Review of Ascent of a Woman
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Jelani Trotter
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Review of Ascent of a Woman
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Ascent of a Woman" by Mhairi Blyth.]
Ascent of a Woman, by Mhairi Blyth, is the unfiltered account of the author’s thirty-one years. Mhairi’s father, a nurse, had to move for work during the war as they needed the extra money. Mhairi was six at the time when her father had to leave her, her mom, and her half-sisters, Sharon and Lesley, behind for Al Khobar because of the Gulf War. She started acting out as she didn’t want her family to be separated. After a while, she and her mum had to join her dad in Saudi Arabia, and this made her very happy, but the happiness didn’t last long as she was sent back to Scotland to start high school, as they believed education back home was better. This only led her to be less trusting of people because of a girl she met who would touch her inappropriately.
Another of her woes started when she began menstruation at age 14, which started 16 years of severe pain, trauma, anxiety, heavy bleeding, and miscarriages. The author lived an “eventful life”, from being bullied in her third high school, where snobbish and materialistic people attended, to running away from home after a huge argument with her parents, to being a babysitter for her sister, to working as a care assistant alongside her father in a nursing home, to getting into nursing school, to name a few. Also, Mhairi is a victim of assaults in her romantic relationships, a love scam, and even medical misdiagnosis and lack of appropriate care. Read on in this book to learn some lessons from the author’s accounted life.
I liked how Mhairi didn’t shield her readers from the dark and harsh parts of her life, even though it looked to me like the bad parts were more than the good parts. While reading, I felt pity for her. While her parents were trying their best to give her a very good life, they could not address her psychological and emotional needs. And this, I think, might be the cause of falling in love with the wrong people or people who were readily there for her without deep introspection into their real behaviour. And to be honest, I will say Mhairi was a difficult child to take care of too. She’s stubborn and always wants to do things her way. Being a loner myself, I could understand her in her teenage years. Her “stubbornness” paid off when she refused to take no for an answer when her dad needed rehabilitative care, and that was awesome.
There is nothing I dislike about this. It was worth the read, and I learnt that parents should listen to their children, and while they might not be able to give in to every need of their children, at least they would be able to give proper explanation and attention at that moment. I found it annoying how the doctors, both male and female, kept dismissing Mhairi’s complaints, and to think, it is still very prevalent today. I hope medical personnel will do better. I would have loved to rate this 5 stars, but I can only give it 4 out of 5 stars because of the errors I saw. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read autobiographies. You will learn a lot from this.
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Ascent of a Woman
View: on Bookshelves
Ascent of a Woman, by Mhairi Blyth, is the unfiltered account of the author’s thirty-one years. Mhairi’s father, a nurse, had to move for work during the war as they needed the extra money. Mhairi was six at the time when her father had to leave her, her mom, and her half-sisters, Sharon and Lesley, behind for Al Khobar because of the Gulf War. She started acting out as she didn’t want her family to be separated. After a while, she and her mum had to join her dad in Saudi Arabia, and this made her very happy, but the happiness didn’t last long as she was sent back to Scotland to start high school, as they believed education back home was better. This only led her to be less trusting of people because of a girl she met who would touch her inappropriately.
Another of her woes started when she began menstruation at age 14, which started 16 years of severe pain, trauma, anxiety, heavy bleeding, and miscarriages. The author lived an “eventful life”, from being bullied in her third high school, where snobbish and materialistic people attended, to running away from home after a huge argument with her parents, to being a babysitter for her sister, to working as a care assistant alongside her father in a nursing home, to getting into nursing school, to name a few. Also, Mhairi is a victim of assaults in her romantic relationships, a love scam, and even medical misdiagnosis and lack of appropriate care. Read on in this book to learn some lessons from the author’s accounted life.
I liked how Mhairi didn’t shield her readers from the dark and harsh parts of her life, even though it looked to me like the bad parts were more than the good parts. While reading, I felt pity for her. While her parents were trying their best to give her a very good life, they could not address her psychological and emotional needs. And this, I think, might be the cause of falling in love with the wrong people or people who were readily there for her without deep introspection into their real behaviour. And to be honest, I will say Mhairi was a difficult child to take care of too. She’s stubborn and always wants to do things her way. Being a loner myself, I could understand her in her teenage years. Her “stubbornness” paid off when she refused to take no for an answer when her dad needed rehabilitative care, and that was awesome.
There is nothing I dislike about this. It was worth the read, and I learnt that parents should listen to their children, and while they might not be able to give in to every need of their children, at least they would be able to give proper explanation and attention at that moment. I found it annoying how the doctors, both male and female, kept dismissing Mhairi’s complaints, and to think, it is still very prevalent today. I hope medical personnel will do better. I would have loved to rate this 5 stars, but I can only give it 4 out of 5 stars because of the errors I saw. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read autobiographies. You will learn a lot from this.
******
Ascent of a Woman
View: on Bookshelves
Latest Review: Forgiveness and reconciliation detangled by isoken ogbeide
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Baylor Sterling
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This review provides vivid and personal details about Mhairi Blyth's life and her struggles with the difficulties she faced growing up in such a turbulent time. The fact that her father's departure during the Gulf War precipitated by family separations hurt her so bad that she had emotional trials, which are recognizable by most of the people, is what hit me the most. What I thought was particularly moving was the way in which the memories of her time in Saudi Arabia brought her joy, only to be replaced by the trauma of returning to Scotland and yet facing issues of trust. It also points out how childhood can be complicated and the underlying forces that drive certain experiences last.
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jadyn gobey
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Thank you for such a beautifully written and insightful review of Ascent of a Woman. You’ve captured the heart of Mhairi Blyth’s journey with such sensitivity and clarity. It’s rare to find a memoir that strikes such a powerful balance between vulnerability and strength, and your reflection does it justice.
Your emphasis on Blyth’s raw honesty and resilience really resonated with me. It’s not easy to confront topics like infertility, loss, and emotional trauma so openly, and yet Blyth’s courage in doing so makes her story not only deeply personal but also universally relatable. I also appreciated how you highlighted the broader message about women’s emotional and physical well-being—something that’s still too often overlooked.
This review makes me want to revisit the memoir and reflect on the parts of her journey that echo in my own life. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful perspective.
Your emphasis on Blyth’s raw honesty and resilience really resonated with me. It’s not easy to confront topics like infertility, loss, and emotional trauma so openly, and yet Blyth’s courage in doing so makes her story not only deeply personal but also universally relatable. I also appreciated how you highlighted the broader message about women’s emotional and physical well-being—something that’s still too often overlooked.
This review makes me want to revisit the memoir and reflect on the parts of her journey that echo in my own life. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful perspective.
