| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| nndairy |
Posted - May 23 2026 : 8:05:09 PM
For the expert level of the her-story badge I read The Woman They Could Not Silence: and the men who tried to make her disappear by Kate Moore and Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and WWII by Robert Matzen. Both are great books and I highly recommend them!
The Woman They Could Not Silence is the story of Elizabeth Packard in the 1860's. She was a housewife, mother of 6 children, and had been married to her husband for 21 years when he had her committed to the Illinois State Hospital for insanity. His reason for stating she was insane was she had gone against his religious teachings by teaching a bible study class and then leaving the church (he was the pastor) when she was no longer permitted to teach the class. The doctor, Dr. Andrew McFarland, had no trouble convincing the board that she was truly insane because, in his words, no sane woman would want to be apart from her husband. Elizabeth did not want to return to her cruel husband. She was an educated woman and while she was in the asylum she kept a secret journal of the abuse and her thoughts. Her writings were passed around and gave hope to the other ladies (many of whom were also sane and sent there by their husbands) and caused them to stand up to the doctors and abusive assistants. Married women in the mid 1800's had no legal rights or protection from their husbands. The only reason Elizabeth was released from the asylum is because she was deemed incurable and caused such a ruckus it was in everyone's "best interest" if she were not there. Without giving away all the details of the book, Elizabeth went on to lobby and help change laws so married women had legal protection from abusive husbands, and no one could be committed to an insane asylum without a trial to determine if they truly were insane. It's an incredible story!
Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and WWII is obviously about Audrey Hepburn. She lived under Nazi occupation from age 11 - 16. Audrey wanted to be a ballerina, not a movie star. In fact, she never considered herself to be a good actress! During the war she helped the Dutch resistance without really knowing it. She volunteered at the local hospital (the Dutch resistance headquarters) and when she was delivering medicine she was also delivering messages. When the war made it impossible to continue her ballet lessons she held classes to teach younger children to dance. Even though she was severely malnourished it was important to her to keep dancing. The day her town was liberated the first thing that signaled to her family that good things were coming was the smell of real tobacco smoke. The Canadian soldiers were smoking real cigarettes, a novelty that had been missing for a long time due to the war. When the soldiers entered their house Audrey demanded a cigarette and thus began her life long smoking habit. Later in life she became involved with UNICEF to help children in war zones. She died from a rare form of cancer that many believe came from her poor nutrition during the war. I've read a few WWII stories before, but this book offers a different perspective on the war. I really enjoyed it.
~Heather
Farmgirl Sister #4701
2026 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
“I would rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” — George Washington
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| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| MaryJanesNiece |
Posted - May 25 2026 : 2:27:23 PM
Great work Heather! Both books sound really interesting. I am really drawn toward the asylum one. I will have to check that one out.
Krista
Farmgirl Sister #528
Farmgirl Of The Year 2025 |
| Bellepic |
Posted - May 24 2026 : 5:59:51 PM
Thank you, these are such thought-provoking stories, Heather!
Farmgirl#8680
www.steamstead.blogspot.com |
| ddmashayekhi |
Posted - May 24 2026 : 06:43:46 AM
The books sound very interesting Heather. Thank you for sharing their information with us. Sadly women were treated poorly throughout history by controlling men. I will check to see if I can find either book at my library. The courage these women had at such a terrible time in their lives is really inspirational.
Dawn in IL
"May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope." - Emily Brontë |
| debbieklann |
Posted - May 23 2026 : 8:18:24 PM
Both of those books sound really good!!! I can’t imagine what those women went through!!! Elizabeth was a brave woman and I’m thankful she was a “trouble maker “ and was able to help other women. The thought of truly sane women being put away by their husbands just blows my mind!
Debbie Klann
Farmgirl Sister #770
2018 Farmgirl of the Year
"Well behaved women seldom make history"....Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
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