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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
A book club read: March 2021.
A captivating story about the power of a mother's love. This is a book that will keep you turning the pages, rooting for the heroine, and trying to keep your heart out of your throat.
A captivating story about the power of a mother's love. This is a book that will keep you turning the pages, rooting for the heroine, and trying to keep your heart out of your throat.
emotional
medium-paced
Keeping Lucy
by T. Greenwood
due 8-6-2019
St. Martins Press
5 / 5
In 1969, Ginny Richardson has just given birth to her second child, Lucy. Lucy was born with Downs Syndrome, taken from Ginny and placed in a special school for ¨mongoloids¨ and ¨feeble-minded¨, and was told it was the best thing for everyone. She should get over it and move on. Her in-laws, powerful in the community, assure her it is a reputable school. Ginny is a passive, complacent librarian, who has no real voice, much like most housewives at that time. She has no reason to question them.
When Ginnyś best friend, Marsha, shares with Ginny a newspaper article about the neglect and abuse happening at Willowridge, where Lucy was placed, Ginny can´t let it go, and decides to visit Willowridge to see if the stories are true.
When Ginny arrives, she is outraged and humbled by the living conditions and attitude of the staff. Her guilt for allowing Lucy, now 2 years old, to live there without knowing the truth consumes Ginny with guilt. She signs Ginny out for a weekend visit, and decides she will never allow Lucy to return to any home again. When Lucy does not return Lucy at the scheduled date and time, Ginny´s mother tells her that when she was in the hospital after giving birth, and was under sedation, and had signed a form that gave up all her legal rights to Lucy. She could be arrested for kidnapping and child endangerment(since she also had her young son, Peyton, with her.) if Lucy is not returned.
She also learns that her father-in-law, a powerful attorney who her husband works with, are the defense lawyers in pending cases against Willowridge for abuse and neglect, so Ginny knows she can not return home.
With Marsha, Peyton and Lucy, Ginny is on the run, trying to remain anonymous, and underground.
Such a beautiful and heart-warming, but difficult to read at times. This is a story of motherhood, love, hope and self-awareness. A very passive and complacent Ginny is a typical housewife in 1969. She does not drive, is given an allowance and never questions, willing to toe the line. Part of the beauty of this novel is watching Ginny grow into herself, become more aware and able to be her own person.
It was also nice to see how, in comparison to the past, much more health conscious we have become. Ginny drank, smoked and kept an active lifestyle throughout her pregnancies. However in the 60ś and 70ś these behaviors were not considered to as unhealthy/irresponsible as they are today.
It was most beautiful to see the change in attitude and acceptance of the disabled, and those born with birth defects or other health challenges. We no longer refer to them in derogatory terms like feeble-minded or mongoloid.
The difficult parts was how the newborns, infants, and children were treated at this facility. The dirty little secrets are now being talked about and confronted, in hopes the neglect and abuses that have been ignored in the past, never will be again. I hope more schools and facilities are diligently monitored, as well as the employees, by people not afraid to care and we one day have a government that is not afraid to feel.
I found myself immersed in the life of these characters, they felt very accessible and real. It made the story compelling and addicting and I wonder what Lucy, Ginny and Peyton are doing today. The way she brought them to live was amazing, esp. Lucy.
Thanks to St. Martins Press and T. Greenwood for sending this e-book ARC for a fair and honest review.
#netgalley #KeepingLucy
by T. Greenwood
due 8-6-2019
St. Martins Press
5 / 5
In 1969, Ginny Richardson has just given birth to her second child, Lucy. Lucy was born with Downs Syndrome, taken from Ginny and placed in a special school for ¨mongoloids¨ and ¨feeble-minded¨, and was told it was the best thing for everyone. She should get over it and move on. Her in-laws, powerful in the community, assure her it is a reputable school. Ginny is a passive, complacent librarian, who has no real voice, much like most housewives at that time. She has no reason to question them.
When Ginnyś best friend, Marsha, shares with Ginny a newspaper article about the neglect and abuse happening at Willowridge, where Lucy was placed, Ginny can´t let it go, and decides to visit Willowridge to see if the stories are true.
When Ginny arrives, she is outraged and humbled by the living conditions and attitude of the staff. Her guilt for allowing Lucy, now 2 years old, to live there without knowing the truth consumes Ginny with guilt. She signs Ginny out for a weekend visit, and decides she will never allow Lucy to return to any home again. When Lucy does not return Lucy at the scheduled date and time, Ginny´s mother tells her that when she was in the hospital after giving birth, and was under sedation, and had signed a form that gave up all her legal rights to Lucy. She could be arrested for kidnapping and child endangerment(since she also had her young son, Peyton, with her.) if Lucy is not returned.
