Necessary Lies

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.

This book was my first Diane Chamberlain book but if all her works are similar in quality it definitely won't be my last. Necessary Lies is set in rural North Carolina during 60's. Ivy, is 15 and practically running her poverty stricken family which consist of her grandmother who is diabetic and doesn't take good care of herself, Mary Ella, Ivy's 17 year old sister who is mentally handicapped and Mary Ella's two year old son William. Jane is a young social worker, newly married and new to the job. Jane becomes very invested in Ivy and her family and of course as the reader you do too. This book delves into the Eugenics programs that the U.S. had in place, and unfortunately can still be seen as being practiced in smaller ways with coerced consent being still practiced when giving tubal ligations to female prisoners as late as 2010 in California. This book makes you care very deeply about what happens with Ivy and her family and with Jane. Even though I've never been in either women's shoes I found them both very relatable. This story transports you very succesfully back to 1960 rural North Carolina, and into Ivy and Jane's lives. Great book, and I highly recommend it.