The Girls We Sent Away - by Meagan Church

About the Book

"North Carolina, 1960s. Lorraine has it all-the boyfriend, the good grades, the white picket fence, the ambition to become the first woman astronaut. But when she-the darling girl-next-door-becomes pregnant, she learns that love is conditional and ambition has its limits. In an effort to hide their daughter's secret shame, her parents send her away to a maternity home-a common solution for "wayward" girls during that time period. Lorraine soon realizes that instead of being a safe haven, the home forces unwed mothers to relinquish parental rights and place their babies for adoption. Lorraine must decide if she has the agency and power to fight to keep her baby or if she must submit to the rules of the society she once admired. Set in the Baby Scoop Era, The Girls We Sent Away juxtaposes the breakthrough technologies of the Race to Space with the societal realities that kept women grounded"--

Book Synopsis

"An important and vital story." -- Donna Everhart, USA Today bestselling author of The Saints of Swallow Hill

"Engaging, shocking, heart-wrenching." -- Library Journal

A "compassionate novel about loss and broken dreams." -- Washington Post

A searing book club read for fans of Ellen Marie Wiseman and The Girls with No Names set in the Baby Scoop Era of the 1960s about the women of a certain condition swept up in a dark history.

It's the 1960s and Lorraine Delford has it all - an upstanding family, a perfect boyfriend, and a white picket fence home in North Carolina. Yet every time she looks through her father's telescope, she dreams of the stars. It's ambitious, but Lorraine has always been exceptional.

But when this darling girl-next-door gets pregnant, she's forced to learn firsthand the realities that keep women grounded.

To hide their daughter's secret shame, the Delfords send Lorraine to a maternity home for wayward girls. But this is no safe haven - it's a house with dark secrets and suffocating rules. And as Lorraine begins to piece together a new vision for her life, she must decide if she can fight against the powers that aim to take her child or submit to the rules of a society she once admired.

Powerful and affecting, The Girls We Sent Away is a timely novel that explores autonomy, belonging, and a quest for agency when the illusions of life-as-you-know-it fall away.

Review Quotes

"In this compassionate novel about loss and broken dreams, Lorraine and the other pregnant teens Church so lovingly creates pay tribute to the estimated 4 million women and girls banished to U.S. maternity homes in the mid-20th century." -- Washington Post

"It's good to review how far women have come...The Girls We Sent Away is one example of the experience of millions of women during an unenlightened time in history." -- New York Journal of Books

"A likely book-group and public-library choice." -- Booklist

"Church's story gets deep inside Lorraine's head with tenderness and compassion...This is a heartbreaking tale of prejudice, shame and secret-keeping within families, and a sincere and moving account of one teenager's personal grief and inner strength." -- Historical Novel Society

"In this engaging, shocking, heart-wrenching story, readers are pulled along with Lorraine through the ups and downs of her pregnancy, optimistic for her future but saddened by its likely outcome. Fans of Church's The Last Carolina Girl will be clamoring to read this one." -- Library Journal

"Meagan Church paints a harrowing picture of one woman's experience during the Baby Scoop Era. Timely and emotional, The Girls We Sent Away depicts both the devastating loss of faith in those who are supposed to protect us and the ability of the human heart to trust again." -- Laura Barrow, author of Call the Canaries Home

"Powerful and affecting, The Girls We Sent Away underscores both the worst and best of the human heart, and the resilience and courage of women forced to walk away from their dreams to piece together new ones. Meagan Church's sophomore novel is another important masterpiece, shining a light on a horrible bit of women's history that the world would rather keep in a darkened corner." -- Joy Callaway, internationally bestselling author of What the Mountains Remember

"With beautiful prose and delicate precision, Church transports readers to the tumultuous Baby Scoop era of the 1960s, providing a well-crafted and researched look into the struggles of women during this dark period in history, and evokes a lasting impression of empathy for young Lorraine. Heart-wrenching and thought provoking, The Girls We Sent Away is a captivating novel, impossible to put down and one which will be remembered long after you turn the last page." -- Terah Shelton Harris, author of One Summer in Savannah

"In this stunning novel, Meagan Church weaves historical research and compelling narrative into an elegant tapestry that brings 1960s North Carolina to life. Lorraine Delford is an endearing and relatable heroine whose indefatigable spirit is sure to win readers' hearts. Even as others try to direct the course of Lorraine's future, she is determined to wrest back what control she can. A memorable portrait of a tumultuous time period, I highly recommend The Girls We Sent Away for fans of historical fiction." -- Heather Bell Adams, author of Maranatha Road and The Good

"Meagan Church's The Girls We Sent Away, is such an important and vital story. With exquisite writing, Church exposes a murky little pocket of history, and a reprehensible practice that surely had a generational impact on families. Through her captivating and thought-provoking scenes, I became wholeheartedly invested in the outcome of her remarkable heroine, Lorraine Delford, cheering for her all the way." -- Donna Everhart, USA Today bestselling author of The Saints of Swallow Hill

"Heartbreaking and heart stopping, The Girls We Sent Away is a beautiful exploration of what it means to be human and how resilient the human spirit is. Meagan Church weaves the absence of choices with the desires of the heart together in another page turner." -- Leslie Hooton, award-winning author of The Secret of Rainy Days and After Everyone Else

"Readers will be entranced as author Meagan Church steadily peels away the veneer of the era, revealing the dark underbelly of a secretive and unforgiving society." -- Tracey Enerson Wood, internationally bestselling author of The Engineer's Wife and The War Nurse