41 pages • 1 hour read
Saidiya V. HartmanLose Your Mother: A Journey Along The Atlantic Slave Route
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route by Saidiya V. Hartman explores the history of slavery and her ancestry as Hartman travels to Ghana. She discovers that an authentic return to roots is unattainable due to the erasure caused by slavery and grapples with the complexities of internal power dynamics and colonialist imperatives that fueled the slave trade.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Saidiya V. Hartman's Lose Your Mother has been lauded for its poignant narrative and insightful examination of the transatlantic slave trade's enduring impact. Reviewers praise Hartman's eloquent prose and deep historical analysis. Some critics, however, find the non-linear structure challenging. Overall, it's a compelling and profound exploration of identity and memory.
Who Should Read Lose Your Mother?
Readers who appreciate Lose Your Mother by Saidiya V. Hartman are typically engaged with African American history, diaspora studies, and personal narratives of heritage and identity. Fans of Beloved by Toni Morrison and Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates will find this book compelling and insightful.