The Woman They Could Not Silence
Ratings16
Average rating4.4
15
Ratings16
Average rating4.4
From the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journalbestselling author of The Radium Girlscomes another dark and dramatic but ultimately uplifting tale of a forgotten woman whose inspirational journey sparked lasting change for women's rights and exposed injustices that still resonate today. 1860: As the clash between the states rolls slowly to a boil, Elizabeth Packard, housewife and mother of six, is facing her own battle. The enemy sits across the table and sleeps in the next room. Her husband of twenty-one years is plotting against her because he feels increasingly threatened--by Elizabeth's intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So Theophilus makes a plan to put his wife back in her place. One summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum. The horrific conditions inside the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, are overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland, a man who will prove to be even more dangerous to Elizabeth than her traitorous husband. But most disturbing is that Elizabeth is not the only sane woman confined to the institution. There are many rational women on her ward who tell the same story: they've been committed not because they need medical treatment, but to keep them in line--conveniently labeled "crazy" so their voices are ignored. No one is willing to fight for their freedom and, disenfranchised both by gender and the stigma of their supposed madness, they cannot possibly fight for themselves. But Elizabeth is about to discover that the merit of losing everything is that you then have nothing to lose... Bestselling author Kate Moore brings her sparkling narrative voice to The Woman They Could Not Silence, an unputdownable story of the forgotten woman who courageously fought for her own freedom--and in so doing freed millions more. Elizabeth's refusal to be silenced and her ceaseless quest for justice not only challenged the medical science of the day, and led to a giant leap forward in human rights, it also showcased the most salutary lesson: sometimes, the greatest heroes we have are those inside ourselves. "The glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still."--NPR Books for The Radium Girls
Reviews with the most likes.
3.5 stars
Here we have the story of Elizabeth Packard. A Victorian housewife doing Victorian housewife things. And then one day she had the absolute nerve to be inspired and uplifted while attending the first (or one of the first) Womens Rights convention. She had the unmitigated gall to have her own opinions and thoughts that did not match those of her husband. So he did what any upstanding husband would do....He had her committed to an insane asylum. AS WAS HIS RIGHT AS THE MANLIEST OF MEN. Insert the hardest of eye rolls here
I had never heard of Elizabeth Packard before. Which is a pity. I absolutely want to read about women yelling FUCK THE PATRIARCHY. Elizabeth not only fought for herself but for all women. She went from a relatively sheltered life to realizing that she was not the first women or the last to be sent away by husbands and fathers for daring to think outside of the box given to them by said men.
With all that a being said, this book for me was a tad too long. The length of a book isn't scary for me at all. But sometimes less is more. This could've have benefited from being a bit shorter. Do I regret buying it or reading it? Absolutely not. But it did drag a bit for me towards the second half. Still worth the read.
Fascinating subject matter, well-structured narrative, and solid writing but too long and in need of tightening.
I could not put this book down. It was an incredible story of perserverence.
I have never been more thankful to be a woman of the 21st century. It's easy to hear existence of the history of women's oppression and shrug it off as something long ago with no relevance to our times. Hearing just how bad it was, (married) women having no rights at all, is infuriating. Elizabeth Packard's story is one of inspiration and persistence. Though there are still unfortunately areas where women are still not considered equal to men, it put things into perspective, and one has to be grateful for the times and assured hope is never lost.
That being said, I was not thrilled with the postscript portion of the book. I find comparing Mrs Packard's torture to modern day issues almost blasphemous (and frankly, ironic with one of the first quotes written in the book). I won't let this influence my rating of the story the book focuses on, but I must air my frustration that after spending three days enraptured by this book to have the afterglow tainted by modern opinion.
