Why did I love this book?
Did you know that a husband could commit his wife to an insane asylum, without a doctor’s diagnosis, in the late 1800s? Elizabeth Packard was one of them. Her courage and deep desire to help others and herself escape unfair and inhumane treatment in the Illinois State Hospital and the reality that a woman was often viewed as a servant is an insight into women’s ever-changing roles. Growing up as a baby-boomer and experiencing the hippie generation, I felt a tug in two directions—freedom to be who I was created to be and growing up under my mother’s mentorship where Dad was head of the house. Elizabeth’s story could have been mine.
3 authors picked The Woman They Could Not Silence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
From the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Radium Girls comes another dark and dramatic but ultimately uplifting tale of a forgotten woman hero whose inspirational journey sparked lasting change for women's rights and exposed injustices that still resonate today.
1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of twenty-one years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened-by Elizabeth's intellect, independence,…