In Lose Your Mother, Saidiya Hartman journeys along a slave route in Ghana, following the trail of captives from the hinterland to the Atlantic coast. She retraces the history of the Atlantic slave trade from the fifteenth to the twentieth century and reckons with the blank slate of her own genealogy.
There were no survivors of Hartman's lineage, nor far-flung relatives in Ghana of whom she had come in search. She traveled to Ghana in search of strangers. The most universal definition of the slave is a stranger—torn from kin and country. To lose your mother is to suffer the loss of kin, to forget your past, and to inhabit the world as a stranger. As both the offspring of slaves and an American in Africa, Hartman, too, was a stranger. Her reflections on history and memory unfold as an intimate encounter with places—a holding cell, a slave market, a walled town built to repel slave raiders—and with people: an Akan prince who granted the Portuguese permission to build the first permanent trading fort in West Africa; an adolescent boy who was kidnapped while playing; a fourteen-year-old girl who was murdered aboard a slave ship.
Eloquent, thoughtful, and deeply affecting, Lose Your Mother is a powerful meditation on history, memory, and the Atlantic slave trade.
Reviews (28)
Should be required reading in American high schools.
This is a tough book to read. It should be required reading in every American high school. The author evokes the emotional and physical toll the Atlantic slave trade had on those who were subjected to it in a way I have never experienced before. Having spent time in Ghana and been fascinated by those hulking slave castles, I am further haunted by the deepened understanding of what that experience was like for the imprisoned. The knowledge I have gained and the searing pain I have felt reading this book will never leave me.
Why We Just Can’t Get Along
This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. It touched the core of my existence. It answered questions that eluded me about my identity, my history and my Ancestors, and most of all what happen to me, and why my soul often feel shattered....it feels shattered sometimes because it was shattered. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand slavery, why we can’t get along, why Black People have such a different view across the world about their identity. This book told me who I am and what I must do.... I am from the Tribe of The Middle Passage and I must creat a New World! I love this author and her mind is beautiful🤜🏾
Africa is my DNA
I don't know where to start. I accept that I am African. Its my DNA. Its my genetics. Its why I have a high risk of sickle cell, high blood pressure, ect. Its why I have kinky hair. Its why I am made for the sun. I've felt so lost and confused. Presently, I despise the hyphenated American attached to my African. Why? Because I feel mistreated. I see my people getting robbed of life and no convictions. We have the same issues here or anywhere in the world. You can argue with another person over what side of the city they live on. Or debate with a Native American over whos history was the worst. Its no different then our brothers and sisters on the Continent. Its hard for us to comprehend that they will not get it. Nor will we get their pain. Maybe an understanding or tolerance but its life. You were blessed to return to the Continent. Although you visited other neighboring countries, I felt like Africa was being seen as a country and not an actual Continent where millions of variois ethnic groups, cultures, and way of life of people. Its not fair to generalize. Its so sad that so called "Black America" is still having identity issues. You made the DNA testing sound as if it was useless. I know for a fact people have discovered their biological parents, siblings, and yes even their families on the Continent. Whos to say you even descended from Ghanians or the next? If you do fine, but now all of us do. Some of us coule be Nigerian, Senegalese, Congo.. and more. To me, Ghana has gotten much better. Its a win win situation for all. I'd say... its like hey let me promote unity and tourism and I'll help you dual citizenship (Right to Abode) as well as affordable land and more to start your own businesses. Lets not act like countries were built on everyone being gentle and simpled minded. Maybe its the hustler in me. As long as you don't harm me, we are good. In fact, the African Caribeans were recently granted Ghanian Citizeship. So it must not be that bad. I'm seeing younger and younger going to Ghana. There is also more countries to experience. You may not like Ghana.. but you may love Congo or something. Thank you so much for writing this book. I learned a lot and I am grateful. You know if we can call someone Asian or realize that Whites proudly boast about being European (celebrating Irish heritage), and even having the world speaking European languages (English and Spanish) due to their colonization and supremacy to divide and conquer... we must not be Anti-African. Its sad.. and its due to self-hate in our communities. You are so quick to call yourself a social constructed label to separate yourselves from being African. I'm talking to who ever reads this. There is nothing wrong with having your cultures.. but be real with yourselves. Stop denying being African. Thats your genetics. You can't change that based off a "race" aka color and a nationality aka geography. Blessings to all. If you want to look for your Continental families. Definitely try Ancestry, 23andMe, FTDNA, and upload to GED match. There is a google chrome scanner for Ancestry to even create an excel for you to find them. They would love to get to know you. Look at the reunion videos online. Join the DNA african descendants FB group and watch your heart opens up even more for your beautiful African selves.
