Therapy Bits

Category: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Set in the turbulent Vietnam era in the All-American city of Buffalo, New York, six girls are condemned to forced labor in the laundry of a Catholic reform school.

In 1968 we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd–a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns–locked away merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.

Mairin–free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants, committed to keep her safe from her stepfather.

Angela–denounced for her attraction to girls, sent to the nuns for reform, but instead found herself the victim of a predator.

Helen–the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China, she saw her "temporary" stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years.

Odessa–caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, she found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence.

Denise–sentenced for brawling in a foster home, she dared to dream of a better life.

Janice–deeply insecure, she couldn’t decide where her loyalty lay–except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency.

Sister Bernadette–rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her.

Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption…and justice.

Comments:

It never ceases to amaze me what people can get away with in the name of religion. Here’s another story about just such abuses. Although I’m not particularly impressed with this story’s presentation — too often obvious questions went unasked — everything was fairly well tied up in the end and everyone was accounted for. With all the similar atrocities reported in the news these days, This story seems trite and contrived.

Nonetheless, it’s an engaging story, well narrated by Jane Oppenheimer and Cynthia Farrell. Susan Wiggs reads the author’s note at the end. I recommend this audiobook to anyone who isn’t tired of the topic.

I listened to the commercial edition of this audiobook on audible.

.