This is an insightful look into an era that is gone. In the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s if an unmarried woman/girl became pregnant they were often sent away to maternity homes where they stayed for the last few months/weeks of their pregnancy. They would then have the baby in a hospital with no one there to help them, hold their hand, etc. and without any education as to what to expect during childbirth. They were then expected to go back to their previous lives after having given up their babies for adoption without any choice in the matter. The stories of loss and betrayal are saddening. Even though the baby didn’t come home with them, the families are never the same and there are a lot of hard feelings that never go away.
The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler
Friday, March 21, 2008
I, when we were deep in trying to learn about adoption, read a few birthmothers’ stories books. I couldn’t read this one, as others had depressed me enough as it was. But my M-I-L read it and so did my S-I-L, they said it was good, and a little too close to home for them.