In the Family Way is a empowering tale of women and what goes on behind closed doors. I felt bravery and compassion for these courageous characters who develop further throughout the plot. It's also lighthearted and funny with some wise wording.

Wow. This is a real corker of a book and one I’ll be thinking of for many weeks to come. All the characters in this were absolutely brilliantly written- it would be impossible to choose a favourite. Lily and Rose were amazing- totally inspirational and with a beautiful sister bond. Betsy was so likeable too and the bond she developed with Lily was lovely to read. The canesta girls were just as interesting and I thought the whole plot was brilliant- well written, so interesting and really thought provoking too. Highly highly recommended.

I was intrigued by the blurb for the book and what an emotional read that gave a lot of insight into what was not an easy time to be a woman where you had little control over what we now take for granted. It was also a journey of self discovery for Lily who would have been the same age as my mum and while they were born in different countries, I guess the struggles and restrictions were similar. I really enjoyed the book and as the author is a new one for me, I'd have no hesitation in checking out her other books read that gave a lot of insight into what was not an easy time to be a woman where you had little control over what we now take for granted. It was also a journey of self discovery for Lily who would have been the same age as my mum and while they were born in different countries, I guess the struggles and restrictions were similar. I really enjoyed the book and as the author is a new one for me, I'd have no hesitation in checking out her other books

Thought provoking excellent read.

Young girls in America who had very little choice if they found themselves pregnant, how they were sent away from the family home so as not to disgrace the family name. The relationship between these girls and their short term foster family. The story shows how innocent some of the girls were, and looks into developing relationships throughout their lives.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

This book was not the genre I normally read and it’s so good that I might even try more like it. I loved it. So well written and left me thinking about it days after I read it. I have recommended to a friend it two and thought it was superb.

This was an incredibly thought provoking read about a group of women, primarily housewives, in 1960s small town America. This is told in the main from three different viewpoints - pregnant mum of 1 and wife of an ob-gyn Lily, her married sister Rose who is a teacher and pregnant 15 year old Betsy who is currently staying with Lily as a home helper. This does a fabulous job of exploring the restrictions on women during this time as well as many different aspects of female health and pregnancy including abortions which were illegal at the time. This doesn’t lecture but the issues affecting the different women in this story does provide a lot of talking points and really shows how much has altered in the intervening years, I thought the issues raised were sensitively handled and several of the issues raised had me thinking for quite some time after.

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!

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.

Written as a novel, this book illustrates the way women have been treated throughout history and portrays the very beginnings of women’s rights in the US just as some of those rights are now being revoked.

Told through a journal of one of the women we meet a 15 year old sent to a home for unmarried pregnant teenagers; a young mother who is starting to discover there is more than just being a homemaker; her sister who wants a career before becoming a mother; a woman struggling to get pregnant and an exhausted mother who just cannot cope with another pregnancy.

Both uplifting and terribly sad, this book is beautifully written and should act as a warning not to go back to the days before women had rights over their own bodies.

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.

The U.S in the 1960s. A tale of a small community, of planned, unplanned and teenage pregnancies. Of love, friendship and support. The characters are realistic and their psychological struggles believable. Go back in time to see how women coped, and see their struggles.

I really enjoyed this book. Four neighbours become friends over their Tuesday afternoon Canasta club. All very different personalities. Lily the prim and proper one decides to get a pregnant 15yr old, from the unwed mothers home to help her with her toddler and some light housework as Lily is also pregnant. The book is set in the late 60's, so things are different. However circumstances force them all to change in quite remarkable ways.
Well worth a read.

Laney Katz Becker’s In the Family Way is an emotional and consuming read that captivates from the very first page.

Set in the mid-1960s, the novel introduces a cast of women whose lives, choices, and struggles feel deeply relatable.

Though their circumstances are shaped by the era, the dilemmas they face - moral, ethical, and deeply personal - resonate just as powerfully today.

Each woman's journey is unique, yet their shared experiences weave a powerful tapestry of connection, highlighting the profound bonds of female friendship and the challenges imposed by society’s expectations.

There are some deeply emotional topics covered in this book, including abortion, miscarriage, rape, and domestic violence.

Becker does not shy away from portraying the harsh realities of how women and girls are treated by society as a whole, both historically and in ways that still sadly persist today.

