“This story will have readers not only rooting for Ginny and Lucy, but thinking about them long after the last page is turned.” — Lisa Wingate, New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours PopSugar’s 30 Must-Read Books of 2019 Good Housekeeping’s 25 Best New Books for Summer 2019 Better Homes & Gardens 13 New Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Summer The heartbreaking and … Read This Summer
The heartbreaking and uplifting story, inspired by incredible true events, of how far one mother must go to protect her daughter.
Dover, Massachusetts, 1969. Ginny Richardson’s heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded.” Ab tried to convince Ginny it was for the best. That they should grieve for their daughter as though she were dead. That they should try to move on.
But two years later, when Ginny’s best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth–its squalid hallways filled with neglected children–she knows she can’t leave her daughter there. With Ginny’s six-year-old son in tow, Ginny and Marsha drive to the school to see Lucy for themselves. What they find sets their course on a heart-racing journey across state lines–turning Ginny into a fugitive.
For the first time, Ginny must test her own strength and face the world head-on as she fights Ab and his domineering father for the right to keep Lucy. Racing from Massachusetts to the beaches of Atlantic City, through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to a roadside mermaid show in Florida, Keeping Lucy is a searing portrait of just how far a mother’s love can take her.
“A heartrending yet inspiring novel that kept me reading late into the night.” –Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Edge of Lost
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This is a book that you will want to read in one or two days because it is such a compelling story. Ginny and Ab are married and have one son when Ginny gives birth to Lucy, a daughter with Down’s Symdrome. Because of the stigma attached, Ab;s father insists that Lucy needs to go into an institution. Lucy stays there until Willowridge comes under investigation and it is discovered that the conditions there and their treatment of the children is deplorable. At this point in the story, Ginny is determined to take charge of her child herself, so she and her best friend Marsha set out on a road trip to escape Ab and his father. If it had not been for flashbacks, I would have never guessed that Ab actually loved Ginny and his children because he just seems to follow whatever his father tells him to do. His weak character made him very unpopular with me. I liked the strength that Ginny showed and Marsha’s initiative to jump in and help Ginny out. The themes of friendship and hope are demonstrated in this novel. Fans of contemporary women’s fiction will fall in love with the character of Ginny and her courage in the face of so many obstacles.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
A look at a mother’s pain of losing a child, but her child is not dead, just taken from her, and we are on a journey to find her.
There is a reason all of those homes have closed, a place for unwanted children, but as you read this book, you may want the tissues handy, you quickly realize that this is something that you are not going to get over. This is a mother that two years later still has empty arms, and yes, she has a little boy to raise, but when you learn what happened to the lost child you are going to cringe.
This book quickly became a page turner, and the story just kept getting better and better, but the possibility of jail is always in the back of your mind.
What will be the solution here, and will Lucy have to go back to that horrible place? There are answers here, but there are also so surprises, a little boy that finds a sister, and a mother who has her arms filled, but will this last, or will big brother have its way?
Once the last page is turned here it will not go away, this one lingers.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher St. Martin’s Press, and was not required to give a positive review.
This story is based on true events. Very emotional book and hard to read due to the subject matter.
The story is about a woman that has a controlling husband and in laws. Her baby is born with problems and she is talked into putting her into a home. I’m affraid I couldn’t read too far into this book as the beginning put me off with the way the Dr spoke of the child. I went back later and started reading again. It was interesting to see how the mother stands up to her family and society to save her little girl. Shows a different side of this subject. Would be a good book if you are able to put aside the way some of the characters spoke about the little girl.
I was quickly drawn into the story and often could not put the book down. Greenwood gives us a realistic mixture of humor and sadness throughout the story. The characters were very realistic and well-developed. My heart broke right along with Ginny’s as she slowly gets to know her daughter and rejoiced as they began to make a connection. Marsha is the friend everyone should have – totally loyal, fun-loving and fearless. Peyton is your typical six-year-old. Not real happy with having to share the attention with this strange baby. I had to chuckle at him several times. And Lucy is absolutely adorable.
My heart seemed to swell as Ginny’s maternal instincts took over. While she may have questioned her instincts it was clear that she would do whatever it took to ensure her children were well cared for. The story evokes so many different emotions that I can’t imagine anyone not being touched by it. I have already been recommending this book to others.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advance digital copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
This book is one of those that you need to have a box of tissues by you while you read because it takes you on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish and it is on heck of a ride. With this book being based on true events it was even more gripping and more heart wrenching in parts.
I loved the story and the characters and I loved how Ginny was willing to fight for Lucy at any cost. Even though I am not a mother I loved her fierce spirit and her fight for her daughter. I can honestly say I thought her husband was a loser but she was a true fighter.
The only thing I would change with this book is I wish there would have been something at the end that told us what happened after the story ended. That would have given me the closer I was longing for when I read the last words on the pages.
Keeping Lucy was an excellent read and deserves five out of five stars.
