It's 1965 and to avoid bringing shame on her family Betsy Eubanks is sent to a home for unwed mothers. While at the home Betsy is sent to work in the home of doctor's wife Lily Berg who is also pregnant. Little do the two women realise the profound effect they will have on each other's lives.

When I was first offered a review copy of In The Family Way by Laney Katz Becker neither the title nor the unfinished cover leapt out at me. Rather than dismiss it out of hand completely I read the blurb and noticed the comment "for fans of Lessons In Chemistry or The Help". Lessons In Chemistry was one of my favourite books of 2022 so that sealed the deal for me.

When I started the book I was expecting quite a whimsical and nostalgic read, what transpired was something far more powerful, emotional and relevant. Set in 1965 suburban America, feminism hasn't reared its head yet, although there are indications that it is on the way. Fifteen-year-old Betsy Eubanks finds herself pregnant. Determined not to have her future tainted by an unwanted pregnancy she is sent to another state to "stay with an aunt who is ill". In reality, she's sent to a home for unwed mothers where the baby will be put up for adoption as soon as it is born. From the parent's reactions you know that this move has more to do with respectability rather than Betsy's future.

Lily Berg isn't much older than Betsy but her life is a world away. Lily married as soon as she graduated high school with her husband being a doctor. They already have one young child and a second is on the way. Betsy is placed with the Bergs as a type of au pair. Through the placement Betsy meets Lily's friends and comes out of her shell.

The book is like a time portal, I enjoyed the nostalgia but, more importantly, it shows how far we have progressed as a society in sixty years. The first thing that really struck me was how women didn't have their own identity, they were seen as an extension of their husbands. Lily is always referred to as Mrs David Berg and her sister, Rose, is Mrs Marty Seigel. Rose is a successful teacher, however, she would be expected to give up her career should she become pregnant. Only married women can access birth control, which wouldn't have helped Betsy anyway as she had received no sex education from school or her parents. These are just a few of the instances where women are seen as second-class citizens.

Dealing with unwanted pregnancies plays a big part in the story. From teenagers like Betsy being shipped off to homes for unwed mothers to married women not wanting to carry another child. We learn of the illegal, dangerous, and often unscrupulous, ways in which these unwanted pregnancies are dealt with. I was surprised to learn that some hospitals had specialist wards set up simply to deal with the after-effects of illegal abortions. Absolutely nothing is mentioned about dealing with the psychological implications, women are simply patched up and sent home.

Betsy's time with Lily Berg is limited, shortly before her due date she returns to the home for unwed mothers to have her baby, with the women having no further contact. The author uses a time jump very effectively to update us on each of the character's lives, lives that have been moulded by those few months in 1965.

This was a great story about a life before I existed so was completely new and fresh in it's approach and the story that followed.

Once i was settled into this book i was hooked. Set in the 60’s this provided a sad flashback which i believe women all over the the world need to be fearful of because of world leaders. Women couldn’t vote, divorce or even have a bank account. This was set in that sad times. Set in suburbia Betsey is sent away to an unwed mothers home to live out her pregnancy as a mothers maid for a family. She is 15, she doesn’t know how she got pregnant, had no sex education, knows nothing about autonomy. She ends up living with the Berg family. David is an obgyn, his wife lily was the epitome of a 1950’s housewife as she married at 19. Lily and Betsey grow together and grow up. This book was such a good read. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

What a wonderful book with characters you would love to have in your life

The story of Betsy and Lily brought to life the world that we used to live in with ways that are unheard of and practices that thankfully are no longer common

Every character plays their part and as a whole, this book is wholesome and one I want to read again

I absolutely loved this. The story was engaging, fun, so very true to life and heart pulling. I love reading about the this era and hope the author writes more.

Set in the 1960s which is over 60 years ago but even though things have changed in Ireland the change was slow and even now in some areas I would expect they have changed little. An interesting read.

Set in the 1960`s a group of female friends try to face obstacles moral or ethical while trying to be the perfect housewife as they are supposed to be.
The book covers lots of delicate subjects rape, abortion, miscarriage, toxic marriage and teen pregnancy.
A very powerful story very well told of how women were supposed to act, life has gone a long way except in America which is trying to go back to the 60`s with women's rights.
Definitely recommend.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review

A quite emotional read , it was good to see pregnancy from different viewpoints.
The story line was easy to get stuck into and hard to put down

Both an example of historical fiction, and also a real comment on the cultural changes that have happened in the last 60 years in the West. You could read this as a feminist tome, too, with the sense of a vintage 'Desperate Housewives' vibe happening. The pace and characterisation of the novel is well pitched with multi narrative viewpoints that operate in a filmic and compelling way. There's a poignancy, too, as others have said, especially at the end. Highly recommended. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Set in Ohio during the 1960s, this story follows a group of women from diverse backgrounds who begin to question their roles in society. They wonder why they are not allowed to stand up for themselves and make their own decisions.
This heartwarming and emotional narrative explores their desire for change and greater autonomy, challenging the notion of being just pretty, stay-at-home women.
It serves as a powerful reminder that it hasn't been long since women were treated as second-class citizens and had no right, to have their opinions dismissed and their voices unheard.