She also learns that her father-in-law, a powerful attorney who her husband works with, are the defense lawyers in pending cases against Willowridge for abuse and neglect, so Ginny knows she can not return home.
With Marsha, Peyton and Lucy, Ginny is on the run, trying to remain anonymous, and underground.
Such a beautiful and heart-warming, but difficult to read at times. This is a story of motherhood, love, hope and self-awareness. A very passive and complacent Ginny is a typical housewife in 1969. She does not drive, is given an allowance and never questions, willing to toe the line. Part of the beauty of this novel is watching Ginny grow into herself, become more aware and able to be her own person.
It was also nice to see how, in comparison to the past, much more health conscious we have become. Ginny drank, smoked and kept an active lifestyle throughout her pregnancies. However in the 60ś and 70ś these behaviors were not considered to as unhealthy/irresponsible as they are today.
It was most beautiful to see the change in attitude and acceptance of the disabled, and those born with birth defects or other health challenges. We no longer refer to them in derogatory terms like feeble-minded or mongoloid.
The difficult parts was how the newborns, infants, and children were treated at this facility. The dirty little secrets are now being talked about and confronted, in hopes the neglect and abuses that have been ignored in the past, never will be again. I hope more schools and facilities are diligently monitored, as well as the employees, by people not afraid to care and we one day have a government that is not afraid to feel.
I found myself immersed in the life of these characters, they felt very accessible and real. It made the story compelling and addicting and I wonder what Lucy, Ginny and Peyton are doing today. The way she brought them to live was amazing, esp. Lucy.
Thanks to St. Martins Press and T. Greenwood for sending this e-book ARC for a fair and honest review.
#netgalley #KeepingLucy
Before Ginny Richardson could even lay eyes on her new daughter Lucy, her future was being decided – a future that involved life in an institution, raised away from her family. Born in 1969 with Down Syndrome, Lucy is considered to be a "Mongoloid," a child with no real hope of a life or future – in fact, the doctors, who say she will never be more intelligent than a dog, expect her to die before too long.
Without consulting Ginny, her husband and father-in-law place Lucy in the Willowridge School – it is for her own good, they say, as well as theirs. Ginny mourns Lucy for two long years, wondering daily what ever happened to her little girl, while trying to maintain a good and stable life for her son Peyton and husband Ab. That is, until the day her best friend Marsha shows her a newspaper expose accusing the Willowridge School of horrid acts of abuse and neglect against its disabled children.
Ginny has to see for herself that Lucy is okay and safe, so she pays a visit to Willowridge, only to discover that the news stories didn't even tell the half of it. Shocked and horrified by what she witnesses, Ginny checks Lucy out of school for the Labor Day weekend with no intentions of returning her. She is officially on the run with her own child. Running from the law, running from her husband, and running from a life that has been closing in on her from the day she got married.
T. Greenwood returns after her 2018 hit novel, Rust and Stardust, with a new, captivating story inspired by true events. If you have read Rust and Stardust and loved the way Greenwood pulls you in with engaging dialogue, a compelling storyline, and not a word wasted, then you will equally love Keeping Lucy. You may pick up this book for its intriguing storyline of a mother doing whatever it takes to protect her child, but you will remember it for what it teaches you about how far the rights and stereotypes of women and the disabled have come in our country in the past 50 years.
The America portrayed in Keeping Lucy is one where most women were relegated to a single role – being a wife and a mother. Her opinion is not important, her career – if she even has one – is not important, her needs and wants are not important. She is simply here to serve and support her family. Greenwood thoroughly explores this idea in her new novel, showing that while many women didn’t complain about their familial role, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t wish for more in their life.
The other issue that Keeping Lucy explores is how children with disabilities were viewed by society. Children with Down Syndrome were “sent away” as opposed to being raised by families who could love and nurture them through their disability. Terms such as “retarded,” handicapped,” and “Mongoloid,” were thrown around liberally to describe children with disabilities, often right to the face of the parents or the children themselves. It is not that they were being rude necessarily, it was just the norm.
