Thank you @bookmarked @netgalley and @recordedbooks for the complimentary ARC & ALC.

Many times people have asked a QOTD along the lines of who was a character you really related to, and I’ve never had an answer… until now. I saw so much of myself in Lorraine, high school senior straight A student, college bound and suddenly being forced to leave school. There is where our stories diverge. I had the support of my family, and Lorraine was sent to a maternity home to hide her pregnancy.

I was completely engrossed in this book from start to finish. My heart broke for Lorraine and for all girls that were sent to those homes! Decisions were made for, and about them, without once ever talking to them. I cannot begin to fathom how you recover from such trauma.

I mostly listened to this book, the narrator Susan Bennet was the perfect voice for Lorraine, but I’m so glad that I also had a physical copy because the audio did not include the author’s note. I knew about these maternity homes before but I had no idea as to the scale of it. I also didn’t know about The Baby Scoop Era which lasted from 1945-1973! An estimated four million women were sent to these homes. Four million! Knowing there were so many other stories like Lorraine and the other girls at the home just made this story hit home even more.

Highly recommend!

Wow, what a heartbreaking story. It was incredibly well written and researched. The characters were real and the story was moving. I switched between the audio and e version of this, and they were both wonderful. The history of pregnant girls during a time when this was not accepted created emotional turmoil for not only the pregnant girl but her family and friends. At times a very difficult, although well written book - the tears were flowing and I was on an emotional roller coaster throughout. An important story and piece of history - one that we should not forget.
Thank you Netgalleyfor my advanced reader copies.

Wow, Church has established herself as an author that is determined to shine light on the murky, ugly underbelly of pregnancy in the 1960s.Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for my early copies of THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY, which is out now!

This sophomoric novel follows Lorraine, a girl that is set to be valedictorian of her graduating class and has big dreams of NASA and space. Unfortunately, in class 1960s style, she is socked away into a girls’ home while she carries her unwed pregnancy to term. I applauded and cheered as Lorraine continued to learn and grow as a smart young woman, I cried tears for those around her and their immeasurable loss, and I just wanted to jump into this book and give her a big hug and tell her it will be okay.

Church has gone and written a novel that is as good, if not better, than her first novel! Well done!!

Love it, highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys historical fiction, strong FMCs, NASA and the space race, plus the 1960s as a setting.

Wow. I don’t know where to begin with this one.

I cried, I was angry, I responded to the narrator out loud several times. This book hooked me within the first page and also broke my heart several times over.

Meagan Church wrote the most incredible story about a time when women had little to no rights as birth mothers. Women/Girls who became pregnant before wedlock were prayed upon by so called people of faith to right the wrongs and “deal” with the situations.

It gave you an inside look into the adoption craze of the 60’s and where those babies actually came from.

This book is so powerful. It is eye opening and a beautiful piece of our past.

I will be singing this books praises for a long time and recommending to any female I know.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I am so grateful!

This book was so sad and rage-inducing! So much shame and blaming of the girls/women this happened to back then - but really it isn't that much different today except now we are trying to FORCE them to keep babies they don't want. We really haven't come that far regarding this issue, sadly. This book was really well written and sucked you right into Lorraine's world. This was my 1st book by Megan Church but will not be my last!

#TheGirlsWeSentAway
#NetGalley

This one was good, but I honestly wanted to like it more. I felt a bit lost and unable to connect with the characters. This plotline makes me sad too. I cannot believe this is how was treated (yikes still treat?) women. The writing is engaging and nicely done. I just personally couldn’t connect. I do recommend this though as it’s an extremely important topic to bring awareness to.

I loved this story. Probably more so than most people because I am a teen mom myself. The story kept me interested. The narrator was easy to understand. I can't stop thinking about this story!

From the celebrated author of The Last Carolina Girl, THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY tells the important tale of the Baby Scoop Era when young unwed pregnant women were sent to maternity homes to carry out their final trimesters in order to prevent scandal from befalling their families. These women were tricked into giving up their babies as soon as they were born, often having very little say in the matter.

This is a heartbreaking tale based on a tragic part of our history that I think deserves more attention. Well told and timely, I think this novel would make an excellent book club read.

If you enjoyed Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall, then I would highly recommend giving this one a go.

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Girls We Sent Away, by Meagan Church, is the kind of audiobook that makes you come up with reasons to get in the car just so you can keep listening without distractions at home. The story is emotional and interesting, and the narrator, Susan Bennett, is pitch perfect. Highly recommend!!!!

