The Girls We Sent Away set in the 1960s, reminds the reader that the world of choices doesn't pertain to the unmarried female then or now.

Lorraine has big dreams for herself, indulged by her father as an only child, she thinks these dreams are attainable. Going into her Senior year of high school, she has a steady boyfriend, will be the Valedictorian, and college looms ahead, maybe even aeronautical sciences. But when pressured by her boyfriend to end their chaste relationship prior to him heading out to college a year ahead of Lorraine, she gives in. Off he goes in pursuit of his dreams, and she ends up pregnant.

What happens next is the reality that an unwed mother in the 1960s cannot be seen. She cannot continue her education or attend outside activities. She must be hid until she can be sent away. Though the housing for unwed mothers comes across as fairly decent, the young women in The Girls We Sent Away are required to mostly keep their business to themselves. No trading names, addresses, or reasons for their current state of affairs. They are isolated in their shame. They are also left in the dark of what will happen when the day of delivery arrives.

The shameful history of women being the only one to pay the price for an unplanned, unwed pregnancy is explored. Infuriating is the boyfriend who figures it's Lorraine's problem, not his. How the parents are withholding in their love and comfort. How the girls are left alone to go through childbirth and turned out of the home for unwed mothers without their baby. How the scars of the trauma are left

Lorraine is the "has it all" girl with a loving home and big expectations, including becoming an astronaut before the moon landing occurred.

One night with her boyfriend changed everything. Lorraine lived in a time when pregnancy to an unmarried woman brought huge shame. Her boyfriend quickly moved on. She could no longer attend school, and was hidden by her family until she could be sent to a maternity home where she was expected to give birth, place the baby for adoption, and return as if she were merely visiting family.

This story exemplifies what these maternity homes for 'wayward' teen girls were like. The girls were not well cared for, and were often forced to sign adoption papers. Lorraine must do her best to put one foot in front of the other while deciding with path to follow when she leaves the maternity home.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am slightly conflicted about this one. The concept was great and I found the story itself to be powerful. I really loved the MC - she was so well developed and you can’t help but root for her. She brought a ton of depth to the story. And I really enjoyed the exploration of motherhood and choice, and how this particular time period had very limited definitions of each. Watching Lorraine navigated that was inspiring.

The plot, however, was fairly formulaic. Besides one pleasant surprise in the latter half in regards to one character, this story played out exactly as I expected. And, again, while I liked the story, I wish it wasn’t quite so predictable. The writing was also hit or miss for me. There were some truly beautiful lines, but the format was a bit too much telling rather than showing for my taste.

I still genuinely enjoyed this book and it gave me a lot to think about. If you’re interested in checking it, it will be released on 3/5. Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5

4.5 stars

Loved this book so much! Lorraine is an amazing young girl
with dreams to go into space one day. Will life allow her to achieve her dreams?

Megan Church did a phenomenal job with character development and getting the reader invested in the story that is wrought with emotion. Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

Preorder yours today before the March 5, 2024 release!

A searing book club read for fans of Ellen Marie Wiseman and The Girls with No Names set in the Baby Scoop Era of 1960s and the women of a certain condition swept up in a dark history.


It’s the ‘60’s and Lorraine is about to graduate from high school with honors and a goal. She is going to space someday. Gazing through her father’s telescope, she dreams of the stars she sees.


Her boyfriend is a bit intense and she isn’t sure she sees a future there. But the day before he leaves for college, they do the deed. And now she is pregnant. And he is a ghost.


Lorraine’s parents do what most parents in the day did. Sent her to a home for unwed mothers. The girls live and work there and then give birth and are sent home. Alone.


Lorraine learns a lot in those few months. And a decision she makes will change the direction of her life. The girls come home but not anywhere close to how they went in. And Lorraine finds she isn’t the only family member who got pregnant before marriage!


Exceptional writing here. This was a heartbreaking book but I loved all of it.