Readers who love touching, yet impactful stories that stick with you long after you have finished reading them, should definitely pick up Keeping Lucy when it is published in August 2019. Fans of Jodi Picoult’s style of writing, in which the author builds a story around a social issue, will especially love Greenwood’s take … except they may just love Greenwood’s a little bit more. Greenwood takes a more literary approach in telling her story, making this novel feel both entertaining, yet enriching at the same time. If the novel has a fault, it comes in the second half of the book where Greenwood sometimes relies on dramatic twists of fate to keep the momentum of the story going. In all, however, Keeping Lucy is one of the standout literary reads of 2019 for its historical social merit and engrossing storyline.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Without consulting Ginny, her husband and father-in-law place Lucy in the Willowridge School – it is for her own good, they say, as well as theirs. Ginny mourns Lucy for two long years, wondering daily what ever happened to her little girl, while trying to maintain a good and stable life for her son Peyton and husband Ab. That is, until the day her best friend Marsha shows her a newspaper expose accusing the Willowridge School of horrid acts of abuse and neglect against its disabled children.
Ginny has to see for herself that Lucy is okay and safe, so she pays a visit to Willowridge, only to discover that the news stories didn't even tell the half of it. Shocked and horrified by what she witnesses, Ginny checks Lucy out of school for the Labor Day weekend with no intentions of returning her. She is officially on the run with her own child. Running from the law, running from her husband, and running from a life that has been closing in on her from the day she got married.
T. Greenwood returns after her 2018 hit novel, Rust and Stardust, with a new, captivating story inspired by true events. If you have read Rust and Stardust and loved the way Greenwood pulls you in with engaging dialogue, a compelling storyline, and not a word wasted, then you will equally love Keeping Lucy. You may pick up this book for its intriguing storyline of a mother doing whatever it takes to protect her child, but you will remember it for what it teaches you about how far the rights and stereotypes of women and the disabled have come in our country in the past 50 years.
The America portrayed in Keeping Lucy is one where most women were relegated to a single role – being a wife and a mother. Her opinion is not important, her career – if she even has one – is not important, her needs and wants are not important. She is simply here to serve and support her family. Greenwood thoroughly explores this idea in her new novel, showing that while many women didn’t complain about their familial role, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t wish for more in their life.
The other issue that Keeping Lucy explores is how children with disabilities were viewed by society. Children with Down Syndrome were “sent away” as opposed to being raised by families who could love and nurture them through their disability. Terms such as “retarded,” handicapped,” and “Mongoloid,” were thrown around liberally to describe children with disabilities, often right to the face of the parents or the children themselves. It is not that they were being rude necessarily, it was just the norm.
Readers who love touching, yet impactful stories that stick with you long after you have finished reading them, should definitely pick up Keeping Lucy when it is published in August 2019. Fans of Jodi Picoult’s style of writing, in which the author builds a story around a social issue, will especially love Greenwood’s take … except they may just love Greenwood’s a little bit more. Greenwood takes a more literary approach in telling her story, making this novel feel both entertaining, yet enriching at the same time. If the novel has a fault, it comes in the second half of the book where Greenwood sometimes relies on dramatic twists of fate to keep the momentum of the story going. In all, however, Keeping Lucy is one of the standout literary reads of 2019 for its historical social merit and engrossing storyline.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Keeping Lucy follows a mother, Ginny Richardson, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as she learns her baby has Downs Syndrome. Immediately after the birth of Lucy, the dad, Ab, signs off on her being institutionalized. This was fairly common at the time. As was Ginny's behavior of being a submissive housewife. However, as she makes a road trip with her son, daughter, and best friend so much just didn't feel true even for the early 1970s. Marsha, the best friend, is a nurse and she is unmarried. Yet, when they're on the road she behaves as though she's been sheltered from the world just like Ginny. I don't want to give away parts of the story, but there were just too many contrived situations for me to enjoy this book. I really enjoy T. Greenwood's other books, including her last book, Rust & Stardust. Keeping Lucy just didn't feel like it was her writing to me. It won't stop me from checking out future books from her though.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
Once again, T. Greenwood goes playing with my emotions and giving me all the feels and breaking my heart. I'm amazed at her ability to dredge up every emotion I didn't know I had and tugging at every heartstring in the process. She's become a must read author for me and never disappoints!
Keeping Lucy is equal parts fascinating, riveting and heartbreaking. You hear about families giving up children in the 50 and 60s (and earlier) because of all sorts of conditions - the most common being Down Syndrome. And you wonder how often the cases have mimicked that of Ginny - waking up after a long, hard birth and finding her baby GONE. Given to an institution to care for her 'afflicted child' before having touched her, or heard her cry, or having ever laid eyes on her own daughter.
