Wayward Girls
A Novel
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4.4 • 174 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
"After decades of bestsellers, Wayward Girls might be Susan Wiggs' opus. A gut-wrenching story of survival, friendship, and justice. Masterful."—Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
"The magnificent Susan Wiggs takes a leap into the history of women..a page-turner, replete with mystery and suspense."—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
From New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a wrenching but life-affirming work of historical fiction based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption. 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, an institution reminiscent of the notorious Magdalene Laundries.
In this compelling coming-of-age story, we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd in 1968—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 female friendship as young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption...and justice.
"Compelling...This powerful and unforgettable novel is a poignant and enlightening look into a sad chapter of recent history."—Library Journal (starred review)
"Heart-wrenching...sweeping. This one lingers long after the last page."—Publishers Weekly
"Wayward girls is all about the power of female bonds...this isn't just a moment in time—it's a cautionary tale."—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of By Any Other Name
“Susan Wiggs is at the top of her game. Through the skillful weaving of an endearing cast, Wayward Girls displays the power of sisterhood to survive, conquer, and ultimately heal from the most harrowing of times. An evocative tale packed with resilience and secrets that kept me reading late into the night. I loved it.” —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday and The Girls of Good Fortune
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wiggs (The Twelve Dogs of Christmas) delivers a heart-wrenching chronicle of abuse and healing in this sweeping novel that spans half a century. Fifteen-year-old Mairin O'Hara's life in Buffalo, N.Y., falls apart in the summer of 1968, when her older brother, Liam, narrowly saves her from being raped by their alcoholic stepfather. After Liam heads off to fight in Vietnam, Mairin's mother drops her off at Our Lady of Charity Refuge and Sisters of the Good Shepherd to keep her safe. There, the draconian nuns force the teen girls in their care—many of them pregnant—to work in the laundry. Some girls are at the institution for lack of anywhere else to go, but most were sent as punishment. They are subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, including rape by the order's doctor and the forced adoption of their babies. Determined to save her new friends, Mairin hatches an escape plan. Decades later, the women reunite to expose the horrors they suffered. Though the subject matter is heavy, Wiggs weaves in threads of hope in the girls' acts of defiance, such as hacking off their hair so the nuns can't pull it, and their determination not to let the experience break them. This one lingers long after the last page.
Customer Reviews
Harrowing plight of innocent young women
I was completely immersed by the shocking and disturbing nature of the story and experiences these poor young women (and even children)were forced to endure at this home run by the nuns who were assuming their Catholic way of life, posing as nuns who were married to Jesus Christ, acting as though they were living their lives according to Catholicism and posed as compassionate teachers whose work would inspire these young women to finding their way back toward the Catholic community. Yet, the truth of this home, the severe abuse and hostile neglect these females were regularly subjected to was shocking especially considering who they were receiving such treatment and terrorizing punishment from. This was a place that hid behind the Catholic faith, acting as a safe haven for those young women who have found themselves in the family way, others were unmarried and brought to this institution because they’d been judged to be a bad influence on men in the community and a risk of spreading STD’s, or simply because they were born into poverty and their family had too many mouths to feed and they couldn’t afford to shelter or feed this unfortunate child. The women were remanded to this institution until the age of 18. who posed as a safe haven for females in the family way but unmarried or has been sent to the home because the family they belonged to was far too large and they couldn’t afford to shelter or feed this child. These women remained there until she turned 18. The horrifying experiences, the raw emotions and the traumatic descriptions along with the distressing existence these women were forced to endure is an extremely painful and tragic situation to read. The duress and the helplessness pours off the pages into the very heart of the reader.
I highly recommend this book. Incredibly, it is based off historical facts that these poor souls that were unfortunate to be brought to such a traumatic and unforgettable, irreparable torturous place filled with evil hiding behind habits in the guise of religion and Godly works where the opposite took place. How these women survived is unimaginable, the continuous abuse violence and unthinkable experiences they withstood under such horrendous conditions that have led to traumatic lifelong consequences they obviously would carry the weight of those burdens with them for the rest of their lives. The sheer brutality and unjustifiable abuses will remain with you, reader, likely as long as you live as well. These institutions, unfortunately were very common in this era and would go on to last a hundred plus years, the ones in which began at the turn of the 18th century. Cloaked under the Catholic teachings and the practices of the religion, the grievances, abuse, violence and gross neglect and deaths that were a direct result of the-lack of oversight and the power the church held in the community and with its followers. It’s difficult not to feel the outrage and disgust in regard to the Catholic church and the gross inhumane violations they were able to enact upon without any appropriate consequences or remotely proper repercussions. Such a shame.
Wayward Girls
Well written book based on a real place in Buffalo NY. It’s loosely based on the lives of real people. The story involves teenage girls who were forced or mistakenly placed in a Catholic reform school. The nuns were cruel and repressive. One group of girls banned together to resist and escape . They reunite years later.
Excellent!
Great story.