Excellent, thought provoking novel. Set in the 1960s in Ohio, it follows the Canasta playing housewives in suburbia.
Raising questions about pregnancy, abortion, domestic abuse, this is a timely story.
Enjoyment isn't really the correct word for a book about such serious topics, but it holds the attention all the way through. And though the ending is a little too coincidental for me, it does round out all the characters and their stories.
Recommended reading if only for a glimpse into women's lives in the 60s.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and especially the author for this ARC in return for my honest review

This book is a cracking read. Set in America in the mid 60’s and covers the plight of women at that time which brings home to you on just how much things have changed. A real thought provoking page turner read for me. I loved all the characters and the tale they had to tell.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

An emotional read. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

Given the very weird and scary situation going on in America now, you might question whether this book is set in the 1960s or now. Scary in many ways and throught provoking in every way. What do women do when they are not allowed to do anything at all? I wish we didn't have to read novels like this and I wish this had sci fi sticker on the side but sadly not...

Powerful

This powerful novel Set in 1965 deals with a group of housewives, who on the surface have nothing better to do than their housework and cook. “a woman’s work is never done”. Their sole purpose is to be perfect wives for their husbands, all the while taking no credit for their own sacrifices in contributing to their hard-working husbands' successes. Rose is different however; she graduated and although she is married, she doesn’t want children.

Lily, Rose’s sister takes in a fifteen-year-old pregnant girl, Betsy to help her with a small child Jo-Jo as she too is pregnant with her second child. Together they build a strong bond which lasts throughout. Through Betsy we gain a powerful insight of 1960’s where girls were secreted off to have their unwanted babies who they would later give up for adoption before returning to their homes as if nothing had happened,

While Sarah longs for a child, Becca cannot cope with another. It is Lily’s husband as a Gynaecologist however who lays out the true horrors and the lengths married women, and young girls go through to terminate their pregnancies. Told in graphic details the modern woman cannot comprehend.

Rose finds herself in a sexual and physically abusive relationship and as she proceeds to divorce and independence it is ironic that she needs a man’s signature to obtain it.

As the women begin to question their lives, they become involved in bringing about a change. Lily frequently questions “is that all there is” before finding her true purpose.

This is a poignant read especially today when there is still a debate surrounding a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body. There are other interesting criticisms highlighted in this novel such as the purpose of the Vietnam war and rape within a marriage.

I highly recommend this novel and thank Netgalley for the opportunity to have read it ahead of publication.

I enjoyed this book far more than I was expecting to. Definitely a book to make an impact and encourage the reader to think, especially how things have changed since the mid-60s. Written from several women's voices in the state of Ohio focusing on a group in very different circumstances but centring around a tight Jewish family. A lot of sensitive subjects covered pregnancy, fertility, abortion and abuse, but all with an undercurrent of naivety in a patriarchal society. Although set in America, it was similar this side of the Atlantic so easy to relate to. The writing flowed, even the American English didn't detract so I became totally immersed in the women's stories and problems.

In Ohio 1965, Betsy - fifteen and pregnant- arrives in the home of Lily, a married mother who also has a child on the way. Lily has a sister Rose, a teacher whose husband begins to show his true colours, and a friend called Becca who finds herself pregnant with a fourth child she does not want.

This novel has a lot of heart. You will want to hug all of the main characters. Betsy, a teenager who says 'groovy' to everything, particularly touched me. Pregnant via a lacklustre encounter with a boy from out of town and still painfully unaware of many biological realities, her friendship with the older Lily allows her to begin to understand what has happened to her and what her future will be like.

Thematically, this novel reminded me of 'Confessions' by Catherine Airey (set in Ireland) which I reviewed last year, in that it's about multiple generations of women and how they are affected by the state of reproductive rights in their respective countries. As a woman in the UK, it's easy to forget the rights that we have and often take for granted. This novel is a sobering reminder of that, whilst also being infused with hope, and having one of the loveliest and most life-affirming epilogue style endings I've ever read in a novel.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and HQ for the ARC!

Wow I did not expect this book to be so impactful but it really left me gobsmacked with the way women were treated in such recent history. Attitudes to abortions, pregnancy, marriage and womens rights are all covered in this book and I was shocked to see how the 50's & 60's housewife was treated. Told through the story of pregnant teenager Betsy and her care giver Lily and their surrounding friends and family, it is a great read and rather sad to see how womens rights have not changed that much particularly in the US. (Please make sure you read on after the final chapter to see the facts that Laney Katz Becker supplied as they are very interesting too.)

A very interesting and enjoyable read. Set in 1960s America this is the story of a 15 year old pregnant girl who lived with a family until it it is time for her to give birth. I'd never heard of this before. Definitely a book to recommend.

This book is nothing short of superlative. I laughed and cried as the book centred on the lives of four friends, 2 of whom were siblings. I found myself on a rollercoaster of emotions as the story followed their respective lives and childbirth experiences.
Set in the swinging sixties, it may have been the age of free love and anything goes but the truth was that the lives of women were slow to change.
Women were still expected to stay at home, do the housework and care for the children, essentially being at the beck and call of their husbands.

Abortion was not only frowned upon but was illegal with doctors who performed it or who gave recommendations to female patients being struck off.

This is a wonderful story and a microcosm of social history. Couldn't put the book down but at the same time, I loved it so much that I didn't want to finish it.