by Public Service Associate Juliana
The Witch’s Daughter: My Mother, Her Magic, and the Madness that Bound Us by Orenda Fink (2024)
Today’s book spotlight features a memoir I gravitated towards as if it was magnetic. I noticed it on the new shelf in the library lobby and felt literally pulled to examine it closer, drawn to the arrangement of pressed flowers on the cover, the unmarked sheet music background, and the black cursive typography of the title that appears to be scribed with a paintbrush. The title itself beckoned me; The Witch’s Daughter sounds like the stuff of dark fairytales and straight away inspired interest and intrigue.
Cover design aside, I later learned that Orenda Fink is part of the American dream pop duo, Azure Ray, who I am familiar with from my Bright Eyes days. Fink has toured and played with Bright Eyes and is married to the lead singer of the Faint who I also listened to during the early 2000s. What excited me most about reading her 2024 debut was to discover that while she is known for being a musician, she is a very talented writer.
The Witch’s Daughter is an excellent title for this memoir, but be advised, don’t go into it expecting too much info about witches or the occult. And if you are not into witchy stuff, don’t let the title dissuade you from picking it up either. It’s a memoir less about magic and more about complicated family relationships, more about music, mothers, and mental illness. Fink grapples with what she suspects is borderline personality disorder that presents in her mother, a subtype referred to as “The Witch.”
The Witch’s Daughter will appeal to anyone who likes memoir as a genre or reading stories about self-discovery. A coming-of-age tale, it traces Fink’s life from childhood into adulthood and details how she came to be a musician and songwriter, how she escaped from where she grew up, and how the gravity of her mother kept pulling her back.
Her mother’s possible mental illness is undiagnosed throughout the book, but by learning and reading about personality disorders Fink comes to understand her mother, her mother’s substance abuse, and their relationship together in ways that had previously been incomprehensible to her.
Book Summary
“From indie musician Orenda Fink, a memoir of a tumultuous childhood growing up with a mother who may have borderline personality disorder. Orenda Fink was raised by a darkly charismatic mother who insisted that they were both MAGIC… Fink’s searing prose brings the reader through these tumultuous highs and lows… and into a healed version of herself who is able to walk through the world without being crushed under the baggage of her childhood.”– Provided by publisher.
Reviews
“Equal parts cutting and compassionate, this tale of hard-won peace will resonate with readers wrestling with their own complicated families.” — Publishers Weekly
“A memorable book of raw, unvarnished recollections.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A master text on surviving trauma… I couldn’t put it down.” — Phoebe Bridgers
Podcast with the Author
- Musician Orenda Fink on Glass Castles, Witchy Mothers, and Family Dysfunction | Shelf Life podcast
Read-Alike Titles
- Just Kids by Patti Smith |book / audiobook (read by the author) |”An artist and musician recounts her romance, lifetime friendship, and shared love of art with Robert Mapplethorpe, in a memoir that includes such influential artists as Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, and William Burroughs.”
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy| book |”The iCarly and Sam & Cat star, after her controlling mother dies, gets the help she needs to overcome eating disorders, addiction and unhealthy relationships–and finally decides what she really wants for the first time in her life.”
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner |book |”The Japanese Breakfast indie pop star presents a full-length account of her viral New Yorker essay to share poignant reflections on her experiences of growing up Korean American, becoming a professional musician and caring for her terminally ill mother.”
- Everything/Nothing/Someone by Alice Carriere |book |”This compelling literary debut tells the story of a young woman coming of age in the bohemian ’90s as she navigates through the challenges of adolescence and grapples with dissociative disorder.”
Music to Explore
