Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this audiobook for my honest opinion.

The overall story was very good. However, it didn't keep me hooked. Lorraine's internal conversations were a little long for my liking. When she's about to tell her boyfriend she is pregnant, well, we get it. She's nervous.

The narrator did a fantastic job! Would listen to more by her!

I enjoyed this book. This is a good medium-fast paced book/audiobook.
Quick plot: Smart and slightly naive aspiring astronaut girl is forced to grow up as a secret grows and changes her whole life forever.
I appreciated the strength of the FMC, Lorraine.
The very clear and quick setting of the scene (North Carolina suburbs) and time period (1960’s) made me feel like I was there.
The different points of view and flashback scenes were intriguing and enjoyable.
I liked the narrator. Her American accents helped the story. It took a few chapters to get used to Susan doing the guys’ voices but then it was good after that. Very talented to manage so many different characters so quickly. Her voice helped you empathise with the characters.

Meagan Church made me cry. Multiple times. I was not at all prepared for how emotionally draining and raw THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY would be... but I don't know why I would expect anything less from the author of The Last Carolina Girl.

In this novel, it centers on the often untold truth of the fact that in America's past often times girls that became unexpectedly pregnant were sent away to homes for wayward girls to have their child out of the public eye and it be taken from them: this is the case of Lorraine in this novel; a high school senior at the top of her class with dreams and ambitions; til they're destroyed by her parents decision to take her to a home full of suffering and secrets and lies as she completes her last two trimesters.

There's so much emotion running rampant in this novel; and some of it comes unexpectedly in the littlest of dialogue- the side characters in the book often steal the show, and even as I turned the last pages my heart wept for some of those minor characters.

Buy the whole damn case of Kleenex from Costco, and then pickup THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY on March 5th when it releases from Sourcebooks; thanks to the publisher for an ALC.

Lorraine is your not so typical girl next door. It’s the 1960’s but she has big dreams, she wants to go to space. She has the perfect life. A nice boyfriend, summer job and is set to graduate top of her class. That is until after one night she gets pregnant. Her parents decide to send her away to a home for wayward girls to “solve their problems.” Now Lorraine must face the reality of what these homes are really like and the dark secrets that comes with it.

What can I say? This story broke my heart! I think I ran through every emotion while reading it. This was so beautifully written and well researched. It’s just so hard to believe that not so long ago these girls were being shipped off, and babies being ripped away, and don’t even get me started on childbirth back then. It’s also an important story to be told, especially during the baby broker era. This is definitely work picking up.

Thank you @bookmarked @mchurchwriter for this book!

Set in the 1960's, 17-year old Lorraine finds herself pregnant with her high school boyfriend. With little choice and no one to protect her, Lorraine is banished to a home for unwed mothers to wait out her time until she gives birth. Full of potential, Lorraine's life is totally upended and her life is changed forever. Full of secrets, The Girls We Sent Away is a really powerful book, especially in the current era where women's choices and bodily autonomy are under assault on a daily basis. Your heart will ache for the beautiful, brilliant Lorraine as she realizes that life isn't fair for young women with no choice. I listened to the audio version of the book. Meagan Church is a beautiful writer and the narrator was excellent.

A great historical fiction read. I listened to this one in audiobook form and really enjoyed the narrators storytelling.

I thought the author did a great job with this novel. Although I wasn’t born in the 60’s I did get pregnant right after high school graduation. I always am interested to see if an author can really harness all the emotions and feelings of something so many people actually go through and Church did just that. This book had me emotionally many times as it made me recall many of my own experiences with a teenage/unwed pregnancy. I’m so thankful that we have come so much farther (though still not far enough) than what Lorraine had to experience by being sent away. I thought Church did a great job creating and building her character. I only wish we would have gotten more character building with some of the other pregnant girls at the maternity home. Church did a great job focusing on the way the world was during this time period. I enjoyed the connection with the space race and all of Lorraine’s aspirations but the period of time found all the ways it could to keep women grounded. I also really liked the epilogue seeing how Lorraine was a bit later after she returned home.

The Baby Scoop Era should be discussed more.

I had high hopes for the premise of this book; unfortunately, this was a bit of a swing and a miss for me.

Everything felt too surface level. Lorraine was a bit naive, her parents were horrendous but seemed to be forgiven quite quickly. All the dramatic turn of events that took place at the maternity home felt glossed over and moved on from quickly. We never even got a resolution from one of the situations. Allen seemed like a sweet guy, but we never got to really know him, either.

