{"product_id":"the-secret-life-of-dorothy-soames-a-memoir-isbn-9780062991010","title":"The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Far from growing up in the wealthy, fox-hunting circles she had always\u003cbr\u003esuggested, her mother had in fact been raised in a foundling hospital for the\u003cbr\u003echildren of unwed women.” \u003c\/strong\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003eEditor’s Choice, \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Extraordinary … fascinating, moving.” \u003c\/strong\u003e—\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Telegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“This emotional and transatlantic journey is a page-turner.” \u003c\/strong\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003eEditor’s Pick\u003cem\u003e, Amazon\u003cbr\u003eBook Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Book groups will\u003cbr\u003efind as much to discuss here as they have with The Glass Castle by Jeannette\u003cbr\u003eWalls, and Educated by Tara Westover.” \u003c\/strong\u003e— \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBookList\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended\u003cbr\u003eby \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Saturday Evening Post\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAmazon Book Review\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Atlanta Journal Constitution\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublisher’s\u003cbr\u003eWeekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eKirkus \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003eand more, Justine Cowan’s remarkable true\u003cbr\u003estory of how she uncovered her mother’s upbringing as a foundling at London’s\u003cbr\u003eHospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young\u003cbr\u003eChildren has received acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.K., it\u003cbr\u003ehas been featured in \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Mail on Sunday\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Daily Mail\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Daily Mirror\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Spectator\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe\u003cbr\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e calls it “extraordinary and \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eGlamour\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e magazine chose\u003cbr\u003eit as the best new book based on real life. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story begins when Justine found her often volatile mother in\u003cbr\u003ean unlit room writing a name over and over again, one that she had never heard\u003cbr\u003ebefore and would not hear again for many years – Dorothy Soames. Thirty years\u003cbr\u003elater, overcome with grief following her mother’s death, Justine found herself\u003cbr\u003edrawn back to the past, uncovering a mystery that stretched back to the early\u003cbr\u003eyears of World War II and beyond, into the dark corridors of the Hospital for\u003cbr\u003ethe Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children.\u003cbr\u003eEstablished in the eighteenth century to raise “bastard” children to clean\u003cbr\u003echamber pots for England’s ruling class, the institution was tied to some of\u003cbr\u003ehistory’s most influential figures and events. From its role in the development\u003cbr\u003eof solitary confinement and human medical experimentation to the creation of\u003cbr\u003ethe British Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts, its impact on Western culture\u003cbr\u003econtinues to reverberate. It is the reason we\u003cbr\u003eread Dickens’ \u003cem\u003eOliver Twist\u003c\/em\u003e and enjoy\u003cbr\u003eHandel’s \u003cem\u003eMessiah\u003c\/em\u003e each Christmas. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was also the environment that shaped a young girl known as\u003cbr\u003eDorothy Soames, who bravely withstood years of physical and emotional abuse at\u003cbr\u003ethe hands of a sadistic headmistress—a resilient child whose only hope would be\u003cbr\u003ea daring escape as German bombers rained death from the skies. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eHeartbreaking, surprising, and\u003cbr\u003eunforgettable, \u003cem\u003eThe Secret\u003cbr\u003eLife of Dorothy Soames\u003c\/em\u003e is the true story of one woman’s quest\u003cbr\u003eto understand the secrets that had poisoned her mother’s mind, and her\u003cbr\u003estartling discovery that her family’s fate had been sealed centuries before.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"Part investigative journalism, part emotional excavation, this breathtaking and heartbreaking book tells the story of a daughter’s need to understand her difficult mother. An unexpected and original addition to the mother\/daughter memoir oeuvre, \u003cem\u003eThe Secret Life of Dorothy Soames\u003c\/em\u003e is both moving and artful, rewarding its readers page after page.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAdrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret and Me\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eThe Secret Life of Dorothy Soames\u003c\/em\u003e is the gripping true story of a daughter’s quest to find the truth about her mother’s origins—and, in the process, come to terms with her own life and choices. As she uncovers an increasingly dramatic tale of abuse, escape, and recovery, Justine Cowan must grapple with her complex feelings about this woman who, as she comes to learn, never had a real childhood of her own.  A riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately healing journey of discovery.\"   - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristina Baker Kline, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Well-researched and highly personal, the book presents a fascinating narrative tapestry that both informs and moves. A candidly illuminating debut memoir.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Page-turning and profoundly moving. Justine Cowan's meticulous research has uncovered a strand of British history and she brings it sharply and vividly to life through her personal quest.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eVirginia Nicholson, author of Among the Bohemians\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“‘I didn’t love my mother,’ Cowan declares. But this investigation into her mother’s life is equal parts memoir and love letter to the difficult, occasionally cruel woman who was not the person she claimed to be. Cowan has the doggedness of a public interest lawyer and a writer’s eye for detail.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This frank account of a real-life Dickensian dystopia captivates at every turn.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This emotional and transatlantic journey is a page-turner about identity, the sacrifices mothers make for their children, how cruel society could be to unmarried mothers at the turn of the century in England, and the history of the Foundling Hospital.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmazon Book Review, Editor’s Pick\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Book groups will find as much to discuss here as they have with The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and Educated, by Tara Westover.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Justine Cowan's extraordinary memoir \u003cem\u003eThe Secret Life of Dorothy Soames \u003c\/em\u003etells the story of her mother's harrowing childhood. Although telling a deeply personal story, she painstakingly gathers her material as if assembling testimony for a day in court. The result is this fascinating, moving book; part history of the Foundling Hospital and the development of child psychology, part Cowan’s own story, and part that of Dorothy Soames (the name Cowan’s mother was given at the hospital).”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTelegraph (UK)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A brutal institution is at the centre of this affecting family mystery. . . . As a social history of the Foundling Hospital, this is a fascinating read.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times (UK)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889390612709,"sku":"NP9780062991010","price":27.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062991010.jpg?v=1730231147","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-secret-life-of-dorothy-soames-a-memoir-isbn-9780062991010","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}