Customer Reviews

That Mean Old Yesterday

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

That Mean Old Yesterday was an extremely interesting and engaging read. From the beginning I was drawn in, jaw dropped in disbelief and horror at the life she lived as a child. I have no experience with child abuse, and like she said the little bit I do know was from an article in the newspaper or on the internet, never anything as in depth and revealing as her life's story.

Coupling her story are alternating history chapters on slavery and racism that directly lead into each chapter about her. The connections lead well to helping the reader understand what she was going through. I am a little perplexed on how much emphasis was made on "white man" and slavery. Yes, this was a horrible time in the United States' history, and racism is a real and present hatred in some communities, but how can this be equated to encompass all of the "white man"? I'm her age, how can I be lumped up with everything she experienced and looked down upon because of this? Just the same for her in her situation. This was the one theme that was not present throughout, that we, in today's generation, have to deal with our ancestor's past, but we (today's generation and generations to come) should most certainly not be held responsible nor should we give in and blame how we or others act because of this or that. We are held accountable for what and who we are today, from what has happened in our lives, not everyone else's lives. Patton attempts to portray this message but always reverts to how white America has wronged her and the black race. Ultimately, of course, it isn't always a direct connection. She does correlate this past with how it affected the black family and how it resulted directly to the harsh treatment of how children are raised. But this isn't always clear.

Towards the end when she makes a statement of what if, it is a little unnerving. "...I had to learn their [white] literature, their ways, their humor and their ideologies - not necessarily to celebrate them but to absorb them and then use them to my advantage even if it was to turn it all against them one day, kind of like the spook who sat by the door." Patton has gone through a lot, has experienced a life of such traumatic events that you would not wish upon anyone, but she is a very intelligent woman and has learned from her past and utilized it more so than a majority of other people. I wish that some of what she learned would not be to "use against" the white man, but to use it mend the cultural difference, for it is only when this can happen that these societal problems can be cured.

I was very impressed with Patton's literary use of the interwoven historical chapters and how it expressed and illustrated her life as it progressed. Importantly, Part III, "Redemption", noticeably missed these chapters, which showed an important change in how Patton viewed this part of her life.

I deeply admire Patton for who she is and what she has been through. She is a courageous, intelligent, strong, outspoken woman full of élan. It is this type of person (not woman, or black woman, but person) that I would have loved to have had as one of my professors. Definitely recommend to read, if just to have yours opened to reality and a different perspective of a child's life.

4 stars.

That Mean Old Yesterday, by Stacey Patton, is a wonderfully written, if heart wrenching, memoir of growing up in New Jersey as a African American child given up for adoption and of the sad consequences of very poor oversight on the part of public agencies. Ms. Patton, however, doesn't write for pity - she writes with a passion and a journalist's eye. She also has a thesis that is marvelously woven in regarding slavery and its lasting imprints on the African American family, specifically with regard to corporal punishment. One needn't look past the jacket cover to see that the author obviously overcame adversity that is difficult to comprehend, however well written in That Mean Old Yesterday. Scars may fade but impressions don't. Obviously a talented writer and a very bright young woman, I am hopeful this is just the beginning. But it is her choice, quite obviously, about sharing such thoughts and emotions through her writing. I would very much like to see her expand on her ideas on slavery and its impact on African American culture. If nothing else, her poetry is wonderfully raw and emotional. So is That Mean Old Yesterday. A great book that should be getting more acclaim then it has thus far.

That Mean Old Yesterday is not just another book about child abuse, a difficult childhood, or a woman who has prevailed. It is a phenomenally written book about a remarkable woman; a woman who has defied odds and stereotypes. A woman who has achieved more in her 29 years than most people achieve in a lifetime...and she truly achieved everything with her will, determination, courage and stamina. Stacey Patton also encourages readers to look deeply into our past, our heritage, by entwining chapters of her life with chapters that deal with history: slavery, slave/master association and slave families. This book was difficult to read because of Patton's authentic and realistic accounts, but it was even more difficult to put down for the same reasons. This book will empower anyone who reads it. A must read for Book Discussion Groups! A must read for young adults...a MUST READ for all!