Author T. Greenwood’s latest novel, Finding Lucy is a historical fiction that touches on the atrocities at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island New York. While I found the premise compelling, I did not fall in love with this book.
While many of us think of the 1960s and 1970s as being modern, the times were tumultuous and women were still struggling to have their voices heard. It is not far fetched that the youngish heroine, Ginny, had little say in the situation when her powerful father-in-law sends her Down-Syndrome-afflicted daughter, Lucy, to an institution. It was heart-wrenching for Ginny, but not unheard of during that era. Ginny represents the oppressed woman whose life is defined by the expectations of a good wife and the decisions of the men in her life. Her friend, Marsha represents the rebellious women who chose careers over marriage and family. Marsha is liberated, self-confident, and assertive. She is the instigator of change in Ginny’s life.
Once Marsha convinces Ginny that she must rescue Lucy from Willowridge School, the story takes a left turn (pun intended) and becomes a fantastic tale of an increasingly rash and desperate road trip (which many reviewers have likened to the movie Thelma & Louise). The characters might seem cliché, but Marsha and Ginny represent women of that era, and their character differences and experiences represent the social changes experienced by women in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
I would have appreciated more exploration of the fictional Willowridge and the plight of the developmentally disabled during the era. I didn’t feel Ginny’s drive and determination to do what was right for her daughter. Perhaps that was a function of the author conveying Ginny’s feelings of powerlessness, but I needed an “Erin Brockovich” type character to make Keeping Lucy come alive.
My memories of visiting Agnews State Mental Hospital in Santa Clara, California as a young student or scout fueled my desire that Keeping Lucy would be a meatier read that addressed the conditions at institutions like Willowridge and the people who fought for change in the treatment of the developmentally disabled. Keeping Lucy isn’t a bad book, it just wasn’t the book I was looking for.
Willowridge School is based on the unfortunately real Willowbrook State School that was more of a dumping ground for developmentally disabled children than it was a school.
OMG. This book. I really am not sure why I put off reading this book, it’s been on my NetGalley shelf for a while. Maybe because this author’s previous book “Rust and Stardust” left me feeling gutted. By the description of this one, I knew it would be another tough one. So worth the wait! I need to go back to binge read her other books!
I cannot say enough about this beautifully written, tough subject book. Set in the late 60s, early 70s when things were different…men were expected to be the bread winners, and women we expected to sat home and keep house. Most wives went along willingly to what their husbands did, said and planned. Things that were not normal were taken care of.
Ginny married Ab, fell in love with him, not his father’s money or status. Ab fell in love with Ginny as she was. His Father, Abbott, is a wealthy lawyer who wants Ab following in his footsteps, even though it’s really not what Ab wants. Ginny and Ab are happily married, beautiful home, beautiful son and second child on the way. Until life throws them a beautiful curve ball, a baby girl named Lucy, who is born special. Special was not in Abbott’s vocabulary, or his world, he will take care of Ginny and AB’s special problem. What happens next is heart breaking, gut wrenching. The pain and atrocities inflicted on these beautiful children will tear your heart out.
My daughter is involved with Best Buddies and is currently thinking about majoring in Special Education. As I read this book, I kept thinking of her beautiful buddy and how much she means to my daughter, and my daughter means to her. It has been a definite blessing having this child in our lives.
This is an eye opening, gut wrenching, get mad, cry type book. Hopefully it will open your eyes to how special each person is, how insensitive people can be, and what words to never use! Thank God we have come a long way since the 1970s. Stellar writing, unbelievable story with authentic characters and settings true to the era.
Thank you to the Author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this book. Opinion is mine alone.
It’s 1969, and Ginny gives birth to a beautiful little girl with down syndrome. Her husband Ab and his father think it is best to put her in an institution. Ginny wants to keep her daughter but her husband thinks it is best for Lucy in the institution. 2 years later, Marsha Ginny’s best friend tells Ginny that the institution is being sued by other parents for lack of care for the children. Ginny goes to pick up Lucy, her first time seeing her daughter after giving birth. Ginny is horrified by what she sees there. She takes Lucy and is determined to keep her. This is a story of a mother’s love for her children. Ginny loves her son Peyton and Lucy more than anything and will do whatever she can to keep them happy and safe. I loved the characters in this book. Ginny’s love, Peyton’s sweetness, Lucy’s amazingly precious. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood
Rating: 3/5
Pub date: August 2019
Publisher: St Martin Press
Genre: fiction, historical fiction
I received a digital copy of this ARC from NetGalley and St Martin Press in exchange for an unbiased review.
This is a very heart wrenching and disturbing story which appears to based on a true event.
https://timeline.com/willowbrook-the-institution-that-shocked-a-nation-into-changing-its-laws-c847acb44e0d
Virginia “Ginny” and Abbott “Ab” Richardson live a comfortable life in a toney neighborhood of Dover, Massachusetts when Lucy is born in October 1969. The couple met in 1963 while she worked in the library of Amherst College where Ab was an undergraduate. They bonded quickly after attending the JFK Convocation at the Frost Library when their lives were uncomplicated by his influential family.
