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A review by leahtylerthewriter
The Say So by Julia Franks
5.0
See full review on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website: https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/book-review-atlanta-author-explores-a-womans-right-to-choose-in-the-say-so/TJGCPOGWJBCH3NY3F6XZJVHSPU/
Book review: Atlanta author explores a woman’s right to choose in ‘The Say So’
“The Say So” by Atlanta author Julia Franks is a powerful work of historical fiction that examines the lifelong impact of adoption through the generations. Opening in 1959 and exploring forced adoption before delving into adoption by choice in the post-Roe v. Wade ‘80s, Franks’ probing narrative uses tenderness and nuance to ask the complex, provocative and timely question: Who has the “say so” over a baby’s fate?
A perfect storm emerged in post-Depression America. In the author’s note, Franks writes that the unwed pregnancy rate “doubled and tripled” between 1940 and 1964. The post-war middle-class was booming, and by pairing children born outside wedlock with married couples struggling to start or expand their families, the parents of affluent girls who had gotten “in trouble” could shield their daughters from social ruin. According to Gabrielle Glaser, author of “American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and a Shadow History of Adoption,” more than 3 million single women were coerced into surrendering their children between the end of World War II and the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973...
Book review: Atlanta author explores a woman’s right to choose in ‘The Say So’
“The Say So” by Atlanta author Julia Franks is a powerful work of historical fiction that examines the lifelong impact of adoption through the generations. Opening in 1959 and exploring forced adoption before delving into adoption by choice in the post-Roe v. Wade ‘80s, Franks’ probing narrative uses tenderness and nuance to ask the complex, provocative and timely question: Who has the “say so” over a baby’s fate?
A perfect storm emerged in post-Depression America. In the author’s note, Franks writes that the unwed pregnancy rate “doubled and tripled” between 1940 and 1964. The post-war middle-class was booming, and by pairing children born outside wedlock with married couples struggling to start or expand their families, the parents of affluent girls who had gotten “in trouble” could shield their daughters from social ruin. According to Gabrielle Glaser, author of “American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and a Shadow History of Adoption,” more than 3 million single women were coerced into surrendering their children between the end of World War II and the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973...