Ghosts of the Orphanage is an expose on the treatment of institutionalized children in the twentieth century.

This story is not a happy story. It's one of terrors, terrors perpetrated against children by people who should have been protecting them, loving them, and caring for them. This book will not be for everyone, so I'd definitely be cautious of content warnings.

This book is an important one. It tells the stories of the children who were in institutional care in the twentieth century around the world, from Australia, Scotland, Ireland, England, the US, and Canada's particularly shameful history. From the Duplessis children, orphanages turned into asylums to get more money from the federal government to the residential school system where children were torn from loving homes for the sole purpose of ereasing their identities in the cruelest ways possible.

It gives voice to the terrible abuses the children faced in care and should be a reminder to us so it can never happen again.

Oddly enough, one story really struck me, and not because of the depravity of the abuse, but because of the extent of the control that was exerted over these young children and the nonsensicalness of it.

When the children would go to bed, they had to sleep on their side, facing the same way with their hands in prayer placed on their pillows, and they had to stay that way for the entire night. If they did not, they'd be pulled from bed and punished.

Imagine not being able to fall into a deep and restful sleep for fear you would shift in your sleep and be punished.

The Ghosts of the Orphanage was clearly well researched and well written. I feel that the story took great care with the experiences of the children in the care system. It was a difficult read, but I feel glad to have read it and become more educated about the orphanage system and its effects.

"I stood on the loft and looked around. I tried to conjure up Sally to see her in the chair. I wanted to tell her that I knew what happened to her. She had not been forgotten. Her words lived on. "

This was a really difficult read emotionally. I had to take palate cleansing breaks. I'm no longer shocked at what people do to each other, but it's completely heartbreaking what these children had to endure at the hands of people who knew better. You can't even make this stuff up. As difficult as it is to look back on, it's necessary. Society (and the church) need to acknowledge their mistakes and do better.

“Ghosts of the Orphanage” by Christine Kenneally is a harrowing dive into the dark history of orphanages in the 20th century. This book isn’t just a recounting of events; it’s a sociological investigation and a piece of literary journalism that brings to light the abuse, neglect, and deaths that occurred within the walls of institutions meant to protect the most vulnerable.

The book centers around St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Vermont but extends its reach globally, uncovering similar patterns of horror in orphanages across the United States, Canada, and Australia.

The narrative is gripping, as Kenneally doesn’t shy away from the grim details. She talks about children who were not only abandoned by their families but were also subjected to physical and sexual abuse by those entrusted with their care. The book details how many of these children, often Indigenous or Aboriginal, met untimely deaths at the hands of their abusers or even their fellow wards.

What makes “Ghosts of the Orphanage” particularly poignant is the focus on the survivors—those who lived through the abuse and have fought to have their stories heard. Kenneally honors their struggle by giving them a voice, shedding light on the lifelong trauma they’ve endured, which often led to substance abuse or suicide.

As a reader, I was moved by the resilience of the survivors and the depth of Kenneally’s research. Her writing is both compassionate and unflinching. “Ghosts of the Orphanage” is a powerful, well-researched book that confronts a painful chapter in history with courage and integrity.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PublicAffairs for gifting me a digital ARC of this nonfiction book by Christine Kenneally - 5 stars!

This is a meticulously researched account of 20th century orphanages and the atrocities within so many of them. Mainly focused on St Joseph's, a Catholic orphanage in Vermont but with accounts from orphanages across the country and world. More importantly, this is a story of the victims, whose abuses have been held secret, who were judged unfairly by daring to speak up years later. It's how these abuses have permeated our institutions and society and were allowed to happen unchecked for so long.

As a Catholic and the daughter of someone who lived in an orphanage in Pennsylvania for years, I was both interested and horrified to read this book. We as a society are well aware of the Catholic sex abuse scandal, but hearing from these victims is beyond disturbing. In fact, the Catholic Diocese I live in is now in bankruptcy due to the resulting lawsuits, with no clear end in sight. It's always amazing that religion and religious figures could have any part in abuse, but humans are human, sometimes very unfortunately. This book is eye-opening and doesn't revolve only around Catholic abuse, but talks about the orphanage system in general during this time period. We must do our best to make sure that this type of history is not repeated, and keeping the issue in the light is the first step.

