WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – BOOK LOVERS BOOK CLUB: “THE MANY DAUGHTERS OF AFONG MOY” BY JAMIE FORD (new date!)

This month’s Book Lovers Book Club selection – celebrating Women’s History Month – is The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford.

Plot Description:  “Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living. As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help. Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.” (excerpted from Amazon)

The titles chosen by Adult Services Librarian and host, Anne Crawford, for the Book Lovers Book Club represent an array of genres, new and longtime authors, and a variety of viewpoints all in the spirit of encouraging lively discussion! These monthly selections, including this month’s book, are available for checkout with a SJCPLS library card in a variety of formats, both physical (via SJCPLS’s catalog) and downloadable (via Overdrive). All adults are invited to join the Book Lovers Book Club!  No RSVPs are required. Please call us at our Library at (904) 827-6950 with any questions you may have.

After each meeting, several Book Club attendees (“The Lunch Bunch”) go out to lunch together at a nearby restaurant to enjoy further discussion and opportunities to build friendships. All Book Club attendees are invited and very welcome to participate in these gatherings anytime it works for you!

Thank you to the Friends of the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library for generously sponsoring our library’s Book Lovers Book Club.