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Summary: The Ditchdiggers Daughters Review
Review: I think that this book is an amazing tale of a poor black family that was put down and brokin down by many people, and were strong with what they knew and believed. This book shows me the way that you should be who you want to be and not be brokin down by people who think that you are not.
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Summary: Garbage
Review: I'll readily admit that every book has its place and that nothing should be censored no matter what the content may be, but the pity-me story that Ms. Thornton decided to tell the world should have been censored. The world does not need one more tragic story with a nice pretty ending. To quote a review from above, "This is basically an "Oh, poor me. I was born with nothing except for God's grace and good parents" story." To say that this book was original or even worthwhile would be a gross overstatement, possibly even leaning towards a humorous hyperbole. From an early and the first page, it is quickly revealed that this whining is not new. The line, ""Daddy, don't you love us?" we wailed," is a prime example. The question is not formed to allow the asked to answer how he would like, but begs a yes answer. Frequently used by children to get what they want, this explains the tone that this book takes despite it being written by an outside source. Even the word 'wailed' is highly dramatic. It has a way of seeming like someone is being abused and to demonstrate the inequity of it all. Had the word 'wailed' been changed to 'said' the entire scene would have changed considerably. It would have lessened the seeming pain that these girls experienced. But dramatic was what was wanted. Donald Thornton doesn't yell. He roars. Or at least that's what the narrator would have you believe. There is no decibel level given for how loud he spoke or an audio recording of their lives to make sure that the wording was exact. How else can you demonstrate two extremes of the same man? Scenes are set up to disarm the reader. Take the sick child incident for example. If Donald arrived at home to find a sick child, he would 'gently suggest, "You want Daddy to fix you some nice fruit salad and maybe a nice piece of cake?". He wouldn't demand, persuade, or order. He would 'gently suggest.' Of course, when he found that the child was able to eat such treats, "then he'd roar, "Okay, you're well! Get outa that bed!"" The contrast from the beginning of that scene to the end was sharp and was designed to knock the reader off kilter. Then just to throw a bit metaphor in with the rest, Thornton describes a scene in which the news that must be presented to Donald was a grenade. "And then, as though her news was a grenade, she pulled the pin." No one would describe the delivering of news as similar to pulling a pin, unless they were doing so to purposefully demonstrate what was to come. But, again with the throwing the reader off, Donald doesn't explode. Thornton makes Jeanette out to be the bad guy, as if she had purposefully chosen to change majors just to harm Donald. He was "stunned and devastated," and when he did speak he said it weakly. But Jeanette didn't stop there. No, of course not, she "was destroying the family joke, and it made us all ache with sadness...Our castles in the air were being dynamited."
Thornton assumes that the family was devastated over the loss of a tacky family joke. And there she goes again with the dynamite. Everything is just exploding around them. Even after tossing in a grenade and crushing the family dream, Jeanette is still not done being the bad guy. Or at least, Thornton is not done making her the bad guy. Donald then begins to react in the manner first expected, "He outlined...how cruelly she was letting him down." So much for the theme of, "It's all for the children." No, Jeanette wasn't doing herself a disservice, she was letting him down. Also, the word 'outlined' lends a sense of preparation. Perhaps Donald was ready for this led-down, perhaps he knew that Jeanette would fail. Or maybe that's just what Thornton wants you to believe. There is a certain amount of cruelty in this novel written by one of the two children out of five to actually succeed in obtaining Donald's goal for the girls. She has to lend at least a certain amount of loyalty to him because she wouldn't, in fact, be where she is without him. There would be no point to a book about a black woman who didn't succeed, about a woman who did exactly what her father wanted. This is precisely why Jeanette didn't write this book.