NetGalley/ Sourcebooks Landmark/ March 05,2024

It’s the early 1960’s, a time when girls were expected to be “good” and not bestow shame on their families. Lorraine Delford, a high school senior and the only child in her family, was exceptionally bright and likely to be valedictorian before starting college to study science with the hope of becoming an astronaut. Her parents were proud and supportive of Lorraine’s dream until she shamefully became pregnant by her long term boyfriend. As was common during the 60’s, Lorraine was sent to a home for unwed mothers where she was hidden away and coerced to make decisions that she was not prepared to make.

Known as the “Baby Scoop Era”, the years between 1945-1973 found unmarried, pregnant young women being sent to homes for wayward girls throughout the country, where treatment and expectations were usually quite harsh. The lingering scars of this experience often stayed with the women throughout their lives. On a personal note, as a teen during this time, I vividly remember girls suddenly not showing up for school and hearing stories of one such “home” in my town. Kudos to Ms. Church fir writing with compassion and empathy as she explored the realities of this ordeal.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and Meagan Church for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this moving and emotional story in exchange for my honest opinion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the Last Carolina Girl by this author and this new story did not disappoint!

Its the 1960s when young highschool girls who got pregnant outside of marriage were shipped off to homes for unwed mothers. Lorraine Delford is an only child. She and her boyfriend have dated for two years, with her parent’s approval. Lorraine has plans to graduate high school and go to college to become an astronaut. But on the night that her boyfriend is leaving to go to college, he gives her a promise ring and Lorraine becomes pregnant.

This is such a well written, loss of innocence tale. I loved the characters and hated the spineless boyfriend. This is a well researched story from a time in history when women were punished and hidden away for having sex while their male counterparts were allowed to go on with their lives.

Highly recommend!

What an intriguing, heartbreaking read. I really loved the way Church let us into Lorraine’s life, her teenager emotions and what it is like to be raised with zero knowledge of reproduction. The Girls We Sent Away was a really wonderfully written story based on the Baby Scoop Era (which has always fascinated me) and Lorraine’s story is not unusual to the time period.

This was such a good read for book club, women’s group, even something I would consider reading with my daughter when she is a teen - this book is a yes in so many ways. The characters are deep, the social norms from that time in the south are very well represented and the ending will break your heart. Well done.

Heart-breaking, devastating, yet beautiful—this novel explores the lives of young unwed mothers in the 1960s. Sometimes hard to read, but also impossible to turn away. I wanted to scream at the unfairness, shake the parents, and comfort the young girls and their babies caught in the middle.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Many thanks to @bookmarked, @sourcebooks, and @netgalley for my #gifted (free) copy. Pub date 3/5/24.

Look at that cover! The cover is just as beautiful as Meagan's writing. I was so engrossed in this story I did not want to do anything besides read and see how Lorraine's life was going to turn out. This was such an amazing but sad book, and this story I'm sure has happened to many women in the Baby Scoop Era. I fell in love with most all the characters, and I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

Set in the 1960s, Seventeen year old Lorraine has it all: a wonderful boyfriend, two parents that love her, she is on the track for being the first female valedictorian, and going to college with dreams of being an astronaut. That is until she gets pregnant, and she is sent to a home for wayward girls. I definitely recommend picking this one up! 4.5 stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Girls We Sent Away" and all opinions expressed are my own. I was approved for both the kindle book and the audio book. I listened to the audio book. This book left me wanting more. I wanted to know what happened to the other girls (although this was not their story). I wanted to believe that what the house mother told Lorraine was not a lie. I was really hoping for a fight from Lorraine. She just believed whatever she was told even though her heart told her differently. Such a heartbreaking time in history when young women had to endure these homes. I am going to check out the authors previous book, The Last Carolina Girl.

Despite enjoying reading this book I felt it needed more development in the characters and general background to the whole story. 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for this ARC

It’s the 1960’s and Loretta had it all: a boyfriend, a well established family, and great grades leading her to college. Until she gets pregnant and is sent to a home for wayward girls.

