Welcome back! It’s the 22nd week of First Sentence Friday and Free Book Friday!

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About Women of a Promiscuous Nature

Accused of “promiscuity” in 1940s North Carolina, a young woman unjustly incarcerated and subjected to involuntary medical treatment at The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women decides to fight back in this powerful, shockingly timely novel based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, the government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half of the 20th century.

The day Ruth Foster’s life changes begins the same way as many others—with a walk through her North Carolina hometown toward the diner where she works. But on this day, Ruth is stopped by the local sheriff, who insists that she accompany him to a health clinic. Women like Ruth—young, unmarried, living alone—must undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.

Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day’s end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some, like 15-year-old Stella Temple, are brought in at their family’s request. For Stella, even the Colony’s hardships seem like a respite from her nightmarish home life.

Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she’s transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Baker’s rule book or face the consequences—solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.

But some refuse to be cowed. Against Mrs. Baker’s dogged efforts and the punishing weight of authority, Ruth and other inmates find ways to fight back, resolved to regain their freedom at any cost . . .

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First Sentence Friday Thoughts

Sometimes while investigating something to write about, I land on what I call “gold nuggets.” (Have I mentioned this before out here?) A gold nugget for me with regard to writing might be discovering a bit of obscure history, like the American Plan in this book, or, it could be as simple as a word or expression I’ve never heard because it’s been lost over time. In another example of one of these “gold nuggets” came the discovery of actual letters written by inmates at the Colony in Kinston, NC. I found them in one of the four biennial reports I obtained from a site called Forgotten Books. The letters were part of the time women spent at the facility in the years 1935 and 1936. I read a few and then read the Superintendent’s report. This information gave me an angle to the story I originally didn’t have.

I understood their significance for what the Superintendent, Elsa Ernst, wanted to achieve at the time. For her, these letters served several purposes. One was to justify the importance of a place like the Colony to the Board of Directors, and second, to keep the Colony open which in turn kept women out of jail. As she put it, “NO constructive, practical rehabilitation work can be done, nor can we expect it to be done, with women in jails. In the jail environment, the worst, not the best, in a woman is almost inevitably brought out.”

The letters described improvements to various lives – all thanks to their stay and the training by the staff at the Colony. I’ll admit, I was dubious about the real intent of these women writing letters praising an institution like this. I believe they claimed their instruction “was such good training for me,” because of potential repercussions – even if they were already released. One wrote, “You have no idea how happy I am. I wouldn’t take anything for the training I have received at the Colony. I’m sorry I did what I did to be sent there, but I sure wouldn’t take anything for the training I got there.”

There were quite a few in the same tone, but, in the end, what the superintendent needed and wanted was money to expand the Colony and from this, I got the idea for another plot line.

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Chapter 22

Baker

It’s taking much longer than she wanted, but only a few more letters and she’ll have enough to prepare a case to go to the board.

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Question of the Week!

I had a discussion with a historian the other day, a person familiar with the background of reform and while we know the multitude of ways women ended up at the Colony and that what happened to many of them wasn’t appropriate, or legal, the truth is, some of them came in really poor health, or with no skills to speak of for obtaining a job, or keeping house. Many couldn’t afford to see a doctor or a dentist. They didn’t always eat regular meals at home. At the Colony, every woman was seen by the dentist. They were treated by doctors for other issues outside of the STIs, and it was noted that most had gained weight once they were released. They learned new skills and were able to get a job, or manage their homes in a structured way. Some of the correspondence contained this as well.

This makes understanding a facility like the Colony complicated given the efforts to make individuals healthy while subjecting them to harsh and cruel treatment or punishments. The same goes with understanding an individual like Baker, who essentially believes in what she’s doing even as she instills fear and loathing in most under her care. It’s the classic case of yin and yang, perhaps a Robin Hood type of approach? What about welfare programs, where the intention is also good, but it creates a dependency that is hard to overcome.

Can you think of other scenarios or situations that are similar? Where good and bad, or positive and negative might co-exist?

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Free Read!  SIGNED Advance Reader Copy!

The winner is announced here Monday a.m.

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PRE-ORDER Information

Pre-orders gauge the interest and signal to the publisher readers are eager for an author’s next work. If you’re holding out because you might win an ARC or a finished copy from First Sentence Friday, remember you can always give away the extra as a gift to a reader friend. 😉

Pre-order links for your convenience:

• Bookshop.org
• Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Barnes & Noble
• Books-A-Million
• Amazon
• Hudson Booksellers
• Target
• Walmart

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Social Media

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