Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir
by Natasha Trethewey
Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Natasha Trethewey, served two terms as the Poet Laureate of the United States. Born in Mississippi in 1966, Trethewey writes on racial injustice with dignity and elegance. “Memorial Drive: a Daughter’s Memoir” is the retelling of her mother’s murder at the hands of her ex-step-father. Within her fragile and layered tale of domestic violence and vulgar brutality, resides a parallel story.
Trethewey’s grief expands beyond the borders of her one story to expose a holistic accounting of the oppressive behavior woven into our country’s history. With courageous honesty, she speaks with an intimacy that leaves one feeling like they just heard the confession of a dear friend. It’s a testament about the power of healing, how she turned her grief into a beautiful monument of her mother’s legacy.
I particularly enjoyed her keen eye on childhood; she perfectly evokes the loneliness and lack of autonomy that hallmarked her formative years. I enjoyed her scenes in my hometown, New Orleans, as well as the rest of the Gulf Coast and her recollections of her childhood felt relatable while simultaneously unique.
A part of death midwifery is holding space for stories of violence we often hear from those we companion. Trethewey’s poignant memoir is a gift for it allows us to cast an unflinching gaze against brutality, a worthy goal for every person who has been given the privilege of bearing witness.