While very different than The Last Carolina Girl, it’s also a very fast paced read that’s hard to put down. Knowing the main character’s youth and naïveté, there’s a real sense of dread the entire story. You’re not sure what will happen, but have a feeling it’s not good. It’s a very sad story, but also fairly average story for the Baby Scoop Era. This is definitely one to pick up.

“Strength is often camouflaged in the quiet, reserved places where most people wouldn’t think to look. It’s grown in the moments when we give up things along the way.”

The Girls We Sent Away comes out 3/5.

This is far outside the realm of my usual genre. This was a heartbreaking story to read, and I feel so bad for every girl who went through similar situations over the years.
Something in the writing that I felt was distracting was there were several instances of "but soon she found out just how wrong she was" or similar sounding lines. It felt a bit long-winded at times, but the story was so compelling and emotional that I kept reading.

I felt as though I needed more development of the two supporting characters backgrounds. I was left wanting to know more. I also kept waiting for a twist or development that I didn’t see coming but that never happened. Enjoyed the book, quick read.

👶 W A Y W A R D W E D N E S D A Y 👶 featuring “The Girls We Sent Away” by Meagan Church!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

It is the 1960s in North Carolina and Lorraine Delford is thriving in her life! Lorraine comes from a great family, has a loving boyfriend and is a year away from graduating high school! She has big dreams of attending college and studying in the sciences field … until one night changes EVERYTHING!

The night before her boyfriend Clint leaves for College, they take their relationship physically to the next step. Lorraine finds out that she is pregnant and her parents send her away to a maternity home for wayward girls to hide her pregnancy and protect the family name from SHAME.

Once at the home, Lorraine must sign away her rights to the baby and she is forced to follow the homes’ strict rules. There are A LOT of hush hush secrets that linger around the home and sinister intentions bubbling below the surface! Will Lorraine fight for her rights and her child or give in to the “proper” society rights??

WHO IS THIS thriller girlie reading historical fiction?? It’s been a hot minute since I read this genre … and I finished this book in one afternoon! I loved it!! Meagan Church’s writing style completely captivated me!! This story is beautifully researched, atmospheric, raw, emotional and gut wrenching!

Thank you kindly to @mchurchwriter @bookmarked @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on March 5, 2024!

I really enjoyed this book! A lot of it was expected and the ending was kind of abrupt but I fell in love with all of the characters! I wish we knew more about Mirabelle and the other girls afterwards. I’d love to follow-up with Clint and Susan as well. I’d hope there is some sort of sequel, I’d be the first to read it!

What an absolutely heartbreaking story. I really wanted much more character development and drama, but it was a riveting story without it and still a great read.

I was eager to read The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church, since I am drawn to books about how unwed mothers were treated during the 1960's. While it is completely unfair to blame the young women, since they didn't get in this predicament on their own, I enjoy reading their stories because I usually learn something new.

When Lorraine Delford finds herself pregnant in her senior year of high school, her middle class parents are shocked and ashamed. At their family doctor's urging, they send her off to a maternity home, which was a common option in that era. Families would pay a steep price for their daughters to stay there for a few months until their babies were born and typically placed for adoption. The maternity home in this story used some forceful methods to ensure that the women would relinquish their parental rights. Lorraine faces a lot of adversity and emotional upheaval during her stay. I loved that she befriended the local librarian, who tried to help her get an education. She also develops some friendships along the way. I was satisfied with the resolution and the way Lorraine grew throughout the story.

I will recommend this to readers who like historical fiction featuring women.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I fell in love with Lorraine and her positive outlook on her future. Sadly, her ambitions were halted by her child-like innocence. It’s appalling what authority figures allowed or enabled by removing young pregnant girls from society and believing it was in their best interest. Lorraine quickly learned to navigate her circumstances in an unconventional manner, but her determination would not let her be defeated. The bonds she created in the home for wayward girls are memorable and empowering!