I guess I was hoping for a book that would make me cry, and this wasn’t it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

THIS BOOK MADE ME FEEL ALL THE THINGS
🌟4.25🌟

I loved this book from the beginning - the setting in NC and time period (1960s) captured me instantly. This would be a good read for fans of Diane Chamberlain. This would also be a really good read for a bookclub - especially to discuss similarities and differences of then vs. now (what has changed/evolved and what hasn’t - and whether that’s good or bad).

Lorraine is a dichotomy of naïveté and intelligence - she develops a lot throughout the book via introspection and (sometimes painful) interactions with adults (who are supposed to keep her safe/know what to do). Overall, i highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of the audiobook. I am excited to read this author’s debut work from last year, and i will definitely follow her CV moving forward!

We all know of the distorted views in past generations where it would seem single women managed to 'get themselves pregnant' as if every pregnancy was an immaculate conception or a very short-term one! This book shines the light on a path so many women have faced over decades and I find myself drawn to stories like this one, probably because I have two younger brothers born in the 1960s (both adopted) and I imagine their poor birth mothers going through similar emotional pain.
The book kept my interest and I couldn't wait to see how it would end since there is rarely a happy ending when you have to give a baby up. The author handled it well.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook of this heartwrenching story.

Master storyteller Meagan Church (favorite author) returns following her smashing debut, The Last Carolina Girl, with her latest, THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY —a gripping, heartbreaking, and profoundly emotional tale inspired by a dark time in Southern history.

Set in North Carolina 1960s, in the Baby Scoop Era we meet Lorraine Delford, an only child. She has been dating her boyfriend, Cliff, with her parent’s approval for two years, and he’s about to go to college. She is starting her last year of high school and plans to be the valedictorian at Mecklenburg High.

Lorraine is intelligent and interested in science and the space race. As a girl she discovered her love of stars with her father's telescope and wants to be an astronaut. Her parents are all about appearances. She considers herself a good girl. However, one night the trajectory of her life changes.

When Lorraine winds up pregnant, and things do not go as she expected with the father, her parents want to send her off to a home for wayward girls. They want to hide her away and pretend this never happened. They offer no support, love, or sympathy. They drop her off. She is afraid and scared. Her parents make up excuses that she is off caring for her aunt and their babies.

Lorraine hopes she will be able to study and get her degree while away, but the school offers no support except a finishing school to each of you how to fold napkins and housewife duties.

At a loss, she finally meets a librarian interested in her and her studies. One obstacle after another, and the folks at the home do not care if you want to keep your baby. They have families lined up and as a young girl they take away your choices with lies and deceit and destroy your self-confidence. Lorraine never expected her life to turn out the way it did.

Oh, how I loved this book. Lorraine's dreams were shattered and had no one to support her. You will despise the parents and Cliff, the boyfriend. You will root for Lorraine until the end. You will laugh and cry (mostly cry).

I loved this book, and my favorite for March. If you read Meagan Church's previous book, THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL (our interview), you will devour THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY. Meagan is an incredible gifted storyteller and enjoy her writing style—one of my favorite Southern authors.

Set in Charlotte, North Carolina (I am a native— growing up in this same area & time period) during the Baby Scoop Era of the 1960s, the women of a particular condition were swept up in a dark history. They had no voice in the decisions affecting their lives.

It is heartbreaking, powerful, and beautifully written; you will fall in love with Lorraine! A Must-Read (Southern Fiction, historical, coming of age, literary, mothers/daughters, family drama). 5 Stars ++ and Top Books of 2024.

Meticulously researched, rich in detail and history, I enjoyed the author's notes and the sparks that ignited the inspiration behind the book. A book of shame, resilience, courage, survival, finding the strength to pick up the pieces of shattered dreams, and the strength o piece together new ones, and keep moving forward. The book will remain with you long after the book ends. Thank you for telling this essential story.

AUDIOBOOK: I read both books and listened to the audiobooks narrated by the fabulous Susan Bennett (a favorite) —the performances were spellbinding! Susan made the characters come alive!

THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY is ideal for book clubs and further discussions. On sale March 5, 2024, by Sourcebooks Landmark. For fans of her first book THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL, Sadeqa Johnson's The House Of Eve and Diane Chamberlain's Necessary Lies.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for a gifted ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: March 5, 2024
March 2024 Must-Read Books
March Newsletter

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Pub Date: Today, 3/5/24

Thanks you at RBMedia and @netgalley for the audio ARC.

