paigegannon

** spoiler alert ** This really is an incredible story and Dr. Yvonne Thorton certainly didn’t whitewash things so I am really looking forward to discussing it with my book club. Every member of the family was so interesting: Donald Thorton What an amazing worker. I just can’t fathom how anyone can work two full-time jobs plus whatever odd jobs he could find, plus build his own home, plus manage his daughter’s music group. When did he ever sleep? He was also a powerful advocate for his family and a great teacher. You certainly can’t argue the results of all his work but do the ends justify the means? He clearly loved his family but was very, very controlling. I also think his desire to keep his daughters as little girls completely dependent on him created a really unhealthy family dynamic. Tass Thorton Her story of having to drop of out of college before her final year was heartbreaking. The idea of the importance education must surely have come from her but then she seemed to have let her husband completely take over the family. She was such a non-entity in the book and to see her succumb to depression and pain and an eventual early death seemed so tragic. Yvonne Thorton She too is an amazing worker and clearly an intelligent and powerful woman. Her fight against racism and sexism was very inspiring. Most of her actions were so selfless but then she would include stories that made her come off as so selfish and materialistic (I could have done without the chapter on her wedding). I also had to keep reminding myself that just because her choices about her family were not ones I would make that that didn’t mean they were wrong.

2023-06-28 12:46