A Different Perspective
Thank you for your wonderful book. I enjoyed it immensely. Your look at the slave trade from the point of view of the commoner IS much needed and provides lots more data on a subject that is often described and presented in ONLY the top down, objective, sterile, them vs. us manner. The information from the bottom, in my mind, is richer. It allows everyday people the luxury of participating in the discussion. They can't say, "I don't know," "I was not involved." Few are correct. When evil is around, all are impacted, then and now. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was that type of evil. Your representation of it is much needed. I am only now in 2015 reading your book. I am sure your thinking has deepened from your experiences of traveling the slave route AND meeting the descendants. As a black American, I too experience the lingering, un-articulated feelings of "alien," "stranger" in the midst of everybody. Like you, I watch many people, of all races and colors in the US and else where, try to separate them self from the slave trade. It was not me, it was my ancestors, "they say." Your work allows ALL to grapple with the visual and non-visual clues in our midst that the hurt, pain and longing of "losing your mother" is very real and present in contemporary life. We are nowhere near post-racial.
Not Really a Travel Book
I struggled with creating a headline because it is so hard to describe this book. It isn't really a travel book in the sense of something Paul Theroux would write. There is that element in it though. More significant is that it is the author's personal reactions to being in Ghana. She is, I think, both surprised and offended that the locals appear not that concerned about the legacy of slavery. For her, it is the quintessential fact in her heritage. For them, it is a time past whose interest goes only to the ability to commercialize it for tourists. The deep learning from the book is the extent of the residual impact of slavery on the African-American psyche. I don't think anyone outside the group can really understand it. I personally encountered such a phenomenon only once before. I had a friend from the South, for whom the Civil War was the key experience in the culture. As a Northerner, I had never given it much thought at all. For me, it was just another event in the history books. This title is well-worth the read, though you won't get a traditional travel book.
this book tore me a part and put me back together repeatedly
There is something about the way she writes that just has a way of piercing your heart at its core. Her writing is honest and straightforward. i feel like she wrote this book for me that's how deeply I connected with it. As a daughter of the diaspora, a daughter of the enslaved, i appreciate this book so much. No, my wounds aren't healed but I feel like I can move on to healing and take the next generation on to healing and moving forward with the knowledge that I have gained from this book. The ancestors would be proud.
Roots 2.0
What "Roots" was to the Boomer Generation, "Lose Your Mother" could and should be to the Generation Next. Saidiay Hartman's writing styles fits perfectly for a generation that longs for and loves narrative, story, and first-hand journal accounts. However, no one should thus assume that Hartman's writing lacks research credibility for she brilliantly weaves both rousing narrative and copious research to portray a powerful picture of one of history's ugliest stories: Middle Passage. She provides a fresh account of ancient wounds. Hartman's book can and should make a renewed contribution to the healing of past hurts which still linger deep. Her passionate style and scholarly depth can help a nation move beyond suffering to healing hope. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.
Excellent read
Saidiya weaves a compelling story of the search for one's identity while trying to make sense of the horrors of the slave trade. Her vivid descriptions of the infamous slave castles, combined with a uncanny ability to put you in chains with the slaves waiting for the slavers, create vivid mental images that simultaneously make you want to put the book down and keep reading. Her material is well researched and moves you back and forth from the present to the past to the present, all within the context of a search we all need to take.
Must read
So much information on Africa but this is a must read. The author engages you with the characters expectations and then her reality of Africa. Love it
Loved it
On e you start reading you cannot put it down
Should be required reading in American high schools.