I struggle on rating this one to be honest. It’s beautifully written, but also made me so angry that I needed to take breaks.

Set in the 1960’s, teenage Lorraine gets pregnant. She’s sent away by her family to have the baby. Lorraine is expecting a safe haven, but it’s anything but.

This one was a hard read, but also felt really important to understand how young women - and young men - were treated when an unplanned teenage pregnancy disrupted their wholesome lives.

#TheGirlsWeSentAway #MeaganChurch #ARCReview #BookReview #RBMedia #Netgalley

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲
𝐁𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟑.𝟓.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐻𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑃𝑢𝑏 𝐷𝑎𝑦!


The 1960s is one of my favorite periods to read about. It has such a diverse dichotomy. While some were preaching and practicing free love, a majority were rigid and closed-minded.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐲 follows Lorraine Delford a bright high schooler with dreams of becoming an astronaut.

But when a boy steals her heart and her virginity, she finds herself pregnant. Her parents are not about to let their daughter’s dalliance soil their sparkling reputation. They decide to send her away to a maternity home for unwed mothers, hidden away from the world, with little or no choices of her own.

Although this storyline, unfortunately, is not a new concept, it never fails to evoke strong emotions in me. Whether the author intended it or not, I disliked almost everyone except Lorraine and her loyal friend Alan. People treated Lorraine poorly; my heart went out to her, yet she was strong and resilient.

The story is paired with the space race of the '60s as we expanded our horizons, yet this sheds light on how women were forced into decisions - leaving them with no voice.

Thank you @bookmarked for the gifted book.

Thank you @recordedbooks for the gifted audiobook.

Heartbreaking yet riveting! I couldn't put this down, even though many of the adults in this book angered me - these poor girls!!!

Church pens the untold stories of teen pregnancy in the 1960s. Parents and society, at this time, viewed teenage pregnancy as shameful and should be hidden at all costs. Consequently, parents sent their daughters to a home for unwed pregnant teens, where they were often coerced into giving up their babies for adoption. Church examines the experiences of these young girls from diverse backgrounds who had limited choices and autonomy over their bodies, leading to psychological scars. Their stories I found upsetting, challenging, and heartbreaking to read, but I believe that's the exact emotions Church hoped to elicit as she unfolded this unsavory history.

Susan Bennett's narration is excellent! She performs the multiple POVs seamlessly. Her tone and inflection add to the innocence of our teenage girls while also adding to the southern feel of the story.

If you're looking to read about women's history this month, be sure to add The Girl We Sent Away to your reading list.

When Teenage Lorraine gets pregnant unexpectedly in the 1960s, her parents send her to a home for wayward girls to have the baby.

This was such a hard look at our history and what happened to many girls during this time period. Shows how they didn’t have the support needed and appearances were what mattered to a lot of families.

It was a sad but powerful story!!

What happened to unwed girls/women who became pregnant during the 1960’s?
In Church’s book you follow along a young woman who goes from having college aspirations to being disgraced in just a few short weeks.

She did a wonderful job of making me feel every emotion that the FMC felt; especially as a mother who had her first child out of wedlock.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to the Advanced Copy.
This book is now available for the public and is a must read!

A fantastic but heartbreaking book. This was beautifully done and obviously very well researched. It makes me sick to think of the way these girls were treated and my blood was boiling for most of the book. I’m getting worked up again just thinking about the hypocrisy.

Set in 1964, THE GIRLS WE SENT AWAY tells the story of an extremely promising young woman whose life is derailed after she becomes pregnant. Lorraine is on track to be the first female valedictorian of her high school, yet she’s never been taught about sex. She isn’t promiscuous or boy crazy. She’s been going steady with a boy her parents approve of, and like more than she does, for years. Guess which one of them walks away from the “scandal” Scott-free??

The immense responsibility and shame these young women dealt with despite not being offered any education on the subject was difficult to process. This was definitely an impactful read, and unfortunately a timely one as well considering the current state of women’s rights. In some regards, we’ve come a long way but this book also served as a reminder that women still deserve so much better.

🎧The narrator was great but she is clearly older than 17-year-old Lorraine and sometimes it sounded like my own aunt was reading to me which was a bit odd. Personal problem, I know, but it made it hard to actually picture Lorraine.

