In Conversation: On Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir & An American Marriage: A Novel.

Ashley C. Ford is a writer, host, and educator. She is the former host of The Chronicles of Now podcast and the co-host of the HBO companion podcast Lovecraft Country Radio, the video interview series Profile at BuzzFeed News, and the Brooklyn-based news and culture TV show, 112BK. She was also the host of the first season of Audible’s literary interview series, Authorized. In her powerful debut work Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir (Flatiron Books: An Oprah Book), she shares the story of a childhood defined by the looming absence of her incarcerated father. Through poverty, adolescence, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ford often wished she could turn to him for hope and encouragement. But he was in prison and she didn’t know what he did to get there. In her search for unconditional love, she embarked on an ultimately violent relationship. Reeling in the aftermath of a rape – something she kept hidden from her family – Ford desperately searched for meaning in her chaos. Then, her grandmother revealed the truth about her father’s incarceration, and it turned Ashley’s world upside down. Publishers Weekly called the book an astounding and “remarkable, heart-wrenching story of loss, hardship, and self-acceptance.”

Tayari Jones is the author of four novels, including Silver Sparrow, The Untelling, and Leaving Atlanta. In An American Marriage: A Novel (Algonquin Books), Celestial and Roy are a successful newlywed couple with the American dream in their sights. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, Roy is arrested and sentenced to 12 years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. As his time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. Bereft and unmoored, Celestial takes comfort in Andre, her childhood friend and best man at her wedding. But when Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned five years later, he returns to Atlanta – ready to resume his life with Celestial. The New York Times praised the book as “wise and compassionate … a clear vision of the quiet devastation of a family. It is beautifully written, with many allusions to black music and culture – including the everyday poetry of the African-American community that begs to be heard.”