A review by cathy718
Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams by Louisa Thomas

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Here is a woman whose life story would have been completely lost to history had she not married a future President of the United States, and even then it took many generations before biographers took much interest. Women's history is like that.

Anyone with more than passing interest in early America will profit mightily from learning more about Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams. Like our country itself, she was flawed and frail, but could rally through times of great stress to be strong as steel. Like America's male founders, she was fiercely devoted to the ideals of liberty and self-governance, but sometimes found democracy messy. At a young age, she had irreversibly connected herself to a curmudgeonly and hyper-intellectual husband who ran hot and cold on her and caused her to question her own worth. She had as many as 11 miscarriages, lost three other children, and suffered ill health. But she was a survivor. She persisted. She created value for herself and those around her. She left us a legacy.

Many thanks to the author for bringing this story to light!