Ten years worth of exhaustive research has resulted in a book exposing the social, educational and psychological damage caused by the systemic abuse of children trapped in an archipelago of orphanages across the world. St. Joseph’s, the now closed Catholic orphanage in Burlington, Vermont, is the focal point, but many orphanages in the US, Australia, Europe, and Asia are implicated. Neglect, exploitation, torture and death were the norms, with no one held accountable for the crimes, since policies were not transparent and records of the children were often nonexistent. Generations of orphans were often unable to believe the things that had been inflicted on them and those around them didn't believe the stories. However, psychologists emphasized the effect of these horrific events on generational trauma and memory. Personal stories and interviews were collected and compared to corroborate and verify the crimes. Lawyers were able to use this information to hold even the most recalcitrant of perpetrators accountable, but it has taken many decades. In the case of St. Joseph's, it was the priests, nuns, and hierarchy of the Catholic Church. In other areas, similar groups operated on the same manner--no transparency, no accountability, and damaged adults. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in exposing the corruption, in bringing the demons to justice, and supporting the victims.
Thank you to Public Affairs and NetGalley for the digital arc.

Ghosts of the Orphanage makes for difficult reading. I found myself profoundly moved by the graphic nature of the horrors described. The children’s recollections left me with a deep sense of unease and were extremely emotive.

I would like to tell you that the victim accounts are the worst part of this book. However, the decades of abuse remain unpunished to this day, leaving the victims without meaningful justice. The casualties are left to suffer the emotional and psychological fall-out of their abuse leaving them to exist in an uncaring, disinterested world. A world who has yet to discover the degrees of horrors which plagued their young lives.

The narrative instilled a longlasting impression upon me and an infinite number of questions. There is one question that haunts me still:

What ever happened to little Mary Clark?

Be prepared to be enraged.

This was incredibly well-researched and well-written. Being such a difficult subject, it’s hard to say I enjoyed reading it, but having finished it, I feel a sense of accomplishment because now there will be so many more people to remember the souls of those children lost.

This book was a hard topic to read about, but the true crime addict in me greatly enjoyed the pages. I previously read Christine’s Buzzfeed article and jumped at the chance to review her book about the same topic—it’s a horrific glimpse behind the curtain of organized religion and the power of the Catholic Church. Her research was thorough, and the way she presented the information wasn’t dry. I did have to read this book in small increments due to subject matter.

It’s clear a major amount of hours went into the production of this book. It gave me a lot to think about in terms of society and moral conduct and the role of the church in furthering the harm that happens with folks considered a vulnerable population.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC version of this book. Opinions are my own.

It's hard for me to rate a book like this, one that contains stories that need to be shared and need to be remembered. This book was powerful and haunting and very important. The stories of those children affected by the terrible abuse at the hands of those in power are extremely violent, and not all readers will be able to read these recollections. This books needs to be in libraries everywhere.

This book broke my heart. I obviously knew that orphanages weren't the most wonderful places for children, but these stories are horrifying! And the fact that the churches just covered everything up and no one believed the children for so long is so horrific. With all the abuse Catholic Churches are accused of, it's not so surprising that their orphanages would be abusive as well, but it wasn't just the priests doing the abusing, it was the nuns and all the other staff working there. Mental, physical and sexual abuse along with murdering children. Incredibly infuriating and heartbreaking.

Millions of American children passed through the Catholic Church’s orphanage system in the twentieth century. Some didn’t make it out alive.
BuzzFeed News investigative reporter Christine Kenneally spent years uncovering the truth about several of these institutions around the world. She interviewed children, family members, nuns, priests, and community members. And in the process, she discovered the horror of concealed crimes, including systematic abuse and even murders.
This book is difficult to read. The content tells a horrific story of trauma, abuse, crime, and cover-up. In several cases, the victims went on to victimize their children or others, an unfortunate reality of trauma.
In addition to the uncomfortable content, the flow is choppy with redundant information. The author tells part of one story and later retells the story from a different perspective, perhaps by a collaborator or during the trial.
She also shares multiple times about how far she had to drive to meet with a source. I felt annoyed, especially since she was driving to talk to someone who had been severely abused.
I appreciate this book. Its story needs to be told. It’s not easy to read, though. However, we can learn from the past. As one source notes, “Finally in 2022, people are willing to hear these stories and believe them.” But only because of the monumental perseverance of survivors. We can do better as we listen to survivors today.