Ginny and Ab were married soon after discovering she was pregnant with their son Peyton. This accelerated their original future plans. Consequently, Ab follows in his father’s footsteps by graduating Harvard Law School and eventually working for his father’s demanding firm. As the years passed there always seemed to be another reason to postpone their desire to live a “simple” life.
I am quickly transported back to an era of ignorance and prejudice. I was annoyed with the doctor’s description of Lucy as a “mongoloid” with severe mental retardation after she was born. Ginny barely held her baby before a decision was made to send her to the Willowridge School in western Massachusetts. She had to resolve her discomfort and guilt by trusting that her husband and father-in-law did what was best for their daughter.
Two years later Marsha, Ginny’s best friend, calls to inquire about an undercover expose in the newspaper about the Willowridge School. Ginny visits her mother and sister who still live in Amherst where Marsha works as an ER nurse. The newspaper articles discuss the deplorable living conditions at the school prompting a class action law suit against the school.
Once she learns about the squalor and mistreatment of the residents at Willowridge she pleads with Ab to investigate. Guilt and remorse overwhelms Ginny who is shocked by the reality of the neglected children. Soon she is faced with some ethical and legal decisions regarding her desire to keep Lucy from returning to that school. The situation becomes more complex when Abbott’s firm defends the school in the class action law suit.
The impulsive “road trip” that follows seems ridiculous and unbelievable. I did not like Ginny or Marsha. Although, Ginny’s character did evolve from being passive to finally confronting her husband’s decisions. I didn’t find Marsha to be the best example of a professional nurse qualified to work in an ER. Her character is polar opposite to that of her friend, Ginny. Her carefree lifestyle of drinking and smoking made me cringe.
Overall, the story explores the mistreatment and misunderstanding of children with special needs. Although this story is fictitious the events and attitudes existed which eventually led to the child protection laws we have today.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2660187942
This is an enjoyable, slow-paced, character-driven story about motherhood, families, and how far a mother will go for her child, even when she’s made a series of mistakes in the past. I think it would be perfect for fans of Diane Chamberlain.
A lovely, moving story about how one parent’s decision to give up their Down Syndrome baby affects the entire family. When Ginny finds out the special school her daughter, Lucy, is being kept is squalid, she decides to take Lucy and run. But her husband and his domineering father are after her, and willing to fight to keep Lucy locked away.
Wow ! Tears will be in my eyes for days! What a story of a different time in our lives. The way things were in the early 70s and the way the world viewed woman and children with special needs .
The story of a mothers love that made her braver than she ever was !
Ginny was told her daughter needed to be institutionalized because she was born with Down Syndrome. 2 years later her daughters “school” is the subject of an expose revealing the horrific conditions these children are living in. Ginny travels to see and finally meet her daughter and discovers the conditions are exactly as they have been described.
The author wrote the harsh reality of the time and this beautiful story of acceptance and love !
I fell in love with this story and the characters. It’s a book I would definitely recommend!
This was a conflicting book for me. I liked the premise of the story, but felt the timelines might be a little out of wack. That type of thinking and prejudice toward Downs children, seemed to be much more appropriate to the 40s or 50s.
I found Ginny to be very weak and submissive for a woman in the 60’s and 70’s. Not to know how to use a credit card, was unrealistic. The woman’s movement was certainly well on its way by then.
I basically liked the story, The effort to remove the child from a horrible situation and showing Lucy to be a sweet child, capable of living with her family and bringing them pleasure. I liked the support of her friend Marsha
and others along the way, that helped them out. It was an page turner and easy to read. I just felt it was too predictable and left nothing to the imagination.
Thank you to Net Galley and St Martins Press for the ARC for my honest review.
I won this book on Goodreads, thanks so much, and thanks to @St.MaartinsPress . I had read “Rust and Stardust” a while back, and loved it, so when I saw this contest, I entered, and won!!! I started to read it soon after I received it, and finished it the next day.
The book is about Lucy, a little girl born in the late 60’s with Down Syndrome. Sadly, in those days, it was a shameful thing to have a child born with defect, physical or mental. Lucy was sent away to a “Hospital” soon after her birth, even though her Ginny, the mother protested. It wasn’t until 2 yrs later, that Ginny had learned though her best friend, Marsha, that the hospital was being investigated for neglect, and abuse. So Ginny, decided to see for herself if it was true. Sadly, it was true, Willowridge, was hiding horrible secrets behind its beautifully manicured landscape.
Without giving too much away, as the book is not released until Aug 2019, the book shows that a mother will stop at nothing to save her child.
In closing, I really liked this book a lot. The only thing I did not like was the backstory. I wished it was told at the beginning, and continued on with the story of Lucy. However, I still loved it, and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good heartfelt story. T. Greenwood is an amazing author, having the ability to bring her characters to life, to the point, you feel like you know them!! I still have more of her books I want to read!!! Thanks so much for giving me the chance to read it.