It’s 1965 in America and unwed pregnant woman were sent away to hide their pregnancy. Betsy was very fortunate that a family took her in to help with chores, her family was lovely David and Lily who was expected their second child helped Betsy. Rose Lily’s sister was also around and they had some great times together. This story is all about friendship, repairing yourself and helping others. It’s a powerful message for what woman faced years ago. It’s has triggers, abortion, miscarriage, abuse and rape. A very strong book that will leave you thinking. 5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, following the stories of a group of young women. Set in Ohio, during the mid-1960s, the story revolves around pregnancies- wanted pregnancies, miscarriage, unmarried mothers and lastly abortions. I loved the way the author told the story of women's reproductive health during this period. We follow the young girl who doesn't know how a baby got into her tummy or how it's going to get out-the need for her to hide away from society in order to hide her shame. Then there are the married women who seek out illegal abortion as their only options - for different but highly valid reasons and the aftermath of those procedures. The very human characters tell their stories well, and you find yourself sympathising with their differing situations and wondering what you would do in their shoes. It feels like they are people that you know already.
This book strikes a particular chord during this time when abortion is being abolished across America, forcing women to seek solutions that are not necessarily the safest for them. It is a frightening prediction of a huge backward step for women's reproductive health.
I found this a fascinating story of a historical period which is sadly being relived today. Highly recommended.

Four women with secrets. It’s 1963, a time when models like Twiggy and authors like Germaine Greer promoted women’s rights but many women still lived in traditional households. Having a child out of wedlock was frowned upon, as were extra-marital affairs committed by women. In this book, four women meet for a weekly card evening and a natter, safe in the knowledge that any secrets divulged will be kept. When you hear their stories, you realise just how much attitudes have changed. A powerful story.

Wow, this was really a trip down memory lane. How attitudes have changed since those days. I suppose that, for this generation, it might help with the understanding of how things were and how fortunate they are to live in 5his generation!
It is well worth reading and I thoroughly recommend!

Wow such a powerful and thought provoking story from 4 women all with secrets in 1965 and the attitudes of men and unmarried young girls who were forced to give up their babies. The 4 women meet every week to play cards and talk in confidence about any problems they have.
Lily is married to a Ob gyn and has a daughter and another on the way when she takes in 15 year old Betsy from a unmarried women's home until her baby is due.
Becca is the next door neighbour of Lily and is messy and has 3 kids but when she falls pregnant she despairs as they can't afford another child and she turns to Lily for advice as her husband is a doctor and asks if he could arrange a abortion. Lily is horrified as he could get into serious trouble as it was illegal so says no.
Rose is lily's little sister and has a perfect modern marriage which does not include children but she is hiding a secret about her husband .which comes to a head one night.
This is a eye opener and powerful and opens your eyes to how attitudes have changed.

Ohio 1965

Every week a group of ladies meet for a card game. They and their husbands all have secrets which they want to keep secret. However, all it takes is one person to upset the apple cart.
Women of this generation must be seen and not heard. Stay at hom women without views and experience.
But all that is changing ......

Firstly thank you so much to the publishers & Netgalley for this amazing arc!

An unbelievable, hard hitting, emotional, heart warming read that I absolutely adored. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this read but it blew me away. It was easy to read, fast paced, captivating and heart wrenching all in one. I loved every single one of the characters (apart from Rose’s husband & betsy’s family/housemother obvs) and the unity between them all made the story all the more better. While it discussed very important topics of the struggles women faced and continue to face, the author wrote and presented it in such an amazing way making it feel a-lot less heavy than it is when you really think about what women had/have to deal with but without discrediting or dumbing it down. Just well presented facts & how friendships can help through the most stressful times. Whilst also showing how we can make a difference. There were times I wondered if the societal ugliness of the past would rear it’s head and Rose (& other women) wouldn’t get the help they needed or for example her dad wouldn’t of been as supportive as some would expect but at every turn I was pleasantly surprised and it made me love the book all the more.

The female friendships & empowerment throughout the book is the real highlight. I felt like I was there listening to old friends, being part of the community and the support & love they gave each other made my heart feel so full, even if they didn’t see eye to eye on all subjects. That is how friendship should be. Seeing the progress made in society throughout the book all the way to the end & Lily’s growth alongside it for Jo-Jo, herself and future women made me feel so proud.

The unexpected ending was also absolutely perfect. The insight into Jo-Jo’s life and reconnecting with Betsy was the ending we 100% needed with the happy life updates from everybody, it wrapped it all up so so well. I was crying sad and happy tears at Lily’s letter, my heart broke for her, Jo-Jo & Jen but it was so bitter sweet.

Highly highly recommend this read for anyone looking for an inspiring, female empowerment novel that will leave you feeling heart warmed

This book sent me on an emotional rollercoaster, I could not put it down. The characters of Lily, Rose and Betsy were brilliantly portrayed and I really felt empathy towards them. The plot was interesting and beautifully written and incredibly thought provoking.. The struggles that these women had to go through makes me very sad. Set in 1960’s Ohio it deals with the hard subjects of fertility, pregnancy, abortion and abuse., all of which can be quite triggering but it was written so well.
To say I enjoyed this book would make light of its contents but it is definitely worth reading.

