The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story by Yvonne S. ThorntonAR Reading Level: 6.4
On the library stacks: Adult Non-fiction
Award: Society of School Libr. International Best/Honor
Appropriate for: High School +
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My book club was choosing our books for the new year and my husband chimed in that we ought to read this book. He had read it in college and thought we would like it. I think he was right!
Yvonne Thornton is one of 5 African-American daughters born into poverty in Long Branch, New Jersey. Her parents were determined that the girls would rise above the preconceptions of others based on their gender and race. Yvonne's father told the girls that they were all going to be doctors. The methods Donald Thornton used to encourage his girls may be up for debate. But the results are not.
While all the girls do not ultimately become doctors, they are all successful women. Yvonne is one of the premier OB/GYN specialists in this country. This book is fascinating and inspiring and very well-written. It was published in 1995 and I was happy find out that Yvonne published a sequel more specifically about her journey as a doctor in 2010.
Source: My husband brought this one into the marriage. That's almost 14 years in my TBR pile!
2 comments:
This looks fabulous. Already added it in my queue at the library!
I read this years ago and really enjoyed it. It's a very inspiring story.
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