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There are currently 34 member reviews
for Something Like Beautiful
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Carol (San Jose CA)
Something Like Beautiful
A strong, honest memoir – Asa pulls no punches, however, I ask . . . as a single mother why would anyone deliberately put herself into this position of life – husband in jail, baby conceived in a trailer never to be able to enjoy the fruits of their love for each other.
As many other women, I too have wondered how women can stay in such abusive relationships, and after having read this sad, but beautiful book I came away with some new insight. This book is one woman’s story of the difficulties one faces in loving the “wrong” kind of man while trying to balance motherhood with work and one’s self. The subject matter is not for everyone. But for those interested in taking a look at someone's life from a different perspective, it's worth an afternoon of quiet reading.
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Talya (Medical Lake WA)
An intense, emotional memoir about love, single motherhood, and depression.
In this powerful memoir Asha shares her life with the reader. Her emotions are so beautifully shared and it is not just about being a single mother or about loving an unavailable man, but a book about depression, family, and reflection. The writing feels a bit disjointed at times but I think it is Asha's poetic style of writing. I am looking forward to reading her other novels.
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Beverly (Waldorf MD)
Knowing is more than half the battle - Rating = 4+
Beautiful writing will pull you into the journey of the author as she explains how she got to be "being nervous in front of life". Knowing the subject of the book I did not expect to be so absorbed in the story and did not want to leave it alone once I started reading. You will give pause at the ending of this reading to think to yourself -- how this could have gone another way but the birth of her daughter and her wanting to guard her daughter from all of the harm that come her way. You may not agree with all of her life decisions that she makes but at the end of the book, you will have much respect for the author and glad her illness has a name.
While in the prologue, the author says this book is for single mothers who do not understand that it is okay to feel rage and pain, I think this is a much broader story and it is for everyone and especially for people who feel that they need to appear unfazed and better than others so they can hold their life together.
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Penny (Saginaw MI)
Something wonderful
Asha Bandele writes with a poets voice and words about being a single mom. Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother’s Story, is a memoir that takes time to read. It's about love, betrayal and redemption. And most of all it’s about trusting in oneself. It's about being a single mother and how love grows, even when neither mother nor child is a "perfect model". The book is so well written that the reader gets vested in the life that Bandele writes about and becomes part of her story. One hopes that everyone reads this uncommonly profound memoir and comes away from it being a better mother or father even if life itself treats you badly.
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Wendy (Kalamazoo MI)
Poignant story
Something Like Beautiful is a poignant story of a single mother that truly captures the difficulties of women everywhere. The language of this book is beautiful and poetic. This book portrays the African American experience as well as the trials of single mothers from all cultures. This is a good read.
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CatieN (Aurora CO)
Something Like Beautiful
This is a beautifully written memoir of Asha Bandele's journey through "single" motherhood in NYC. (Technically, Asha is not single, but her husband is in prison.) I admire the author's honesty, which is sometimes almost painful to read. There are no fairy-tale endings here; in other words, real life.
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Cam (Murrells Inlet SC)
Something Like Beautiful
This is a memoir about a young woman dealing with depression as well as raising a young child as a single mother. I, initially, had quite a bit of trouble getting into her account of her life which I thought was somewhat overdone. However, the more I continued to read, particularly when she finally recognized that she finally needed help, I realized how beautifully she does write...she is truly a poet!