As a new mom, this book really hit me. I couldn't even imagine going through what young women pregnant out of wedlock went through not that long ago. I wish there had been more character and story development at times, and the switch narrator POV throughout the book was a bit hard to follow with the audio book version. But I really liked the narrator, and the story did keep me engaged. A solid historical fiction read.

4.25⭐️

Set in 1960’s North Carolina, this story revolves around seventeen-year-old Lorraine Delford. An only child of dutiful parents who take pride in her accomplishments, Lorraine has a good life at home, is top of her class and has ambitions beyond being a wife and mother as is traditionally expected of women. When an unplanned pregnancy threatens to change everything for her, Lorraine is resilient and makes an effort to accept how her life will change, but her boyfriend abandons her and her parents offer no support instead sending her away to a maternity home for unwed mothers to hide their shame and protect their reputation in their community. Hoping that she would be able to continue her education while there, she is shocked to see the indifferent, uncaring attitude of the housemother and doctors in whose care she has been entrusted realizing that she is expected to return to her former life after she gives birth and gives up her child. She meets others- both like and unlike herself - a reality check that compels her to take stock of her life and reflect on her priorities, the difficult choices she needs to make and the choices that have been made for her fully aware that her life will never be the same even though she is expected to go on as if this episode in her life never happened.

The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church is an incredibly moving story. Beautifully written, heart wrenching yet thought-provoking, this novel captures the social landscape of the Baby Scoop Era and the plight of unwed young girls who were forced to succumb to familial and societal pressure to relinquish their rights to their children. Lorraine’s journey is a painful one as she evolves from a sheltered young girl to a young mother forced to face the reality of her situation and the society in which she lives. It was heartbreaking to witness the challenges faced by these young girls, alone with no guidance or emotional support, their choices taken away from them and let down by everyone they should have been able to trust. The author is brutally honest in her depiction of the psychological toll of her experiences and the emotional scars she carries into her adulthood. Granted those were different times, but it is sad to read stories about women who are judged for mistakes for which they alone were not responsible and how easy it was for society, community and their families to shame them into submission. The author has presented us with a powerful story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading this book.

This was my first time reading this author and I'm eager to explore more of her work.
I paired my reading with audio narration by Susan Bennett, who breathes life into the characters and this story, for an absorbing immersion reading experience.

Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the digital review copy and RB Media for the ALC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Happy Pub Day to the amazing, beautiful & talented @mchurchwriter!

Thank you AGAIN for another spectacular story! Thank you as well to @bookmarked @netgalley @recordedbooks for the physical, digital & audio galleys!

Meagan told me early on that this one was “different” from The Last Carolina Girl. And it was, to a certain degree. This story dives into a similar-ish situation, but in a completely different time period and dilemma facing young girls. I absolutely LOVED it!

Meagan has a talent for drawing the reader into her stories. They are incredibly atmospheric & will have the reader going through every single emotion. This was another magnificent, heartbreaking novel that I recommend everyone reading ASAP.

Set in 1960s North Carolina, Lorraine Delford comes from a prominent, upstanding family & dreams of being an astronaut. She is an extraordinary teenager who is destined for amazing things.

Sadly, Lorraine become pregnant after having sex for just the first time with her boyfriend. To a family like the Delfords, this is extremely shameful & not tolerated, so she is sent off to a maternity home under the guise of a finishing school. Young girls & women are sent there to finish out their pregnancy, give birth & go home. But there is more to this maternity home than meets the eye. There are many sinister secrets held within its walls and what happens to these young soon-to-be mothers.

This novel will affect the reader, deeply. Meagan gives us a heartbreaking glimpse into what it meant to be a pregnant teen during this era of our history. What makes it even more heartbreaking is that this is more than just a story. Yes, this specific story is a work of fiction, but it addresses very real issues that plagued young mothers during this time period.

5/5 Stars – Meagan – please tell me Book 3 is underway! I already can’t wait!

#TheGirlsWeSentAway #MeaganChurch #History #Fiction #HistoricalFiction #Adoption #BabyScoopEra #Babies #NASA #Astronaut #Dreams #Historical #Adult #Mystery #Heartbreaking #Relevant #MustRead #ARC #Audiobook #Audio #2024 #March #Sophomore #Pregnancy #Shame #Bookstagram #Bibliophile #Books #Read #Reading

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced audiobook copy. The narrator did an excellent job. This book is filled with a lot of emotion. Highly recommend.