of Slyvia Plath， Emily Dickinson， Maya Angelou， and countless others。 I tend to be a bit picky about what I consider good and truthfully the last one I liked was Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb"。 Until I read Alora Young's "Walking Gentry Home"。 Alora has created a beautiful tapestry of pictures of her foremothers in powerful and vibrant colors， weaving the luxurious strength of Black history。 I learned a lot in this thought-provoking collection， I cried more than a few tears too。 This is beautiful and I am so happy and honored to have read and highly recommend this。 This talented poet has a lovely voice that we need to hear。Thank you to Random House Publishing， NetGalley and to Alora Young for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest and non-paid review。 。。。more
Jamie
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The concept of this book blew me away。 Tracing her maternal lineage through verse， fining voice to her ancestors， Young took up an ambitious task and had many successes。 Following key moments in her grandmother and mother’s lives， Young explores the challenges of the transition into womanhood， society’s expectations， and the limiting nature of the small town she （and they） grew up in。 For as much pain and questioning is embedded in this verse， there is equal amount of joy and pride。 I got a bit The concept of this book blew me away。 Tracing her maternal lineage through verse， fining voice to her ancestors， Young took up an ambitious task and had many successes。 Following key moments in her grandmother and mother’s lives， Young explores the challenges of the transition into womanhood， society’s expectations， and the limiting nature of the small town she （and they） grew up in。 For as much pain and questioning is embedded in this verse， there is equal amount of joy and pride。 I got a bit lost in the structure and voice at times。 The book is linear， but not， moving through time in periods of each persons point of view。 And in each section， she tends to switch voice—-from naming the subject of the poem to using I， which sometimes feels like claiming the voice of that ancestor， and other times felt like her own interjection。 There may be a sense of the collective she was reaching for here。 Overall， ambitious and worth the read。 。。。more
gingerfordays
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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review。This is a very impactful and powerful collection of poetry that chronicles the author’s maternal ancestry from the first person in her family to touch American soil （as a slave） all the way to the author in present day （a young woman gifted with words and the strength to use them）。 I highly recommend this， but especially if you are a native Tennessean， like me。
Cherokee
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