⋙ [PDF] Necessary Lies A Novel Diane Chamberlain 8601401084570 Books

Necessary Lies A Novel Diane Chamberlain 8601401084570 Books

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Necessary Lies A Novel Diane Chamberlain 8601401084570 Books

Necessary Lies is of a young, newly married social worker who, against her husband's wishes, works with families that are uneducated, white and non-white, and not of the proper societal standards. This was also the time when the Eugenics Program, basically a sterilization of people who had low IQs and would be unable to care for themselves and their possible future children, was in force ( I didn't even know this was a thing). As I was reading, I kept thinking, "I can see how this was needed," but by the end of the book, with some twists and turns, you see how unethical and sad it could be. This book was so so good, and you really become attached to the characters. You want what's best for the characters, even if you don't know what it is. Chamberlain is a genius at pulling at your heartstrings and educating you at the same time.


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Necessary Lies A Novel Diane Chamberlain 8601401084570 Books Reviews

This novel exceeded my already high expectations, and is historical fiction at it's best. I'm always drawn to America's dirty little secrets, and here we have N. Carolina's eugenics program in the 1960's. Chamberlain does an excellent job focusing in on one specific family and the impact this program has on their lives.

The main character, Jane, follows her heart to become a social worker against her husbands wishes (and later demands) to be a housewife and baby maker. She soon learns that this job requires more than just providing help to needy families. The state of N. Carolina (the only state to do so) has put the power in the social worker's hands to decide whether certain so-called feeble-minded or poverty stricken women should be sterilized (and yes, even if women are raped, or forced out of necessity, it is most always women). Jane becomes passionately involved with one particular family who's lives are already deeply embedded in this program before she officially takes on their case. She becomes the only hope for this family, and once again her own beliefs are at odds with those of her society and employer.

Chamberlain shows through story, not only the horrors of our recent past, but also the hope we have when we choose to treat others fairly and equally. I loved the link provided in the "author's note." It shows recent hearings in N. Carolina to determine compensation for survivors. To see and hear actual survivors recount their stories is something I will never forget.
If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. Why? Because the author has created strong, believable characters through whom we see the terrible impact North Carolina's sterilization program had on the lives on innocent people. [Over 7000 people were sterilized between 1929 and 1975.] There are two primary narrators of the story Ivy, a lively 15 years old girl, living on a tobacco plantation as a member of a poor tenant farming family. And Jane, a 22 year old social worker who has just been assigned to work with this family. Jane is so new to the 'System', that she hasn't accepted what is considered normal by the older social workers. She finds herself appalled by what the System has done to Ivy's older sister... and is threatening to do to Ivy... sterilization. This is a powerful story that needs to be to be told.
The second set of my gold stars would go to the author, Diane Chamberlain, who has crafted this novel with great skill. She lays the foundation for what is to come in subtle ways from the very beginning. As a reader, you are discovering disturbing truths throughout the novel. In that way, it's a real page-turner. Another brilliant aspect of this novel is that the author creates characters who are flawed, as are we all, and yet they have good qualities. Most people aren't all bad or all good, and yet it requires a strong moral compass to discern the best course of action in each situation. This is a story of human failings by people who have good intentions. It is also the story about an incredible act of courage by a young social worker, who cares about her clients.
Courageous women face a system where poverty and disease make involuntary sterilization possible. Jane, a new bride, accepts a job as a case worker for a North Carolina welfare department. She finds tangled relationships and difficult time with acceptance of a program that mandates sterilization for impoverished folk beset with mental or physical issues. Jane also runs afoul a system where objectivity rather than compassion is valued. Her job becomes an unwelcome distraction to her physician husband, who wants a family and wife supportive of his country club aspirations. Jane wants a career and marriage and eventually to prevent Ivy, a teenager with dreams of a family and escape from poverty from being sterilized, she risks career and marriage to stop this from occurring.

Ivy, though, has seizures and becomes pregnant, making her a candidate for sterility. But Jane finds Ivy the person rather than the case subject.

While the tale of Jane and Ivy forms the heart of a terrific story, the author skillfully brings in attitudes of the late fifties, early sixties about a woman's place in a polite southern society. Jane defies these expectations by valuing a career enjoying sex, and acting with courage and determination on her job and in her personal life. Super tale!
Necessary Lies is of a young, newly married social worker who, against her husband's wishes, works with families that are uneducated, white and non-white, and not of the proper societal standards. This was also the time when the Eugenics Program, basically a sterilization of people who had low IQs and would be unable to care for themselves and their possible future children, was in force ( I didn't even know this was a thing). As I was reading, I kept thinking, "I can see how this was needed," but by the end of the book, with some twists and turns, you see how unethical and sad it could be. This book was so so good, and you really become attached to the characters. You want what's best for the characters, even if you don't know what it is. Chamberlain is a genius at pulling at your heartstrings and educating you at the same time.