This would be a book I would recommend for readers who read Betrayal : The Crisis in the Catholic Church or watched the movie, Spotlight about the Boston Globe's expose on the Church's abuse. While the main focus of this book is St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington, VT - Kenneally ties the events from Vermont to the systemic abuse within the church, not just nationally, but internationally. The victims/survivors where victimized by the Church, not once, but twice, first while living at the orphanage and the second time when the stepped forward. As they stepped forward before the Boston Globe expose, those who spoke out against the Diocese of Burlington were called liars, and worse. Despite evidence that none of the abuse is an isolated incident, the Church hierarchy continues to lay blame elsewhere. I often found myself having to step away from the book temporarily as it is a difficult topic, but also the constant stonewalling by the Church and its representatives - while also putting the blame directly on the victims. The fact that the abuse was consistent in different orphanages/school that were run by different Orders baffles me but also makes me wonder if there was an unspoken edict as to how punishment was meted out by the nuns and priests. The Church was able to get away with it for so long because they were trusted - that trust has been tarnished in the last few decades as more and more stories of abuse come to light, but rather than make a change, the Church continues to deny. While the Church also stonewalled the author, it was disturbing the information Kenneally was able to see - including the information of the Church's prior knowledge of abusive priests and the "rehabilitation" facility these priest were sent when abuse was reported. I was raised Catholic and left the Church shortly after the Boston Globe report. My great-aunt was a nun and some of my fondest memories were visiting her convent, especially for her jubilees, but I can not remain faithful to an entity that refuses to make amends for the multiple damages it has committed to children and indigenous communities throughout the world.

Books like this break my entire heart because it's a true story. To add to that, it happened to children. This book was well written but it is absolutely not for the faint of heart. I found myself taking several breaks from it. Not because it wasn't written well but because I needed to step back from what I was reading. This is not a light, fun, casual read. It's a story about real life monsters and the way victims/survivors have to fight to get their story heard.

Received this a free ARC from NetGalley.

I liked the book and the topic was so interesting. Although some cases were not brought to trial or given justice, it wasn't from lack of trying on several peoples parts. The book was overwhelming. It contained so much abuse from places around the world, who was in charge in each place, what children were there and who experienced what that it was hard to keep it all straight. There was so much information! It was observe the author spent years researching, interviewing, and looking at documents to be able to put together this book. The end of the book offers notes on each chapter and an another's note.

So heartbreaking that humans can treat each other like this, what makes/compels another person to have these thoughts and see/make themselves believe they are doing what is right. A hard read but a story that needs to be told.

This was such a tough read. It took me forever to get through. Since becoming a mom, it is so hard to read or hear about the mistreatment of any child. All the hundreds and thousands that were abused at the hands of their supposed caregivers are insane.. As a devout Catholic, it is especially hard to hear the abuse of power these nuns and brothers inflicted upon those poor babies. The secrecy and refusal to acknowledge the atrocities make me sick. I hope people who read this do not blame the Church in general but rather realize that it was a bunch of rotten apples who shine forth to give a negative spotlight on Catholics.

Thank you to Public Affairs and Netgalley for this EARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you have watched either Spotlight or The Keepers, I highly recommend you pick up this read!

Kenneally dives deep into the 20th century Catholic orphanages in America that 5 million Americans passed through and experienced lasting trauma. The author spent ten years researching for this book and it shows with multiple witness testimony and historical research, she uncovers the secret deaths of children in these orphanages.

The detailed testimony in this nonfiction investigative book was difficult to read. We are hearing from adult survivors who were maliciously beaten, laughed at, assaulted, and witnesses to murder as young children. The details of these horrific acts are things you cannot even begin to imagine. It is all hard to believe but it happened and Kenneally expresses that history will not be hidden behind closed doors anymore.