Quite a different genre of book for me but I did enjoy it. It certainly opened my eyes to the lives of women in America in the 1960’s and in particular, the way they were treated and viewed, especially around having children. A very different world to the one we live in nowadays so interesting to see what they had to deal with back then.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

Although set in the mid 1960’s this book is sadly relevant today. My first impression was that this was not going to be my kind of book but how wrong I was. Serious and sensitive issues are covered with a light and insightful touch. I would hope that younger women might read this as it is so important to understand what misogyny can do to the lives of women.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this ARC

A story about social prejudice to a woman’s role in the home and the choices/or not that were available to them in the 1960’s.
It’s hard to believe how much has changed overtime, it makes you really appreciate just how much choice we do have now.
The main characters are a neighbourly group of canasta playing housewives who sometimes share their secrets, which can be a revelation at times! There is also Betsy who has come to work for the Bergs from a home for unwed mothers (you wonder how she got herself into that situation given that her education in this field seems to be rather limited).
My favourite character was Rose who pressed on regardless, least favourite was Marty.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book.
I normally read crime fiction so this was a big change for me, but I loved it.
Set in the suburbs of 1960’s USA it charts the lives of 6 women. Lily, Betsy, Rose, Sarah, Becca and Robin.
It’s amazing how women’s lives have changed since those days. It must have been so lonely

This was an enlightening and informative book. It certainly made me think of how the world has changed. All the characters are likeable and develop throughout the story.
I cannot stress enough that I would recommend this book to teenage females so they can understand and appreciate the way things are today. It's not at all peachy but covers so many social norms and how it affected females at the time.

A fantastic story set in 1960s USA about a group of female friends experiencing marriage and motherhood. Impeccably researched, intensely emotional it is a novel everyone should read and strive to prevent backward changes. I loved the characters and the period detail.

A 5 star read. A group of American women in 1965 come to be friends over weekly games of canasta.. They cannot have their own bank accounts, take out mortgages or work once they have a child. Divorce is frowned upon and abortion illegal.

Lily Berg, a doctor’s wife, takes in Betsy, a pregnant teenager from the local unwed mothers’ home, to help around the house as she prepares for the birth of her second child. Betsy has never met a Jewish family before and has never cared for a child. She is ignorant about how her body works and relies on prim and proper Lily to guide her. She has been sent away to avoid a scandal - the baby will be adopted and she can then rejoin her family.

Both Becky, her friend, and Rose, her sister, face the dilemma of being pregnant but not wanting the baby - both have to undertake huge risks to be able to make the best decisions for themselves. Rose is the victim of an abusive relationship and finds herself pregnant - to gain her divorce she has to manipulate her husband and then relies on her father to be able to enter a rental agreement. Becky has three boys and finds herself pregnant while her husband’s business is failing - they cannot afford another child.

Sarah has suffered five miscarriages and is unable to talk about this trauma.

Lily while supporting her friends wonders if this is all there is - she questions her role and finds herself a new purpose.

The story finishes in the mid 1980s with JoJo - Lily’s first child - meeting Betsy - now a doctor. We learn of the fortunes of the women in the intervening years.

A heartbreaking story - so relevant currently when a women’s right to choose is again being compromised.

This book was nothing like I was expecting, it was excellent!
Very well written and an extensive amount of research has been done.
Set in 1965 in America, Lily is a young mother who kindly takes in an unmarried 15 year old pregnant girl. Lily has a heart of gold, however she’s extremely prim and proper, so when her best friend makes an illegal decision it makes Lily question her thoughts and beliefs.
There’s Rose whose husband isn’t the man she thought he was.
Betsy who doesn’t know the facts of life and doesn’t know how she got pregnant.
Plus several other characters who help to make this book fascinating and very readable

This is a powerful novel dealing with significant societal issues, attitudes and practices that we might struggle to understand nowadays. Despite this, Becker manages to pull us into a great storyline filled with interesting characters, giving insight into their lives, privileges and traumas. The book deals with ethical and moral issues alongside instances of domestic violence, rape, discrimination and misogyny. Brilliantly done and a four and a half star read

Set in the mid-sixties this novel explores the lives of 4 women quite unlike each other. Although Lily, Becca and Rose are part of a group of housewife, their personalities and approaches to life are very distinct.

When Betsy, a pregnant teenager, comes into their lives, it changes everything - making each woman question her decisions and beliefs.

This is a good read, featuring believable characters facing the kind of real life questions that many readers will relate to. Worth checking out,

The book was set in the mid 1960s in the USA. It was about a group of women living in a small town. Every Tuesday they meet in each other’s houses to play canasta and discuss their lives. This is the America where woman couldn’t get bank accounts or rent a home without a man. Abortion was illegal.
A young obstetricians wife, Lily Berg, was pregnant with her second child and decided to take on an unwed teenage pregnant girl who was living at a local home for unwed mothers, as an au pair. Betsy had never met a Jewish family before and was sent to live with them until a few weeks before her own baby was due. She would help with housework and looking after Lily’s daughter. Once Betsy was back to the home they were to have no contact ever again and the baby would be adopted.
It was a sobering read, especially with the modern USA where abortion is again illegal in some states. The book finished up with us meeting Betsy several years later and finding out what had happened to her baby and Lily and her friends and family. A very good read.

Set in 1960's middle America and around a group of housewives, In the Family Way takes us back to the way life was for women 60 years ago. Very few rights of their own. Passed from the ownership of their father to their husband on marriage. Desiring something more but unsure what. A time of great change in the air. Into this group comes Betsy. An unmarried mother to be. The epitome of shame to her family who has been sent away to a mother and baby home by her family but loaned out as a mothers help for several months during her pregnancy. Poor Betsy has no idea how she got pregnant, how to look after a baby or what will happen at the birth. I was a teenager in the 60s albeit in the UK and remember all this very well. I thoroughly enjoyed In the Family Way and despair that the US is returning to pre Roe and Wade times. A brilliant book that had me close to tears at the innocence and frustrations of the women of those times. Recommended wholeheartedly.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.