This is a tough book to read. It should be required reading in every American high school. The author evokes the emotional and physical toll the Atlantic slave trade had on those who were subjected to it in a way I have never experienced before. Having spent time in Ghana and been fascinated by those hulking slave castles, I am further haunted by the deepened understanding of what that experience was like for the imprisoned. The knowledge I have gained and the searing pain I have felt reading this book will never leave me.
Why We Just Can’t Get Along
This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. It touched the core of my existence. It answered questions that eluded me about my identity, my history and my Ancestors, and most of all what happen to me, and why my soul often feel shattered....it feels shattered sometimes because it was shattered. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand slavery, why we can’t get along, why Black People have such a different view across the world about their identity. This book told me who I am and what I must do.... I am from the Tribe of The Middle Passage and I must creat a New World! I love this author and her mind is beautiful🤜🏾
Africa is my DNA
I don't know where to start. I accept that I am African. Its my DNA. Its my genetics. Its why I have a high risk of sickle cell, high blood pressure, ect. Its why I have kinky hair. Its why I am made for the sun. I've felt so lost and confused. Presently, I despise the hyphenated American attached to my African. Why? Because I feel mistreated. I see my people getting robbed of life and no convictions. We have the same issues here or anywhere in the world. You can argue with another person over what side of the city they live on. Or debate with a Native American over whos history was the worst. Its no different then our brothers and sisters on the Continent. Its hard for us to comprehend that they will not get it. Nor will we get their pain. Maybe an understanding or tolerance but its life. You were blessed to return to the Continent. Although you visited other neighboring countries, I felt like Africa was being seen as a country and not an actual Continent where millions of variois ethnic groups, cultures, and way of life of people. Its not fair to generalize. Its so sad that so called "Black America" is still having identity issues. You made the DNA testing sound as if it was useless. I know for a fact people have discovered their biological parents, siblings, and yes even their families on the Continent. Whos to say you even descended from Ghanians or the next? If you do fine, but now all of us do. Some of us coule be Nigerian, Senegalese, Congo.. and more. To me, Ghana has gotten much better. Its a win win situation for all. I'd say... its like hey let me promote unity and tourism and I'll help you dual citizenship (Right to Abode) as well as affordable land and more to start your own businesses. Lets not act like countries were built on everyone being gentle and simpled minded. Maybe its the hustler in me. As long as you don't harm me, we are good. In fact, the African Caribeans were recently granted Ghanian Citizeship. So it must not be that bad. I'm seeing younger and younger going to Ghana. There is also more countries to experience. You may not like Ghana.. but you may love Congo or something. Thank you so much for writing this book. I learned a lot and I am grateful. You know if we can call someone Asian or realize that Whites proudly boast about being European (celebrating Irish heritage), and even having the world speaking European languages (English and Spanish) due to their colonization and supremacy to divide and conquer... we must not be Anti-African. Its sad.. and its due to self-hate in our communities. You are so quick to call yourself a social constructed label to separate yourselves from being African. I'm talking to who ever reads this. There is nothing wrong with having your cultures.. but be real with yourselves. Stop denying being African. Thats your genetics. You can't change that based off a "race" aka color and a nationality aka geography. Blessings to all. If you want to look for your Continental families. Definitely try Ancestry, 23andMe, FTDNA, and upload to GED match. There is a google chrome scanner for Ancestry to even create an excel for you to find them. They would love to get to know you. Look at the reunion videos online. Join the DNA african descendants FB group and watch your heart opens up even more for your beautiful African selves.
A Different Perspective
Thank you for your wonderful book. I enjoyed it immensely. Your look at the slave trade from the point of view of the commoner IS much needed and provides lots more data on a subject that is often described and presented in ONLY the top down, objective, sterile, them vs. us manner. The information from the bottom, in my mind, is richer. It allows everyday people the luxury of participating in the discussion. They can't say, "I don't know," "I was not involved." Few are correct. When evil is around, all are impacted, then and now. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was that type of evil. Your representation of it is much needed. I am only now in 2015 reading your book. I am sure your thinking has deepened from your experiences of traveling the slave route AND meeting the descendants. As a black American, I too experience the lingering, un-articulated feelings of "alien," "stranger" in the midst of everybody. Like you, I watch many people, of all races and colors in the US and else where, try to separate them self from the slave trade. It was not me, it was my ancestors, "they say." Your work allows ALL to grapple with the visual and non-visual clues in our midst that the hurt, pain and longing of "losing your mother" is very real and present in contemporary life. We are nowhere near post-racial.