Good luck was with me; I met Stacey Patton on a train. She had a copy of MEAN OLD with her, gave it to me, and because I quickly read the first two pages, I had quickly to read the rest. Patton's writing is supercharged--cinematic, crafted, purposeful--and her story is the story of a survivor who transcends, who goes on, in search of understanding. In search of family. Within this often disturbing story there is hope. It is the hope that sings most loudly.

Stacey Patton writes with the power of a Claude Brown, and her story of her childhood as a ward of the New Jersey foster care system is just as wrenching, and ultimately hopeful, as Manchild in the Promised Land. Ms. Patton has a remarkable gift in being able to step aside of her own brutal treatment and place it in a much larger, historical context -- the legacy of slavery. It is quite brilliant the manner in which she moves the story from the beatings she suffered at the hands of an adoptive mother, who was not poor at all, but the wife of a Christian minister. Whippings, supposedly intended to raise a good child, physically and emotionally scarred Stacey, but they could not destroy her amazing resiliency,spunk and vision. Her escape from a cruel and violent housefold was accomplished despite the bumblings of agents of the State's foster care agency. It is fair to ask how far can the thesis of a link between slavery and the everyday violence of some families and communities be carried. And one can also fairly ask, how can we get this book into the hands of every public servant who has to serve as the last protector and intermediary for children who become wards of the state?

Stacey Patton is a remarkable and inspirational person who endured years of physical and verbal abuse by her adoptive mother, Myrtle. Ms. Patton was placed in the foster care system at the age of two by her biological mother as a way to escape her dysfunctional biological family. Only to be adopted by equally dysfunctional people. After seven or eight years of living with abuse, Ms. Patton demanded that her adoptive parents contact DYFS so she could leave their home.

Ms. Patton sets her life on a path to rid herself of the stigma associated with being a ward of the State of New Jersey. With no encouragement from her house masters, she applies and is accepted into a prestigious prep school with a full scholarship. While at school, she is united with her biological family.

Ms. Patton does an excellent job of displaying the similarities between slavery and her childhood. Slave children were beaten into submission. Ms. Patton was beaten for the most trivial mishaps. Slave children were taught to be emotionless. Ms. Patton did not know how to be angry.

Thanks to Ms. Patton for sharing details of her childhood. This novel should be read by everyone as well as used as a training guide for social workers. Ms. Patton is a survivor, who did not let hurtful and mean spirited words and actions limit or shape her destiny.

I found it hard to put the book down. Disturbing. Heartwrenching."Makes me want to holler" --- but inspiring!!
I met Stacey when she was 14 and just starting out at The Lawrenceville School. She was our babysitter. My husband is part of her story. I knew her life was challenging but I didn't know the depth until reading her book.
Stacey adds a historical perspective to her story which opens the possibility of great discussions and conversations.
This is an important book. Pass it on..

I enjoyed Stacey Patton's first book. It is well-written and a real page turner. I learned a great deal not just about the author's childhood but also about the history of slavery and racism in America. A real eye-opener. My parents whipped me as a child and I always thought something was a bit off about the practice, that it had something to do with our past as slaves. Patton's book confirmed my sentiments. Whipping children is a practice that needs to be retired because it is destroying our communities. Our children will be better off if we come up with better ways of raising them.

Looking forward to the next book by this author.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The author's use of words and references to slavery and the description of the abuse she suffered was clever and well contrasted. to present her points. This is a must read.

A memoir for the survival of our youth today. The author's words invite us to a dark side of her past, yet it translates a message that tells the reader that no situation or problem can be a scapegoat to cause their purpose or dreams to die. Anything or anyone, negative, can be won. Just a belief in self and perseverance to rise above it all will sustain and will pay off. We all have a desire for something good and we all have roadblocks on achieving them. Though a past that could have steered her wrong, Ms. Patton, proved that there is a life out there for each of us as long as we're determined to have it for ourselves and not others.