It is astonishing that the novel is set nearly 60 years ago, yet its themes remain so relevant.

The author’s decision to write this book after the overturning of Roe v. Wade adds a poignant urgency to its message.

The loss of federally protected reproductive rights makes this story even more significant now than it might have been had it been published just a few years earlier.

Becker skillfully underscores the pervasive inequalities faced by women through dialogue, character experiences, and even the chapter titles all of which serve as subtle but powerful reminders of how far we’ve come and how fragile progress can be.

Among the many memorable characters, Lily, Rose, Betsy, and Jo-Jo stand out the most.

Their individual heartbreaks and triumphs left a lasting impact, warming my heart even as they broke it.

The friendships in this novel are at its core, showcasing the kind of solidarity and understanding that only women can truly share.

The epilogue was particularly powerful - it shattered me and then somehow put me back together.

Some books stay with you long after the last page, and In the Family Way is undoubtedly one of them.

A special mention goes to the author’s inclusion of historical facts and dates at the end. It’s staggering to reflect on the progress made and how much of it is now under threat.

This novel is a five-star must-read, not just for its compelling storytelling but for its urgent and thought-provoking themes.

Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The plight of women in the 1960s. This book had me enthralled - the characters were all troubled in different ways as they struggled with ignorance, pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, abortion, abuse, etc., supporting each other all the way. It is so sad that the hard-won freedom of abortion is now being retracted in the USA. The ending of the novel is very clever and satisfying.

In the Family Way by Laney Katz Becker is a poignant and powerful book set in 1965, capturing the lives of suburban housewives navigating their personal challenges, marriages and pregnancies, both wanted and unwanted.

At a time when women could not have their own bank accounts, credit cards or sign leases, and when abortion was illegal, a group of women gathered every week for their Tuesday canasta game. As they share advice and confidence, their lives intertwine in unexpected ways.

Lily Berg, a prim and proper doctor's wife, becomes unexpectedly pregnant with her second child. She opens her home to Betsy, a pregnant teenager from the local home for unwed mothers. What begins as a practical arrangement soon leads to an emotional bond, as Lily’s heart becomes involved in a way she never anticipated. Meanwhile, Betsy, Becca and Lily's sister, Rose, all face their dilemmas, from abortion to discovering unsettling truths about their marriages.

Moving and atmospheric, this book immerses readers in the emotional complexities of women on the cusp of liberation. The characters’ stories highlight the difficult moral and ethical decisions they must make, and their shared experiences underline the deep bonds of friendship and womanhood.

This is an emotional and consuming read that reminds us how far we’ve come in the fight for women’s rights—and how crucial it is to keep moving forward.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Mid 1960’s America. Times, they are a changing, but for women those changes are going at a snail’s pace. The chief ambition for any young woman is to get married, become a full time housewife and have children as soon as possible. Working married women are frowned upon, and as for young, unmarried, pregnant girls, well, they are the lowest of the low.

Fitting the housewife mould perfectly is Lily. Married to David, mother of JoJo and another on the way. Then we have best friend Becca, who along with her high school sweetheart husband Bradley, has three boisterous boys, with another unplanned baby on the way. Sarah lives next door to Lily, with her husband Joel. She is another stay at home housewife, but no children. Of course, Lily is desperate to find out why the couple are childless, but it would be rude to ask, wouldn’t it? Lastly there is Robin and her husband. Their house backs onto Lily’s and their children use the play equipment in Lily’s garden. Robin is more interested in world affairs than the others, though the others have no idea just how she manages to find the time to read newspapers when housework is such a full time job. These are the regular Canasta game members. Cards and gossip, the highlights of their very busy lives. A regular visitor is Lily’s younger sister Rose. Married to Marty, their marriage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, but she puts on a good show.

To help Lily cope with all her wifely duties, she and David have opened their home to a ‘mother’s aid’. This comes in the form of the naive and innocent fifteen years old Betsy, whose mother has delivered her to Raven House, a home for pregnant teens. Completely ashamed and disappointed in Betsy, her parents have told everyone that Betsy is looking after an aged relative who is ill (that old chestnut!), and will return home once auntie is up and about again. Raven House, after they have checked that Betsy is fit to be allowed out into the community, have placed her with Lily until it’s time for her to give birth. She will then return to Raven House, so that the birth does not have any undue impact on the host family!

