My First Thirty Years
- Downloads：4877
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-24 17:21:18
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Gertrude Beasley
- ISBN：B08QXN3MGS
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Britt。and。Lit。Books Beam
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Wow。 It’s hard to put into words the positive sentiment I carry for this memoir of Gertrude Beasley。 The memoir follows Beasley’s early life in Texas and the events that made her emerge as an outspoken feminist and champion of women’s rights。 She overcame the impact of sexual abuse and extreme poverty to emerge as a fiercely independent woman。 She became a foreign correspondent and an outspoken voice for women。 She speaks of her life and views unapologetically， so you can feel her emotions as yo Wow。 It’s hard to put into words the positive sentiment I carry for this memoir of Gertrude Beasley。 The memoir follows Beasley’s early life in Texas and the events that made her emerge as an outspoken feminist and champion of women’s rights。 She overcame the impact of sexual abuse and extreme poverty to emerge as a fiercely independent woman。 She became a foreign correspondent and an outspoken voice for women。 She speaks of her life and views unapologetically， so you can feel her emotions as you read it。 The book was banned in a number of places and was actually pulled off shelves by Texas Rangers。 This is a very important book that should definitely be added to your must-reads list。 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Reading the introduction to this book laid the ground work for the memoir。 It also revealed the truth of what happened to the author after she had seemingly vanished。 Modern technology helped solve her disappearance。 I understood why the memoir was pulled from circulation back in the 1920s。 It's bold， unapologetic， and frank words were too much for the decade to handle。 Beasley grew up in a tumultuous household and I think that scarred her for life。 It was an interesting read。 Thanks to the publ Reading the introduction to this book laid the ground work for the memoir。 It also revealed the truth of what happened to the author after she had seemingly vanished。 Modern technology helped solve her disappearance。 I understood why the memoir was pulled from circulation back in the 1920s。 It's bold， unapologetic， and frank words were too much for the decade to handle。 Beasley grew up in a tumultuous household and I think that scarred her for life。 It was an interesting read。 Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for advance read。 。。。more
Nina
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Gertrude's prose is fierce， unapologetic， and aggressively intelligent。 She pulls no punches and will not go down quietly。 She somehow retained her dignity and sense of self despite a childhood filled with soul-crushing poverty， sexual assault， and wild family dysfunctionality。 She escaped that toxic small frontier town environment scarred， angry， and ready to eviscerate any who would presume to curb her ambitions。 She took up the battle cry for women's independence， equal pay， birth control rig Gertrude's prose is fierce， unapologetic， and aggressively intelligent。 She pulls no punches and will not go down quietly。 She somehow retained her dignity and sense of self despite a childhood filled with soul-crushing poverty， sexual assault， and wild family dysfunctionality。 She escaped that toxic small frontier town environment scarred， angry， and ready to eviscerate any who would presume to curb her ambitions。 She took up the battle cry for women's independence， equal pay， birth control rights， suffrage， and generally any vehicle that she could use to stick it to the patriarchy。 Through sheer grit and tenacity， she hauled herself up the social ladder， from cotton picking to college instructor， from the remote， dusty Texas panhandle to foreign correspondent gigs in Beijing， Moscow， London。 All in her first 30 years。 Damn girl。 Baby you're a firework。Society couldn't handle her aggression， her anger， or her bluntness。 Within two years of her memoir's publication， she was silenced with a thoroughness previously reserved for heretics。 Her words were confiscated， her body confined to a psychiatric ward， her autonomy and independence thoroughly erased。 She died， alone and unremembered。Gertrude Beasley is a tragedy。Gertrude Beasley is awe-inspiring。 Gertrude Beasley is a testament to grit。 Don't let the bastards get you down。 I don't think she and I would be friends IRL -- she was a veteran of fights with demons that I， blessedly， have never had to face。 It left her hard， a lone wolf， and self-righteous。 But I don't have to like her in order to respect the hell out of her， or to believe that she - and her book - are powerfully important。 She deserves to be heard， finally， on her own terms。 That much -- that little -- was something I could give her。 So I did。You're welcome， world。 。。。more
Megan
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Fascinating look at life in rural Texas/America in the 1910s。 Gertrude does not hold back， and that is both a plus and a minus。 Her stream-of-consciousness style is sometimes difficult to follow; I'm still not sure of the names of her many siblings。If nothing else， this book is a wonderful reminder that "modern" society didn't invent any of the things that ail us。 Fascinating look at life in rural Texas/America in the 1910s。 Gertrude does not hold back， and that is both a plus and a minus。 Her stream-of-consciousness style is sometimes difficult to follow; I'm still not sure of the names of her many siblings。If nothing else， this book is a wonderful reminder that "modern" society didn't invent any of the things that ail us。 。。。more
Jason Dikes
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If you're unfamiliar with Beasley's story， just Google her。 A story from the Texas Observer should come up。The problem with memoirs is that you only get one POV about the events that occurred。 Some of the family members come off pretty badly what with allegations of incest， rape， and bestiality。 It would be interesting for a biography to be written so that a fuller picture of this woman and her life could be told。Having said that， there are some really interesting parts to her story。 The 12th ch If you're unfamiliar with Beasley's story， just Google her。 A story from the Texas Observer should come up。The problem with memoirs is that you only get one POV about the events that occurred。 Some of the family members come off pretty badly what with allegations of incest， rape， and bestiality。 It would be interesting for a biography to be written so that a fuller picture of this woman and her life could be told。Having said that， there are some really interesting parts to her story。 The 12th child of a drunk father and long suffering mother （her description）， Beasley rose above her circumstances finishing college and graduate school， striking terror into rambunctious schoolchildren in West Texas and slowly becoming a feminist。 Unfortunately， her story--part of which appears to have been written in Russia--ends with her boarding a ship for Japan。The controversial subject matter led to most copies of her book being confiscated and destroyed shortly after its publication。 Upon her return to the United States， Beasley was whisked off to a mental hospital where she lingered until her death。 Her family was never told and even today， the hospital refuses to release her records。 I can only hope that in the future， a completer version of her remarkable life becomes available。 。。。more
E。d。
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