Alice Walker has been a highly respected novelist, poet, and activist. With the success of her groundbreaking 1982 novel The Color Purple, catapulted her career to a whole new level. Over the years, she’s received numerous awards for her work, but her most notable accolade for The Color Purple is the “Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.” But now, controversial details about her personal life have fans giving her the side-eye. Apparently, Alice Walker has nothing to do with her only daughter and fans are criticizing her for her seemingly harsh decision. Now, her daughter Rebecca Walker is shedding light on a different side of her mother; the side fans have never seen. Rebecca, also a writer, recently shared disheartening details about her childhood and what led to her mother’s decision to disown her.

Walker’s Daughter Speaks About A Childhood Of Neglect

In a detailed write-up, released by Rebecca, which she wrote for Daily Mail, she described a childhood filled with neglect. She spoke of her mother’s obsession with her career and accused her of putting her obligations as a writer ahead of her responsibilities as a parent. She also explained how her mother’s feminist beliefs created serious complications that ultimately led to the demise of their relationship.

“My mother’s feminist principles [colored] every aspect of my life. As a little girl, I wasn’t even allowed to play with dolls or stuffed toys in case they brought out a maternal instinct. It was drummed into me that being a mother, raising children and running a home were a form of slavery. Having a career, traveling the world and being independent were what really mattered according to her. I love my mother very much, but I haven’t seen her or spoken to her since I became pregnant. She has never seen my son  –  her only grandchild. My crime? Daring to question her ideology.

Well, so be it. My mother may be revered by women around the world  –  goodness knows, many even have shrines to her. But I honestly believe it’s time to puncture the myth and to reveal what life was really like to grow up as a child of the feminist revolution.

Daughter Disowned And Pregnant

Rebecca went on to describe the serious turning point in their relationship. When she became pregnant back in 2004, she was excited about sharing the news with her mother, but soon realized her mother didn’t share the same happy thoughts she did.

“Although I knew what my mother felt about babies, I still hoped that when I told her I was pregnant, she would be excited for me. Instead, when I called her one morning in the spring of 2004, while I was at one of her homes housesitting, and told her my news and that I’d never been happier, she went very quiet. All she could say was that she was shocked. Then she asked if I could check on her garden. I put the phone down and sobbed  –  she had deliberately withheld her approval with the intention of hurting me. What loving mother would do that?”

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Rebecca continued:

“Worse was to follow. My mother took umbrage at an interview in which I’d mentioned that my parents didn’t protect or look out for me. She sent me an e-mail, threatening to undermine my reputation as a writer. I couldn’t believe she could be so hurtful  –  particularly when I was pregnant.”

She went on to explain how her mother’s response changed everything:

“Devastated, I asked her to [apologize] and acknowledge how much she’d hurt me over the years with neglect, withholding affection and resenting me for things I had no control over  –  the fact that I am mixed-race, that I have a wealthy, white, professional father and that I was born at all. But she wouldn’t back down. Instead, she wrote me a letter saying that our relationship had been inconsequential for years and that she was no longer interested in being my mother. She even signed the letter with her first name, rather than ‘Mom’.”

Alice Walker Tells Different Side Of The Story

During an interview with The Globe and Mail, Alice Walker also revealed she and her daughter did not speak for many years, but insisted things have gotten a bit better:

“I won’t engage publicly in the kind of show that is so prevalent in our culture,” Alice said. “But we’ve had some nice exchanges since Mother’s Day, and we all have our burdens and conflicts. I don’t feel singled out for this weird thing to occur. I have a collective sense of suffering.”

Talent Similarities:

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Obviously, Rebecca has taken after her mother in many different ways. Earlier this year, Rebecca was a featured DEIS Impact keynote speaker at Brandeis University. The announcement included details about the esteemed honor Rebecca received earlier this year when she was “named by Time Magazine as one of the most influential leaders of her generation.” The caption added, “Bestselling author of “Black White & Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self” and many other works, she brings two decades of experience, insight, and innovation to the global conversation about identity, culture, and power.” But despite the similarities with her mother, where talents are concerned, Rebecca has made it clear they are two very different women.

Although Rebecca and her mother are estranged, she insists there is still a silver lining. Rebecca finds peace in knowing that her child will be able to grow up in a more positive atmosphere.