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Summary: Real life, real advice, real inspiration
Review: I'm a 32 year old white upper middle class female and picked up this book that was on my 16 year old sister's high school reading list (from a private catholic school ~can only hope they're mature enough to benefit from its powerful messages!).... WOW is this a good one! I like to read biographies, non-fiction, true stories and this is an awesome tale! It made me laugh, feel angry about injustices and ultimately cry (at the end when Mr. and Mrs. Thornton's lives were coming to an end....they had accomplished so much with dignity and acceptance. Unselfish, determined to do the right thing! ) I felt disappointed and sad , too, because I did not have the encouragement & advice from Mr. Thornton throughout my life! Sure, many parents struggle of all races and backgrounds, but how many so persistently insist on such lofty goals? not many...they give up...the children give up, too..... I would like to one day sit down & write each bit of advice from Mr. Thornton's wise, witty, and endless supply, I would have quite a stack to refer to! I'm encouraged to be a better person and a better parent under circumstances that will probably never ever be as a challenging as those of the Thornton's. Way to go Dr. Yvonne Thornton...p.s.Maria Shriver's latest best seller should step aside! It doesn't compare to The Ditchdigger's Daughters!
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Summary: Actually
Review: if I were ill, I would have my husband, mother, grandfather, or one of the numerous other doctors in the family take care of me. I have nothing against doctors, just against stupidity.
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Summary: Masterpiece on Childrearing
Review: It is unfortunate that the previous reviewer felt this book was "garbage". Perhaps, she is very young and has not put herself back in the 1950s when is wasn't so great for black people. Or she has not had enough life experiences. All I know is that I am 76 years old and I think the book is a marvelous template for parents and childrearing as well as a model for instilling a work ethic in children and others. All I have to say to Jennifer from Medina, Ohio is to GROW UP!!
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Summary: Masterpiece on Childrearing
Review: It is unfortunate that the previous reviewer felt this book was "garbage". Perhaps, she is very young and has not put herself back in the 1950s when is wasn't so great for black people. Or she has not had enough life experiences. All I know is that I am 76 years old and I think the book is a marvelous template for parents and childrearing as well as a model for instilling a work ethic in children and others. All I have to say to Jennifer from Medina, Ohio is to GROW UP!!
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece on Childrearing
Review: It is unfortunate that the previous reviewer felt this book was "garbage". Perhaps, she is very young and has not put herself back in the 1950s when is wasn't so great for black people. Or she has not had enough life experiences. All I know is that I am 76 years old and I think the book is a marvelous template for parents and childrearing as well as a model for instilling a work ethic in children and others. All I have to say to Jennifer from Medina, Ohio is to GROW UP!!
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Summary: A hidden treasure!! A must read!!
Review: Judging by the fact I couldn't find any other reviews on this book, I'd have to say I'm the first. Here goes...This book was well written and gave a wonderful and equally inspiring account via a daughter of a black man whose dream/goal/fire and desire was to give his 5 daughters the things they needed to be successful black women in today's society. Gifts of love, attention, discipline, support,motivation, perseverance are things our black children need to today from their parents. Wonderful job!!! Truly inspirational!!
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Summary: From Poverty to Prosperity in One Generation
Review: My book,"The Ditchdigger's Daughters" has been called inspirational by The New York Times Book Review. It tells the true story about how a poor and uneducated black laborer, a child of the Great Depression, overcame incredible obstacles to give his daughters a better life. In a time when there were distinct gender roles, especially for women, Donald Thornton and his wife, Itasker, refused to accept these limitations for their daughters. Instead, they had the wit to value education which enabled their daughters to rise and stand on equal terms with anyone. All in one generation.
This man, who ran away from home in his teens and by age twenty-eight had five children to raise, dug ditches for a living while his wife cleaned houses. Together, they formulated a dream: that all their daughters would be doctors. Fortuitously, his daughters formed a traveling all-girl band known as "The Thornton Sisters". (Perhaps there are some of you out there that remember us. We performed on many East coast college campuses, e.g., Princeton, Yale, U. of Penn, Cornell etc. for almost 13 years). The band achieved not only musical success but earned college tuition money as well. Today, two daughters are physicians (high-risk obstetrician and psychiatrist), one an oral surgeon, another an attorney and one a nurse. The book, "The Ditchdigger's Daughters" is a tribute to my parents and transcends race, color and gender to celebrate one family's fulfillment of the American Dream. The Family Channel will be making the book into a movie to air in early 1997.
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Summary: Inspirational
Review: OK, that word has already been used in response to this book--but there's a reason. I couldn't put this down, read it all in 2 days. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton prove that some people just have a natural genius for parenting--I sure wish there were more parents like that in the world. To them and their daughters: congratulations on lives well lived!
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