Review: The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Published: June 22, 2021

Source: Publisher

Summary:

From the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Radium Girls comes 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…

My thoughts:

As soon as I heard about this book, I had to read it. It immediately became an anticipated read for this month and I absolutely loved it! It might have been my first read by this author but it certainly will not be the last!

I admit I was drawn to this book because of the fact that Elizabeth Packard was sent to an insane asylum because her husband was threatened by her intellect. Little did I know just how impactful the book would be. This nonfiction memoir is crafted using letters, transcripts, memoirs, and careful historical research and it is such a compelling read and it kept me riveted from start to finish. So many times I found myself gasping from what I read – for instance, at the time, the law stated that a woman could be institutionalized at the request of her husband. WHAT?!?

This book really got under my skin…yet, what really kept me going what the strength and fortitude of Elizabeth Packard. She fought against the claims of insanity and not only that, but realizes that she needs to make the public aware of what is going on in these institutions. That the level of abuse she sees happening is not right and needs to be stopped. But she didn’t stop there. She continued to fight for women’s rights, especially married women, who didn’t have many rights.

Elizabeth Packard truly was a woman ahead of her times and I know she is someone I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. This book, a fine example of narrative nonfiction, was so fascinating and would be a great read for anyone interesting in women’s rights.