Guest post by The Girls We Sent Away author Meagan Church
Meagan Church is the author of two emotionally-charged, empathy-inducing novels: The Last Carolina Girl and The Girls We Sent Away. She apologizes for the tears her stories sometimes cause. After receiving a B.A. in English from Indiana University, Meagan built a career as a freelance writer. She helps other authors tell their own stories through story coaching and editing. A Midwesterner by birth, she now lives in North Carolina with her high school sweetheart, three children, and a plethora of pets.
Releasing on March 5th 2024, The Girls We Sent Away is a searing book club read for fans of Ellen Marie Wiseman and The Girls with No Names set in the Baby Scoop Era of 1960s and the women of a certain condition swept up in a dark history.
Ever since I was a young child, I have desired to see through other people’s eyes. In elementary school, I remember embarrassing my older brother because I would stare at his friends on the school bus. He thought I was being weird. What he didn’t know was that I was trying to imagine the world as they saw it. I wanted so desperately to see the world according to them, to know if they saw colors like I did; thought similar thoughts; felt, heard, and smelled things in the same way.
It turns out that this practice is a good thing. By that I mean, practicing to see through other people’s eyes is helpful to society. Staring is perhaps not.
In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Desmond Tutu said, “Empathy is the glue that binds societies together, fostering understanding and harmony.” It seems to me that we could use a bit more harmony right about now. And books just might be the glue we need to accomplish that.
Studies have shown that reading fiction can improve a reader’s understanding of others. The beauty of books is that they have a way of putting the reader deep into the perspective of someone who lives a different experience than our own. When lost in a story, we can step outside our own bubble of understanding to see new realities. In other words, we can learn to empathize.
Given that I’ve long been fascinated with seeing through other people’s eyes, it’s no surprise that I became a writer. To write novels is to immerse yourself in a character’s perspective and transport the reader into that same space.
My most recent novel, The Girls We Sent Away, follows a girl-next-door whose 1960s life is upended when she is sent away to a maternity home. The process of writing that book meant that I had to stand in Lorraine’s shoes as she confessed to her mother that she was pregnant. I climbed the steps of the maternity home, nervous and scared, alongside her. I lay in the hospital bed as confused and frightened as she was. And my hope is that the reader will be pulled into those experiences as well, even if they have never lived them for themselves.
If Tutu was right and empathy helps foster understanding, then here are 8 empathy-inducing books that might just be the glue we need to better bind us together:
One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris
This debut novel is a beautifully written and engaging story of time, transformation, and the complicated business of reconciling painful pasts. Told from alternating POV, Sara is the mother of 8-year-old, Alana, who was conceived after a violent assault, while Jacob is the twin brother of the attacker. This story delves into the nuance of the situation—when a horrible violation results in something so beautiful—and immerses the reader into the hearts and minds of the characters. This is a thought-provoking story of forgiveness and unconditional love.
The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian
This impressively-executed debut novel is full of rich detail and lyrical prose. Set in 1920s Mississippi, you’ll feel as if you’re swept away to the Natchez Trace, living each moment of tension right alongside Ada and Matilda—two teenage girls who forge an unlikely partnership. This is a story of hope and the resilience of the human spirit.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
This contemporary fiction novel explores family, friendship, and futures across generations, from a young man having a rough go of things to a widow who has befriended a giant Pacific octopus. Yes, an octopus. It’s a unique story of interconnectedness, unlikely friendship, and found family.
Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
Magical realism meets literary fiction in this unusual tale of newlyweds who faces a life-altering diagnosis: the husband is turning into a great white shark. Experimental in its style, this story is fantastical, while simply exploring the evolution of a marriage and the possibility of enduring love.
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
A multigenerational story of mothers and daughters, long-held secrets, and the complexity of grief, this is a story of complicated relationships, legacy, and the strength to survive. A sweeping family saga, the reader is immersed in the lives of these women and the setting of the banyan house.
Take My Hand by Dolan Perkins-Valdez
Set in the 1970s, this book delves deep into the legal ramifications of forced sterilization as a nurse fights for two of her young patients who have been wronged. It’s a great companion read to my debut novel The Last Carolina Girl, especially for those who want to dive deeper into the legal perspective of eugenics. This is a gripping story of racism, injustice, and the courage to fight back.
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
An inspiring story of courage and tenacity, Moore brings to life the story of the “shining girls” who worked in radium-dial factories—a highly sought-after job until the ramifications of their radium exposure came to light. Though nonfiction, the narrative is so riveting that I couldn’t help but turn the page to know what happened to these girls who fought to have their voices heard. This is an important story of forgotten history and a fight for justice.
The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church
My latest book follows Lorraine Delford, the girl-next-door who just seems to have it all—the boyfriend, the good grades, the white picket fence, and the ambition to become an astronaut. Until she finds herself pregnant out of wedlock and is sent away to a maternity home. Set at the intersection of the Baby Scoop Era and Space Race, this novel immerses the reader in Lorraine’s world as she struggles for autonomy and belonging when the illusions of life-as-you-know-it fall away.