This was a side of history I hadn’t read much of, but found to be an interesting read. Lorraine, our main character, is a model student. About to be valedictorian of her class with a fond interest in science she is looking forward to further education and not a housewife like her mother. On a special event her boyfriend takes her out for a picnic and she finds herself pregnant. In this era of the 1960s unwed pregnancy still means shame for a family and when her boyfriend refuses to marry her Lorraine is sent to a home for teenage pregnancies.

3.5 stars

"The Girls We Sent Away" by Meagan Church is historical fiction set in the 1960s in the Southern US. The main character, Lorraine Delford, is a smart girl from a good family with a decent boyfriend. Clint is one year ahead of her and she is going into her senior year. She is planning to be class valedictorian and go to college. Then a month or so after an intimate goodbye date with Clint, she discovers she is pregnant. She thinks they will get married.. but that's not his plan.

Lorraine's parents send her to a home for unwed pregnant teens to spend the last trimester and force them to give up the babies for adoption.

This is a well written and heart wrenching book. I related to Lorraine wanting to get an education. It is real and painful to witness this even through a book. It is an important piece of the history of our country.

Characters 4/5
Writing 4/5
Plot 3/5
Pacing 4/5
Unputdownability 3/5
Enjoyment 2/5
Narration 4/5 by Susan Bennett
Cover 4/5, pretty just not hour I imagined the home to look
Overall 3.5/5

The audiobook does not have the afterword from the author mentioned in other reviews.

Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media, and Meagan Church for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church is a heartbreaking work of historical fiction. This one will tug on your heartstrings for a long time, much like Sadeqa Johnson's The House of Eve. You are on the journey with Lorraine Delford from beginning to end, watching her dreams fade away as she travels through the world of the maternity home for wayward girls, and then, as she reemerges back into the world with her new reality. She will never be the same, but as a reader, you become her biggest cheerleader, with hope on both your sides.

So glad I chose it. It’s a little slow moving but it’s beautifully written. There’s a lot of background information and detailed descriptions which add to the depth of the story.
I had the good fortune of receiving the audiobook version. The narration, by Susan Bennett, is well paced. Her pleasant, calm voice is easy to listen to. I enjoyed listening to this heart wrenching story.
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to enjoy the audiobook version of this ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The Girls We Sent Away. The author did a good job balancing character dialogue and narration. The narration was easy to follow as the narrator did a good job distinguishing characters. This thought provoking book has gut wrenching & heartbreaking moments, but is a beautiful description of the time era. I definitely recommend!

The Girls We Sent Away was the first book that I had the pleasure of reading by Meagan Church. I listened to the audiobook that was well narrated by Susan Bennett. It was a heartbreaking, emotional and thought provoking book about a subject that has been written about over the years. The Girls We Sent Away took place in the southern state of North Carolina during the 1960’s. It was a time where society dictated the role that women were expected to play. Any deviations from what was considered the “norm “ was frowned upon, challenged and covered up if possible. One was led to believe that mistakes had to paid for. The payoffs could be demoralizing, lonely and life changing.

Lorraine Delford was the kind of daughter any parent would have been proud to call their own. At sixteen years old, Lorraine was on the trajectory to becoming the valedictorian of her graduating high school class. Her aspirations were to become an astronaut and discover things about space that had never been explored. Lorraine’s ambitions were to attend college and have a career. This was not the norm in the 1960’s. Women were expected to marry, have babies and keep home for their husbands. That was what her mother’s life looked like but Lorraine wanted more. She was an only child of parents who provided Lorraine with a good upbringing that emphasized recognizing right from wrong. Her mother was quite strict with Lorraine and always warned Lorraine about living a life that portrayed her as a good girl. Lorraine had her father wrapped around her little finger. She knew how to get her father’s approval for things she wanted to do. It was her father and not her mother that finally had given Lorraine permission to become the only female lifeguard the summer before her senior year of high school. Her mother was worried more about how revealing Lorraine’s bathing suits were. Lorraine had a steady boyfriend. Clint was a regular guest at the Delford home for family dinners. He was about to go off to college in the fall. As that summer progressed, Lorraine felt herself giving in to more of Clint’s urges and desires. Lorraine expected that someday in the future she would probably marry Clint. He had told Lorraine that he loved her and had given her a promise ring before he left for college. One night, though, would change Lorraine’s life forever even though Clint’s would remain unchanged.

