No Names to Be Given
My favorite genre is historical fiction, but this is the first I've read of unwed mothers in the 60's and the amount of shame and lack of support they had. I love it when an author bases their book on a true story, and Julia Brewer Daily captured what life must have been like for unwed mothers dealing with a “problem” in her debut No Names to Be Given.
Today’s young women will not understand how our families made us feel shame so intensely; we surrendered our first-born children to strangers. - Faith Reynolds, No Names to Be Given
Synopsis: The widely anticipated debut novel by Julia Brewer Daily is a glimpse into the lives of women forced by society to gift their newborns to strangers. Although this novel is a fictional account, it mirrors many of the adoption stories of its era.
When three young unwed women meet at a maternity home hospital in New Orleans in 1965, they are expected to relinquish their babies and return home as if nothing transpired. Twenty-five years later, they are brought back together by blackmail and their secrets threatened with exposure—all the way to the White House.
Told from the three women’s perspectives in alternating chapters, we are mesmerized by the societal pressures on women in the 1960s who found themselves pregnant without marriage.
What drew you into this story?
My own mother was born in the mid 50s to these exact same circumstances and was given up for adoption, so I was immediately drawn to this story. Daily herself was adopted from a home in New Orleans, so she was able to bring a deeper understanding of what these women would have been feeling and going through as she wrote thought provoking story.
This story had multiple POV. How well did this work?
The multiple POV are what appealed to me most in this story. I loved how Daily created a very realistic and different situation for Becca, Faith, and Sandy. From there, each woman’s story was beautifully woven together throughout the novel as they took their place in the world. I could not get enough of each character as the chapters rotated through their points of view, and how their lives continued and were still impacted from being forced to give up their newborns.
Is this a highly emotional book that will tear my heart in two?
This story does evoke emotions, but at no time was I diving for the Kleenex box. I think the fact that Daily develops each of her character’s through their responses to the pain of hiding the facts of how their pregnancy came about and having to give up your newborn and not knowing where they are in the world really added a sense of mystery to the story. That mystery is what had me hooked from the first page, and had me wondering how it would all play out in the end.
How was the pacing?
This is a fast paced story, and I flew through the short chapters.
Do you recommend this book?
This was a wonderful and satisfying read. If you are looking for a story that will leave you wanting more and characters that will stay with you, then you really need to read this one!
