The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore

Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist

Genre: Nonfiction, 19^th century America, women’s rights, mental health

Suggested Age: Adult

What is the book about?  In 1860, Elizabeth Packard was locked away in an asylum for three years by her husband.   At the time, Illinois law required a public trial for anyone to be committed against their will, except in the case of a husband committing his wife. This book details how she persevered despite her confinement in the Jacksonville Insane Asylum.  Once released, after being declared “incurable,” Elizabeth fought to change the law so that other married women like her could not be committed by their husbands simply by declaring them insane for any reason.  She fought to be with her children. She fought to free her friends, still institutionalized.  She fought for married women throughout the country, changing laws in several states. Elizabeth Packard just wanted to be a mother to her children, but she ended up being so much more.

My Review: I listened to the e-audiobook on the Axis 360 app and found it to be a riveting book. I really wanted to know how Elizabeth’s story ended and finished listening in just a few days.  This was a fascinating piece of history that I had never heard before. Elizabeth Packard was not only tenacious and fearless, she was also admirable for her lack of vengeance, despite the deplorable treatment she endured. Kate Moore has done a fabulous job of bringing this story to light.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Inspirational, Captivating, Enlightening

Give This a Try if You Like…Radium Girls by Kate Moore, Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy, The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

Rating: 5/5

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Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin

Reviewed by: Beth Weimer, Communications Specialist

Genre: Literary Fiction

Suggested Age: Adults

What is the Book About?: Somewhere, an idyllic but isolated community lives amongst the clouds in a remote mountain valley. Growing up, young girls like Vera experience a lifestyle that is wholesome and traditional, except for the ‘affliction’ that marks their community: the regular, unexplained disappearance of young mothers. It’s a burden they bear collectively because it makes them special, unlike towns Elsewhere; something strangers like Ruth will never understand. But the constant speculation of who will go next takes on different depths when Vera becomes a mother and begins to feel herself slipping away, like her own mother did long ago…

My Review: There’s not a whole lot I can say without spilling this story’s secrets. I was left with a lot of questions, but I really enjoyed Schaitkin’s atmospheric style, framing, and peripheral insights. Obviously, the novel explores the all-consuming nature of motherhood, and there’s much to unpack within the role’s mythological layers of love, status, sacrifice, and darkness. The story also exposes our capacity for cruelty, obsession, and self-inflicted realities, as well as the inescapable impact of place. The vagueness of time and other elements leaves a lot open to the reader’s interpretation, and I realized the twist long before Vera did, but still enjoyed the unfolding. This book is sometimes categorized as dystopian or speculative, but I can’t imagine our own Elsewheres don’t actually exist.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Provocative, Broody, Memorable

Give This a Try if You Like… Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Rating: 4/5

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