The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story

A biography by a New Jersey doctor tells how her parents, who held down multiple jobs and transmitted strong values to their six daughters, inspired them to reach success."I Love You Better Than I Love Life..." ...Donald Thorntontold his six daughters. "But I'm not always gonna be around to lookafter you, and no man's gonna come along and offer to take care of youbecause you ain't light-skinned. That's why you gotta be able to lookafter yourselves. And for that you gotta be smart." TheDitchdigger's Daughters is an inspiring portrait by a loving daughter of a father whose pervasive common sense, folk wisdom, and untutored butright-on insights gave his children their road map to a better life. Itis the story of a man who dared to dream that his black daughters wouldsomeday become doctors--and who guided them to achieve the seeminglyimpossible goals he set for them. From the tenements of East Harlem to the footlights of the Apollo Theatre to the halls of an Ivy Leaguemedical school, Dr. Yvonne Thornton has written a family biography thatis as moving as it is inspiring. Here is the story of a poor blackfather and his unimaginable dream of seeing all six of his daughtersbecome doctors; of the wisdom and guidance that gave his girls thestrength to keep striving; and of the remarkable way that each one ofthem transcended race, color, and gender to fulfill the promise of theAmerican Dream.

Biographies & Memoirs

Yvonne S. Thornton

Jo Coudert

Community & Culture

Plume

Dr. Yvonne Thornton, author of the heartwarming memoir The Ditchdiggers Daughters (which has been translated into 19 languages and adapted as an award-winning movie), knows what its like to overcome steep odds. Born into a family with great ambition but few advantages, Dr. Thornton watched her parents work their entire lives to give their daughters a chance, dreaming of the day their girls would be called doctor. Now, in Something to Prove, Dr. Thornton brings us along her continued path as a doctor and mother, revealing the challenges of balancing a flourishing medical career with a growing family.

Something To Prove: A Daughters Journey To Fulfill A Fathers Legacy

Anita Bartholomew

Infinity Publishing

The inspiring sequel to the acclaimed memoir The Ditchdigger's Daughters. Dr. Yvonne Thornton's memoir The Ditchdigger's Daughters has captured the hearts of readers everywhere since it was first published in 1995. Translated into 19 languages, featured on Oprah, and made into a TV movie, this heart-warming and inspiring story chronicles Yvonne Thornton's family; at its center is her beloved, unschooled but wise father Donald Thornton, who demanded that all five of his daughters not only excel in school, but go on to become doctors. Four of them did. 
Something to Prove picks up where The Ditchdigger's Daughters left off. In this sequel, Dr. Thornton reveals how she ascended to the top of her field as a physician by drawing on her father s teachings. Despite bias and setbacks, she became the first African-American woman in the country to be Board-certified in the obstetrical sub-specialty of maternal-fetal medicine. Dismissed and shunned by her peers for entering the male-dominated world of academic medicine, Dr. Thornton relied on her father's life lessons, which taught her to be strong and rise above adversity. Through intelligence, determination, and hard work, Dr. Yvonne Thornton overcame the odds to reach the pinnacle of her profession.

Something to Prove: A Daughter's Journey to Fulfill a Father's Legacy

Kaplan Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Yvonne S. Thornton. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Yvonne S. Thornton