Name: Necessary lies
ISBN: 9781250010698

Diane Chamberlain

Caring for her family on their mid-20th-century tobacco farm after the loss of her parents, 15-year-old Ivy connects with Grace County social worker Jane, who strains her personal and professional relationships with her advocacy of Ivy's family, whose dark secrets test Jane's resolve against racial tensions and state-mandated sterilizations.

Necessary lies

It is 1960 in North Carolina and the lives of Ivy Hart and Jane Forrester couldn't be more different. Fifteen-year-old Ivy lives with her family as tenants on a small tobacco farm, but when her parents die, Ivy is left to care for her grandmother, older sister, and nephew. As she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness, and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give. When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County's newest social worker, she is given the task of recommending which of her clients should be sterilized without their knowledge or consent. The state's rationalization is that if her clients are poor, or ill, or deemed in some way "unfit" they should not be allowed to have children. But soon Jane becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her new husband and her supervisors. No one understands why Jane would want to become a caseworker for the Department of Public Health when she could be a housewife and Junior League member. As Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm—secrets much darker than she would have guessed. Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing a life-changing battle. Necessary Lies is the story of these two young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy. Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: How can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it's wrong?

A Novel

Necessary Lies

Patricia Nelson

This book was worth every minute I spent reading it. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the basic premise is that a woman in 1960 becomes a social worker as she feels called to help those less fortunate. She discovers that there are departmental/state/office rules that make life-altering choices for those in their purview, but this woman sees real people when she interacts with them, and by seeing them as people she feels at odds with the rules. What follows is a story with many twists and turns, some I saw coming, and some surprised me. The consistent feeling I had reading this book was anger and hope. Anger that these events happened, at what life was like for women in 1960, that poor people could be seen as non-people, and at the racial 'rules' of the time. Hope that people with good hearts and clear eyes can make a difference, hope that things are somewhat, sometimes better today. So many layers and subjects are laid bare here there is much to discuss, and I am looking forward to our book club discussion. I was left questioning myself - why would I want people to read a book that made me so mad? I remembered the quote by George Santayana - "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it." Does this book apply today? To how people view others in different socioeconomic classes or that look different or worship differently? Those discussions are worth having, and that's why this book is worth your time.

Melissa Schwartz

This was a great read. While Jane made a number of questionable decisions, she always stuck by her morals and did what she thought was right - even if it affected her job and marriage negatively. The book was clearly well researched, and while some outcomes I was able to guess, some took me by complete surprise. Either way, it was a page turner.

I do wish there were a few more holes filled in after that last 1961 chapter. What came of the sexist husband Robert, and did he ever learn? Does Jane ever hear from any of the co-workers? What else did she have to endure as a result of her actions, if much at all? A good amount of questions were answered, but some of these still come to mind.

Patty M.

DNF 150 pages in. I skimmed ahead to see what else would happen, but I'm glad I decided to stop. This book is well-written, and it is gripping. But there is WAY too much drama, in my opinion. Every chapter seemed to have something disastrous happen. Give the reader a break every once in a while! So as a result of that, my anxiety was being triggered to the point where it was making me nauseous to pick up this book because of the dreaded drama that I knew was about to occur. Books are one of my greatest loves, but mental health comes first! :)

If you're a fan of Jodie Picoult, you'll love Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain, bestselling author of The Midwife's Confession . . . North Carolina, 1960. Newlywed Jane Forrester, fresh out of university, is seeking what most other women have shunned: a career. But life as a social worker is far from what she expected. Out amongst the rural Tobacco fields of Grace County, Jane encounters a world of extreme poverty that is far removed from the middle-class life she has grown up with. But worse is still to come. Working with the Hart family and their fifteen-year-old daughter Ivy, it's not long before Jane uncovers a shocking secret, and is thrust into a moral dilemma that puts her career on the line, threatens to dissolve her marriage, and ultimately, determines the fate of Ivy and her family forever. Soon Jane is forced to take drastic action, and before long, there is no turning back. A companion short story, The First Lie, is available in eBook.

Arianna

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Kim Arychuk

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Meghan Truskowski

Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a breakout book about a small southern town fifty years ago, and the darkest—and most hopeful—places in the human heart After losing her parents, fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm. As she struggles with her grandmother's aging, her sister's mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give. When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County's newest social worker, she doesn't realize just how much her help is needed. She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients' lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband. But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm—secrets much darker than she would have guessed. Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong. Set in rural Grace County, North Carolina in a time of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension, Necessary Lies tells the story of these two young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy. Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it's wrong?

Necessary lies

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