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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Although I usually read books before I watch the series or movies based on them, with this one I made an exception. I plan on reading the third in this series of books also. These are wonderful memoirs, giving us a glimpse into London in the 50's and also earlier from the many people Jennifer got to know through her work. The stories they tell are of a poverty we can not imagine. But they are also stories of respect for people, no matter what their walk in life. I highly recommend this book series! I am left feeling so very fortunate for all I have and Jennifer (Jenny) is giving me a wonderful education in life and love and acceptance of others.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Short, lovely and heartbreaking, Jennifer Worth captures the fear, isolation and enduring impact of the workhouse in England. Most notably, her relationship with an elderly gentleman is so full of love and heartache. Buyer beware: the ebook/Kindle version is TERRIBLE. Words squished together, breaks between words, incorrect punctuation ... easy enough to fix, but clearly no one bothered to proof the document.
emotional
informative
slow-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Abandonment, War
“Life turns on little things. The momentous events in history can leave us untouched, while small events may shape our destinies.”
I have a lot of emotions and it's difficult to write a review that isn't just me smashing on my keyboard. But taking a deep breath and standing back, I think I can say this is one of the best books on a historical topic I've ever read. It tells the stories of those who typically don't get told: the poor, the children, the elderly, the sick. Before reading this book, I would had no idea what a "workhouse" was, much less that it was supposedly started as a social service. From today's perspective it seems more like a prison than anything else. But - and I think this is important - the book doesn't simply go "these people led horrible lives and everything was awful." The people in this story are just that, people , and their stories are not and should not be told as though they are nothing more than a statistic from a system. A history book could have told me what a workhouse was, or what life was like in the east end of London, possibly with more facts than this book contains. This book, however, emphasizes how real the people who lived through all these experiences are. Not everyone went through the system the same, not everyone lived the same lives. And I think that's something we really need to remember: people have lived, loved, suffered, and persevered through incredibly challenging times throughout all of history. Whatever they faced, they deserve to be recognized for all of who they were, and I think this book does a great job of showing that.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
reflective