I read this book at record pace and haven’t stopped thinking about it. As a child of the 50’s, and a teenager in the 60’s, the memories it evoked are amazing! Although born a continent away from this setting, life for the women in my life was very similar.

Wonderfully written, with a deep insight into the life and times of the women of that era. An empowering and brave book.

We may roll our eyes at the lifestyle of these women, but for them it was the norm. But all it took was a borrowed book, a nudge from a friend or a guilty conscience to change their lives.

So far from my usual read I thought this was excellent, a 100% recommendation.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ.

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

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.

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.

This brilliant book made me very glad I was not a young woman in the 1960s. A group of neighbours meet to play a regular game of cards, each with their own worries and problems. Their kindness to each other is very touching, and I liked the way the story jumped 20 years at the end. It should provide a lot for discussion at book clubs, and hopefully make some people think about the situation in some American states regarding women’s rights over their own bodies.

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.

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

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.

A gentle introduction onto women’s mentality and place in the 1950s through the eyes of four friends and a sister all struggling in different ways to the norms and mores of a very different era. Shocking by today’s accepted rules and regulations, birth control only given to married women., pregnancy without marriage meant damaged goods and something to be hidden away until no option other than adoption. A man could not be guilty to rape of his wife as she was perceived in law as his property and god forbid giving the correct term for female anatomy but rather disguised by speaking in innuendos. Five women all struggling for various reasons and at the heart of this complex mix, a fifteen year old innocent, and pregnant child ignorant of the facts of life, with little idea of how it happened and the consequences. One of the more harrowing of Betsy’s questions to her older married mentor and friend was the question ‘but how does it get out’ . Abortion illegal and decisions regarding termination so stringent that back street abortions and subsequent morbidity thriving as the norm. The reader experiences each woman's hidden traumas in explicit and often heartbreaking and harrowing detail until an unexpected tying up of numerous ends leaves a heartwarming conclusion of friendship, support and necessary changes in their attitudes and perspectives once reality strikes closer to home. Many thanks to Author Publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This isn't the typical type of novel that I would read but was drawn in by the premise and I am glad I chose to read it.

Beautiful story, beautifully written

Thank you to the publisher for inviting me to a review a preview ARC. As I believe its such a privilege to be invited to review I almost always read and download straight away.
I am so glad that I didn’t delay reviewing In the e Family Way as it blew me away. The theme, the characters and the glimpse gives into the women’s lives for someone born not even 10 years after is eye opening. And I have spent a long time after the final paragraph thinking about these strong, courageous women long who pushed for change.

This is a glimpse into the lives of five woman and their access to their reproductive choices. With different sides of the right to choose told through five different women and the options open to them and I was just sorry that the novel came to a finish and the glimpse into the friend’s lives came to an end.

As a narrative this is an important one and I would recommend any woman to read the choices of a 1960s woman and think about the choices we have because of the battles they fought for us.

I absolutely loved this slice of 1960s America. Nostalgic, yes, but it also peeled back the veneer of the archetypal American Dream scenario to reveal what life was really like for women and housewives in the days when their options were limited in so many ways.

Absolutely brilliant book! Set in the 60s the book examines the life of a group of friends trying to navigate through times that we've long since consigned to the past .....or have we!

The times they were achangin' - and for the better.
This book is a time capsule showing the situation that existed in the mid-1960s USA and indeed in much of the world. It is even still the same in some parts of the planet.
It centres around the wives in a closed knit group in a middle class community, middle class community, who appear to be living the dream,with their own cars, the latest household appliances, weekly canasta sessions and many other things. However they are very restricted in what they can do, not in the sense of "The Stepford Wives," but they can't vote, can't sit on a jury, and not have a bank account without their husbands' permission, and many other things that are now taken for granted. They were effectively chattles under the rigorous control of their husbands.
Lanzy Katz Becker has crafted a book that takes that situation and has shown how it has changed at a very personal level for the players.
I am old enough to have lived through the times described as a teenager, though in the UK rather than the USA. Here we were a couple of years ahead due to our "invention of The Swinging Sixties" and all that it led to.
This is a thought-provoking book that deserves a very wide audience.

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.

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.