All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake
- Downloads：8080
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-10 18:31:13
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Tiya Miles
- ISBN：1984854992
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Catie
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Review copy provided by publisher - June 2021
Susan
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So what I wanted from this book was not what was being offered。 That is my fault and please accept my review and rating in that framework。 I wanted the story of three women who were connected through a seemingly inconsequential piece of material。 Instead， the sack is used as a framework to present the life of an enslaved person。 Broad generalities were used and a lot of assumptions were made and I felt the view being portrayed became a bit romanticized。 Not that Ms。 Miles presented a life of won So what I wanted from this book was not what was being offered。 That is my fault and please accept my review and rating in that framework。 I wanted the story of three women who were connected through a seemingly inconsequential piece of material。 Instead， the sack is used as a framework to present the life of an enslaved person。 Broad generalities were used and a lot of assumptions were made and I felt the view being portrayed became a bit romanticized。 Not that Ms。 Miles presented a life of wonder for these people， but by assigning significance and intent to certain actions， the reader gets what may be an inaccurate view。 But again， this goes back to needing to make broad assumptions due to the lack of historical information regarding people who were brought here against their will and forced to support the economy of the privileged。 Thanks to Random House for a copy of the book。 This review is my own opinion。 。。。more
Kasa Cotugno
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Ashley's Sack is a simple bag originally made to house seeds。 Constructed in， possibly， the 1840's， it has gained significance as a display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture， a symbol of the lives of enslaved women， and the proof of a mother's love。 Much of the history of the Sack is speculation in that Rose， Ashley's mother， cannot be personally identified due to the lack of records， but Rose represents millions of women who were not considered by thei Ashley's Sack is a simple bag originally made to house seeds。 Constructed in， possibly， the 1840's， it has gained significance as a display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture， a symbol of the lives of enslaved women， and the proof of a mother's love。 Much of the history of the Sack is speculation in that Rose， Ashley's mother， cannot be personally identified due to the lack of records， but Rose represents millions of women who were not considered by their owners as other than property， thus being cruelly separated from their families。 Ashley however held onto that Sack， and as a grandmother herself， inspiring Ruth， her granddaughter， to embroider the words that have set this article apart， noting that it was packed with a tattered dress， handful of pecans， braid of Rose's hair， and her mother's love。 Much about history of slavery （hard to read throughout）， the importance of pecans， needlework and even hair。 Quite a few illustrations， some lovely， many disturbing。 No matter how much I read about this subject， it never fails to shock， sadden， and anger me。 。。。more
Emily Hewitt
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I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway。 I give the book 3。5 stars but rounded up to 4 stars in my rating。 My reasoning for not giving 4 or 5 stars is that in certain points of the book I thought the author was a bit repetitive and was almost rambling。 That being said， Tiya Miles does an excellent job telling the story behind a historical object， successfully bringing not just Ashley’s sack to life but also the stories of thousands of enslaved people across the United States。 In 21s I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway。 I give the book 3。5 stars but rounded up to 4 stars in my rating。 My reasoning for not giving 4 or 5 stars is that in certain points of the book I thought the author was a bit repetitive and was almost rambling。 That being said， Tiya Miles does an excellent job telling the story behind a historical object， successfully bringing not just Ashley’s sack to life but also the stories of thousands of enslaved people across the United States。 In 21st century society we are so obsessed with “things” and owning physical items。 To think this sack and the items inside were some of the only items an enslaved mother could pass on to her daughter is simultaneously heartbreaking and fascinating。 Miles does an amazing job exploring who Ashley may have been， how her descendants might have lived post-Civil War， and how and why the objects in the sack are so important。 Through researching and imagining Ashley’s story， Miles is able to tell a broader story about slavery as a whole that is both unique and profound。 。。。more
Deena B
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This is a beautiful important book about loss， love， perseverance， and hope。 Lots of photos， too。Well done！
Michele
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NYT via Pocket: Summer Is Coming。 Bring a Book。You have your sunscreen and beach chairs。 Once you pick up any of these 24 books， summer can really begin。
Raymond
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A very interesting book about a grain/seed sack and three Black women who persevered in America。 One of the challenges of Black history is that there are alot of things we do not know because of the lack of records。 If only we had time machines。 When records did not exist， Miles had to speculate what might have occurred between Rose and Ashley based on what we know about slavery from other historical records and studies。 The sections of the book that I found most interesting was Miles's coverage A very interesting book about a grain/seed sack and three Black women who persevered in America。 One of the challenges of Black history is that there are alot of things we do not know because of the lack of records。 If only we had time machines。 When records did not exist， Miles had to speculate what might have occurred between Rose and Ashley based on what we know about slavery from other historical records and studies。 The sections of the book that I found most interesting was Miles's coverage of the items （dress， pecans， hair， and love） that Rose put in Ashley's sack and their possible significance based on what they meant to enslaved people。 Overall good book， fans of Black history， genealogy， and family heirlooms will enjoy it。 Thanks to NetGalley， Random House， and Tiya Miles， for a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review。 This book will be released on June 8， 2021。 。。。more