Not Really a Travel Book
I struggled with creating a headline because it is so hard to describe this book. It isn't really a travel book in the sense of something Paul Theroux would write. There is that element in it though. More significant is that it is the author's personal reactions to being in Ghana. She is, I think, both surprised and offended that the locals appear not that concerned about the legacy of slavery. For her, it is the quintessential fact in her heritage. For them, it is a time past whose interest goes only to the ability to commercialize it for tourists. The deep learning from the book is the extent of the residual impact of slavery on the African-American psyche. I don't think anyone outside the group can really understand it. I personally encountered such a phenomenon only once before. I had a friend from the South, for whom the Civil War was the key experience in the culture. As a Northerner, I had never given it much thought at all. For me, it was just another event in the history books. This title is well-worth the read, though you won't get a traditional travel book.
this book tore me a part and put me back together repeatedly
There is something about the way she writes that just has a way of piercing your heart at its core. Her writing is honest and straightforward. i feel like she wrote this book for me that's how deeply I connected with it. As a daughter of the diaspora, a daughter of the enslaved, i appreciate this book so much. No, my wounds aren't healed but I feel like I can move on to healing and take the next generation on to healing and moving forward with the knowledge that I have gained from this book. The ancestors would be proud.
Roots 2.0
What "Roots" was to the Boomer Generation, "Lose Your Mother" could and should be to the Generation Next. Saidiay Hartman's writing styles fits perfectly for a generation that longs for and loves narrative, story, and first-hand journal accounts. However, no one should thus assume that Hartman's writing lacks research credibility for she brilliantly weaves both rousing narrative and copious research to portray a powerful picture of one of history's ugliest stories: Middle Passage. She provides a fresh account of ancient wounds. Hartman's book can and should make a renewed contribution to the healing of past hurts which still linger deep. Her passionate style and scholarly depth can help a nation move beyond suffering to healing hope. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.
Excellent read
Saidiya weaves a compelling story of the search for one's identity while trying to make sense of the horrors of the slave trade. Her vivid descriptions of the infamous slave castles, combined with a uncanny ability to put you in chains with the slaves waiting for the slavers, create vivid mental images that simultaneously make you want to put the book down and keep reading. Her material is well researched and moves you back and forth from the present to the past to the present, all within the context of a search we all need to take.
Must read
So much information on Africa but this is a must read. The author engages you with the characters expectations and then her reality of Africa. Love it
Loved it
On e you start reading you cannot put it down
Haunting
a powerful, haunting book the author takes us on her painful journey shedding a lot of light on the painful and cruel institution of slavery in Africa and without.
Wonderful and Powerful.
Seriously a beautiful book, kept me turning pages. It's great if you want to dive more into African American heritage, and the Black Freedom struggle.
I have recommended it to just about everyone in my family
What a phenomenal and heartbreaking piece of literature. I have recommended it to just about everyone in my family. An exploration of something deeply felt by many but rarely discussed.
Five Stars
Excellent
School book but a great one!
This was a book I needed for school, but honestly it was great, I still have it because of how good it was! Read it it's about the slave trade.
A book all free Afrikan man and descendants must read
If you take the time to read this book you will learn more about the story of the Afrikan than anything MLK or any civil rights figure has ever told or pretended to know..This is the real story and unfortunately it did not begin in Ghana, which is why we as Afrikan desc must teach our children the other story as well The one about Abrahams roots and the history of Arabs enslavement of his bredren have fun!
Brilliant one.
I am only half way through the book but since the very first pages I have found it difficult to put Loose Your Mother down. Captivating, brilliant, and necessary.
Five Stars
Excellent!