Ginny finds out a few years later the horrors that take place in some of these institutions, particularly the one Lucy was sent to - and she decides to put her motherly instincts to the test and go get her baby back. What follows is a wild ride of friendship, motherhood, and a journey that had me on the edge of my seat. I admired everything that Ginny did to protect her daughter. I adored her best friend who, no questions asked, goes along for the ride. I loved the sweet stories of Lucy and how she comes out of her shell to finally 'meet' her family who until now were total strangers.
The story is beautiful and heartwarming and I read it with a smile plastered on my face the entire time. Another knockout for T. Greenwood. Another story that made me feel everything and left me wanting more. Another set of characters I wanted to reach into and hug, even long after the story was over. All the wonderful feels!
Keeping Lucy is equal parts fascinating, riveting and heartbreaking. You hear about families giving up children in the 50 and 60s (and earlier) because of all sorts of conditions - the most common being Down Syndrome. And you wonder how often the cases have mimicked that of Ginny - waking up after a long, hard birth and finding her baby GONE. Given to an institution to care for her 'afflicted child' before having touched her, or heard her cry, or having ever laid eyes on her own daughter.
Ginny finds out a few years later the horrors that take place in some of these institutions, particularly the one Lucy was sent to - and she decides to put her motherly instincts to the test and go get her baby back. What follows is a wild ride of friendship, motherhood, and a journey that had me on the edge of my seat. I admired everything that Ginny did to protect her daughter. I adored her best friend who, no questions asked, goes along for the ride. I loved the sweet stories of Lucy and how she comes out of her shell to finally 'meet' her family who until now were total strangers.
The story is beautiful and heartwarming and I read it with a smile plastered on my face the entire time. Another knockout for T. Greenwood. Another story that made me feel everything and left me wanting more. Another set of characters I wanted to reach into and hug, even long after the story was over. All the wonderful feels!
Keeping Lucy did not pull me in immediately and there were some (minor) things that were hard to suspend disbelief for, but I'm glad I kept reading. The plight of the main character, Ginny, is just heartbreaking. What has happened to her daughter is just ... wow. It's so hard to believe that people would put anyone, especially children, through things like this. I am incredulous that these things really happen.
I thought the characterization was really good. The relationships between Ginny and her children and also her relationship with her best friend were so, so great. The character arcs here were are definitely worth sticking around for.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.
I thought the characterization was really good. The relationships between Ginny and her children and also her relationship with her best friend were so, so great. The character arcs here were are definitely worth sticking around for.
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
*mild spoilers*
I loved this book. From smoking and drinking while pregnant to women only being allowed to have a credit card in her husband's name, the author totally nailed this time in history. In telling Lucy's story through her mother's eyes/experiences, we are given insight into not only what Lucy endured, but the series of events that led to Ginny letting her go to the "school" and then leaving her there for 2 years and what finally forced her to overcome her apathy/depression and act. It was all brilliantly done. My only (very minor) complaint was that the ending was a little too contrived, but it wasn't enough to detract from the rest of this wonderful story.
*mild spoilers*
I loved this book. From smoking and drinking while pregnant to women only being allowed to have a credit card in her husband's name, the author totally nailed this time in history. In telling Lucy's story through her mother's eyes/experiences, we are given insight into not only what Lucy endured, but the series of events that led to Ginny letting her go to the "school" and then leaving her there for 2 years and what finally forced her to overcome her apathy/depression and act. It was all brilliantly done. My only (very minor) complaint was that the ending was a little too contrived, but it wasn't enough to detract from the rest of this wonderful story.
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book absolutely broke my heart and healed it again. I am horrified to know that the atrocities committed in this novel were based on real life events, but I do believe we have come a long way to understanding and accepting disabilities. We still have much further to go, but I can read this and still have faith in humanity.
The core of this story of course was Ginny. I felt this was a coming of awareness novel, and I love the appearance of these kinds of historical stories. The simple self realization that Ginny had power gave me goosebumps, and I was rooting for her from the start. I also loved the sisterhood between Marsha and Ginny, and I would read a whole other book on their adventures!
I loved this so much and I can’t recommend it enough! It’s hard to read but ultimately so important, and it’s an amazing story by a new to me author I can’t wait to read more of.
The core of this story of course was Ginny. I felt this was a coming of awareness novel, and I love the appearance of these kinds of historical stories. The simple self realization that Ginny had power gave me goosebumps, and I was rooting for her from the start. I also loved the sisterhood between Marsha and Ginny, and I would read a whole other book on their adventures!
I loved this so much and I can’t recommend it enough! It’s hard to read but ultimately so important, and it’s an amazing story by a new to me author I can’t wait to read more of.