If history has shown us anything it is that the Catholic Church continues to discount the lives of children. The nuns and clergy in charge of these orphanages were responsible for the murder of possibly hundreds of children and they just got away with it. Not only are the children still bearing these scars today they're trauma will continue into the next generation.

I found Kenneally's writing easy to read but I think the layout of this book could have used some more shaping. I found at times it was a bit repetitive, and as much as I wanted to hear from every survivor, the stories started to all blend together. I did love to hear about outside of America orphanages and how those countries are working on restorative investigations.

I found this expose so important and the Catholic Church needs to stop hiding and protecting abusers and start correcting their wrongs.

Orphanages are suppose to be safe places for children without families. This is what they are suppose to be. This is also what they are NOT. After a decade of research, Christine Kenneally is on a mission to shed light on the horrors that hid behind orphanage doors. She centers her story on a catholic orphanage located in Vermont, St. Joseph's. The secrets she learned from that facility, led her to secrets hidden by other institutions from all over the world.

This is a true crime nonfiction novel which means the horrors written about in this book happened to unprotected children. Saying that, I want people to understand that it may be hard to read. Go in with open eyes when you read this story. These stories need to continue to be brought to light to provide justice and healing for the victims involved.

I have not read any of Christine Kenneally's books but that will change. I feel that this novel was well researched and presented in a fashion that requires the reader to take stock of what was allowed to happen. This book truly gives a new meaning to the phrase "generational trauma."

Special thanks to Netgalley and Public Affairs Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This review will be posted on March 21, 2023 to: https://instagram.com/amandas.bookshelf

Happy pub day! This nonfiction addresses global accounts of HORRIFIC child abuse, murders, and their cover-ups. (Check trigger warnings and please do read with care!) The lens we learn about all of this is St. Joseph's Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont, USA. Slowly, the author folds in similar accounts of abuse in places like Australia, Canada, Ireland, and Scotland. The common denominator was that the orphanages or residential/boarding schools were run by the Roman Catholic Church. It was beyond disturbing to be reminded, because this isn't the first exposé on the Catholic Church, that people were more focused on protecting the institution (and, therefore, protecting the alleged abusers) rather than protecting minor children. My only point of contention is that, at some point, the abominable and detailed descriptions of child abuse became repetitive. I hate saying that because those repetitive stories are the stories of individuals. But there are better ways for a writer to relay extremely detailed but repetitive acts of abuse. #GhostsOfTheOrphanage Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️
•
This book is scheduled for publication on March 21, 2023. Thank you @publicaffairsbooks for providing me this digital ARC via @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Public Affairs Publisher for the gifted eARC. All opinions expressed here are mine alone.

Please Note: My rating and review is solely based on my opinion of the author's research, uniqueness, writing, personal impact, intrigue, logic, and my overall opinion. It is not based on the entertainment of this sensitive subject matter and survivor accounts.
⚠️Reader discretion is advised.

𝘚𝘠𝘕𝘖𝘗𝘚𝘐𝘚...
Swipe for the full description ⏭️⏭️
This book explores many crimes perpetrated and covered up in Orphanages around the world in the twentieth century. Although this book is not limited to one orphanage, it centers around the Catholic-operated, St. Joseph's Orphanage in Vermont.

💭 𝘔𝘠 𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘜𝘎𝘏𝘛𝘚
I'm not going to lie, this book is filled with difficult and triggering content. However, it's important that the world knows and understands that this is real. These horrible and atrocious acts that seem unbelievable actually transpired not too long ago.

'𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏, "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆." '

The author did a phenomenal job researching and interviewing the survivors of St. Joseph's while also interviewing victims' of comparable crimes in orphanages around the world. The connections and similarities of crimes committed in these orphanages are astounding. I have a lot of respect for this author, whose investigative journalism assisted with bringing these hidden secrets into the light. Ultimately leading to changes in laws and forcing the Catholic church to make changes to its records system.

The only criticism I have is that some information was repetitive and it seemed as though different orphanage interviews and information were intermixed with the case of St. Josephs's orphanage.

𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘈𝘓𝘓...
If you are seeking an eye-opening read and want to learn more about what happened inside this orphanage and what changes have been made, then this book is for you.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 (CAWPILE 7.71)