There was no sense in trying to deny the facts any longer. Lorraine knew deep down in her gut that she was pregnant. It had only been that one time but here she was pregnant with Clint’s baby. She knew deep in her heart that Clint would do the right thing by her. They would get married. Clint was only in his freshman year but they would find a way for him to continue his education, have the baby and become a family. How disillusioned Lorraine had been. Clint wanted nothing to do with Lorraine’s plan or her. Lorraine was forced to divulge everything to her parents. After the pregnancy was confirmed, Lorraine’s parents saw that sending her away for the last few months of the pregnancy was their only choice. They were disappointed and embarrassed by her actions. Lorraine’s parents wanted to avoid the shame and humiliation they would experience if their friends, neighbors or family discovered Lorraine’s situation. Arrangements were made for Lorraine to spend the last few months of her pregnancy at a home for unwed mothers. Lorraine was fed falsehoods about the life she was expecting to live at the home. More than anything, Lorraine wanted to graduate from high school. She only had a few months left. Surely she could attend school at the home. Lorraine couldn’t have been more wrong about the expectations she had for her life at the home her parents had selected for her to live at. She would soon learn that all the girls who entered this home were only expected to give birth to the baby they were carrying, give the baby up and then return home to their former lives as if nothing had occurred. Would Lorraine be able to do that?

The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church was well written and researched. The fates of these young girls and what was expected of them were dictated by a society that was burdened down with “norms and expectations”. Most often these girls were left on their own to endure the remainder of their pregnancies and the births of their babies. Many of these girls were so naive. Mothers never explained a great many things to their daughters just because those subjects were not usually spoken about. It was a sad time to be a woman. How unfair that society recognized the acts performed by women as scandalous but placed no consequences on men! My heart went out to Lorraine and all she had to endure on her own. As a mother, I find it extremely difficult to understand Lorraine’s parents decisions, actions and why they prioritized the opinions and attitudes of their friends over the welfare of their only child. I know times were different but a parent should always choose their child first and above others. I enjoyed reading The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Publication was March 5, 2024.

This was a really good book to listen to. Susan Bennett did a wonderful job narrating this story. I found her voice very soothing and kept me hooked through this book. Meagan Church did a wonderful job writing this story. It's so sad that girls back then were just shipped off instead of cared for by their family or parents. This is a beautiful but heartbreaking story and you won't want to stop listening. Lorraine is a likable character and Meagan will make you feel what it would be like to be in her shoes. There is a little twist close to the end. I would definitely recommend this book!


Thank You NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to this ARC for my honest opinion.

In book news, I recently read Girls We Sent Away. It was the story of Lorraine, a teenager in the south in the 1960s who was sent away to a home after becoming pregnant with her boyfriend’s baby. This story was gripping and so emotional. Looking at Lorraine who was the valedictorian of her class with aspirations of being an astronaut being treated as she has done something so wrong and having all of her dreams stripped away was heartbreaking. How the girls and women were treated was horrific, completely abandoned and let down by everyone in their lives was heavy but also kept me fixated. I loved the relationships among the girls at the home and glimpses of hope for them after the strength of being together. It was so important to see how women were treated to ensure and fight to make sure that we never end up there again.

The Girls We Sent Away is a well-written story of love and loss, shame and survival.

The author has done an excellent job of researching the Baby Scoop Era and then reflecting this through the heartbreaking story of Lorraine - a story that is powerful and rich in detail. In fact, I wasn’t ready for the story to end! I wanted to hear more about Lorraine - how she (hopefully) went onto survive and carve a future for herself that was likely different from her childhood dreams.

The audiobook is very well narrated by Susan Bennett. The pace is perfect, allowing the story to flow and be understood by the listener. She beautifully brings the characters to life.

This is the first novel by Meagan Church that I have read; I recommend it and would be happy to read further novels from this author.

Thank you to the audio publisher, RB Media for an audio copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a heart wrenching story!

First of all thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this advance copy audio of The Girls We Sent Away! This story is a vital one. As someone who personally encountered motherhood at a young age on accident (not much differently than Lorraine), this hit me in all the feels. You instantly gauge how incredibly different women were treated and dealt with in the 50s & 60s. The limited belief systems of what women were capable of…. just infuriated me and also broke my heart. Such an important piece of history for people to read to remember where we never want to be again. 💔 Overall, I enjoyed this on audio. I hoped for a little more at the end but thought the epilogue was nice.

I really loved this book! The audiobook narration was great. The plot and the character development were well fleshed out and enjoyable to read.