Sahitya
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This was such a poignant book。 We live in a society where we give lots of importance to materialistic things， so it’s fascinating to explore how a single such item can convey the traumatic history of a whole group of people。 While talking about how a single bag was passed down through generations， the author manages convey to us the horrors of enslavement， how the lives of enslaved women were for decades， and how difficult it was for them to even own something， let alone pass it down， when they This was such a poignant book。 We live in a society where we give lots of importance to materialistic things， so it’s fascinating to explore how a single such item can convey the traumatic history of a whole group of people。 While talking about how a single bag was passed down through generations， the author manages convey to us the horrors of enslavement， how the lives of enslaved women were for decades， and how difficult it was for them to even own something， let alone pass it down， when they themselves were considered property。 Add to it the fact that families were separated very often， it’s truly a story of resilience that the author narrates to us here。 Very compelling and engaging read and I would definitely recommend to readers who would love to read books about African American history from different perspectives。 。。。more
Jessica Howard
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This is a fantastic book！ My full review will come later for Shelf Awareness。。。 but it blew me away in making me think in different ways about tactile possessions and how rare and valuable they would have been for enslaved Black people。 The fact that this cotton sack was handed down through a family for 60-odd years is incredible， when， as the book says， "African American things had little chance to last。 This is a painful lesson learned by family historians and museum curators。 How could people This is a fantastic book！ My full review will come later for Shelf Awareness。。。 but it blew me away in making me think in different ways about tactile possessions and how rare and valuable they would have been for enslaved Black people。 The fact that this cotton sack was handed down through a family for 60-odd years is incredible， when， as the book says， "African American things had little chance to last。 This is a painful lesson learned by family historians and museum curators。 How could people who were property acquire and pass down property？" （p 265） 。。。more
Emi Bevacqua
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This book is hard to classify， it isn't historical fiction， it's not exactly case study， but it is definitely profound， excellently researched， and well-written。 It reminded me a little bit of the Hare with the Amber Eyes， in that a work of artisanal craftsmanship is studied minutely and its painful relational history expounded upon。 The black family keepsake， Ashley's sack， is lovingly examined here and its journey is imagined based on a mass of factual information surrounding a matrilineal lin This book is hard to classify， it isn't historical fiction， it's not exactly case study， but it is definitely profound， excellently researched， and well-written。 It reminded me a little bit of the Hare with the Amber Eyes， in that a work of artisanal craftsmanship is studied minutely and its painful relational history expounded upon。 The black family keepsake， Ashley's sack， is lovingly examined here and its journey is imagined based on a mass of factual information surrounding a matrilineal line from Rose to Ashley to Ruth。 I love that author Tiya Miles incorporates her own family's history in the beginning， and then expertly goes on to incorporate multiple examples of archival textile artefacts she calls "mythohistories，" from quilts to dresses and needlework， including beautiful photographic inserts。 But don't mistake this for a compendium of cultured feminine lady-arts， Miles pulls no punches discussing white supremacist rule or whimsy， and other Anti-Black associated factors that "would take two more centuries to tighten and fully mature into the zealous arguments of nineteenth-century scientific racism and the vehement policies of twentieth-century American Jim Crow。" This is a book about a sack， but it's also about feminism and the strength of women， and America's brutal racist history。 Thank you to NetGalley for the Kindle ARC， it will be published by Random House 8 June， 2021。 。。。more
Sara Broad
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"All That She Carried" by Tiya Miles is the history of a family of Black women that is centered around a bag that passes through the line of women。 Upon learning that she was being sold， Rose quickly packs a survival bag for her daughter， Ashley， which contain an array of items that are larger in significance than how they might appear in our everyday lives。 The bag ultimately makes it way to Ruth and is inscribed with an important message that highlights the trauma around the bag's origins and "All That She Carried" by Tiya Miles is the history of a family of Black women that is centered around a bag that passes through the line of women。 Upon learning that she was being sold， Rose quickly packs a survival bag for her daughter， Ashley， which contain an array of items that are larger in significance than how they might appear in our everyday lives。 The bag ultimately makes it way to Ruth and is inscribed with an important message that highlights the trauma around the bag's origins and its passage through time。 Miles' extensive research brings the reader into the exact frame in which this bag was packed and Rose and Ashley were separated。 Miles' research allows for a thorough historical analysis of each item in the bag and their connection to the lives of enslaved women in the pre-Civil War South。 This book is really fascinating。 。。。more
Kendra
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This is an outstanding work of material history that traces a single handcrafted item from its origins to its location today， providing astute and important commentary along the way in regard to human rights， the history of the Americas and enslavement of people， the lives of enslaved women and free women， and what we can learn by following this item back in time。 I highly recommend this--it makes an excellent companion piece to 400 Souls。
Libby
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