Screen LibraryThe girls who went away : the hidden history of women who surrendered children for adoption in the decades before Roe v. Wade /
This book brings to light the lives of 1.5 million single American women in the years following World War II who, under enormous social and family pressure, were coerced to give up their newborn children. It tells not of wild and carefree sexual liberation, but rather of a devastating double standar...
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| Literature type: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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| Summary: |
This book brings to light the lives of 1.5 million single American women in the years following World War II who, under enormous social and family pressure, were coerced to give up their newborn children. It tells not of wild and carefree sexual liberation, but rather of a devastating double standard that has had punishing long-term effects on these women and on the children they gave up. Single pregnant women were shunned by family and friends, evicted from schools, sent away to maternity homes to have their children alone, and often treated with cold contempt by doctors, nurses, and clergy |
| Carrier Form: | 362 p. ; 22 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: |
9780143038979 0143038974 |
| Index Number: | HV875 |
| CLC: | D771.281 |
| Call Number: | D771.281/F417 |
| Contents: |
My own story as an adoptee -- Breaking the silence -- Good girls v. bad girls -- Discovery and shame -- The family's fears -- Going away -- Birth and surrender -- The aftermath -- Search and reunion -- Talking and listening -- Every mother but my own. |