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Necessary Lies cover art

Necessary Lies

By: Diane Chamberlain
Narrated by: Alison Elliott
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Summary

The best intentions expose the darkest secrets....

If you're a fan of Jodie Picoult, you'll love Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain, best-selling author of The Midwife's Confession.

North Carolina, 1960. Newlywed Jane Forrester, fresh out of university, is seeking what most other women have shunned: a career. But life as a social worker is far from what she expected. Out amongst the rural tobacco fields of Grace County, Jane encounters a world of extreme poverty that is far removed from the middle-class life she has grown up with. But worse is still to come.

Working with the Hart family and their 15-year-old daughter, Ivy, it's not long before Jane uncovers a shocking secret and is thrust into a moral dilemma that puts her career on the line, threatens to dissolve her marriage, and ultimately determines the fate of Ivy and her family forever. Soon Jane is forced to take drastic action, and before long there is no turning back.

©2013 Diane Chamberlain (P)2015 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

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Amazing narration

Another Historical read for me that I never would have even looked at if it hadn't been recommended in a Facebook group I am in (Thanks Cyndi)

This story was one that made me absolutely stunned, I had no idea that this was something that was practised, and also that it was STILL being practised up to the 1980's!!

I was crazy mad listening to this book, how people can have been given this much authority over other human beings is just mind blowing.
If you are a Jodi Picoult fan then you will probably love this one too.

Anyhoo, back to my review!

Set in the 60's in Rural Grace County, Jane Forrester goes for an interview for a job as a social worker, much to the dismay of her fiance, he is unhappy in the fact that she is getting a job, let alone a job that might undermine his position as a doctor, and make him a laughing stock at the Golf Club, none of his friends wives work after all!

Jane wants to work, and feels that this would be an ideal position for her, that she may be able to do some good, she may even be able to help people less fortunate than her.

She gets the position and shadows another worker until an accident sets her on her own to carry on the job.

Ivy is one of her cases.

15 year old Ivy lives on a Tobacco farm with her family, her parents both died so she is now in the full time care of her grandmother, but her grandmother is ill, so it is Ivy that is doing the caring. Looking after her grandmother, her mentally ill sister and her sisters 2 year old son William is no mean feat, they rely on Welfare to get money for the family, they work on the Tobacco farm to pay for their lodgings.

Ivy has her own problems, she is epileptic, and because she is 15, she is "obviously" going to start sleeping around, I mean, look at Mary Ella her "feeble minded" sister, she had William after all!
They managed to fix that though, at least she won't be bringing any more "retards" into this world! Ivy is an ideal candidate for the program, it just needs to be signed off by the Social Worker, of course you don't tell her what it is you are doing, just tell them that they look ill, Mary Ella had her "appendix" out, and look, she's perfectly fine now!!

Jane cannot believe what is happening to these young girls, but what can she do, she's already been reprimanded for something she did wrong, she may even lose her job.

This story is based on true events that happened, in the authors notes she does say that she didn't want to focus on the actual deed, but to focus on the families and the aftermath, but some of the stories that she read about it were truly horrifying.

🎧🎧 - Brilliantly narrated by Alison Elliot, this story is one that will probably stay with you for a while!

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4 people found this helpful

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Captivating

at first I thought so many chapters might drag slightly but after one you are hooked. you feel like you are friends with the characters.

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2 people found this helpful

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A wonderful book

A very thought provoking book that is very well written I would highly recommend it.

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2 people found this helpful

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Excellent

A fantastic story with brilliant narration. I was hooked right from the start and riveted until the very end.

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1 person found this helpful

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Excellent story, couldn’t put it down

I really enjoyed this story, it was so good I hated having to press pause to do things!!
Very well written and beautifully read, if you like Jodi Picoult,you will love this book.

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1 person found this helpful

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Couldn’t stop listening!!

Honestly when I’m not listening I am thinking about this book. The overall story is very interesting, the narrator did an amazing job. This is my second Diane Chamberlain and she has become my favourite author already!. Almost finished the book and can’t wait to start another one of Diane’s novels.

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Characters felt real

I got engrossed in this story clearly based on real happenings. Beautifully written and read

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Eugenics

This story was very interesting and really opened my eyes to the atrocities! I had no idea that happened in the US.

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Brilliant

Loved this book! Fabulous narration and couldn’t stop listening to it. First time I’ve reviewed a book on here! A must read/listen

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Not my usual read, but wow!

I don’t know where to start with this review other than to say that this book is so good. A fictional account of a 50 year timeline in history that I knew nothing about that was truly eye opening. I’m a huge fan of crime novels and I guess you could say that the topic covered in this book is a true crime although this book is definitely not my usual read. Set in North Caroline in the early sixties the book follows the story of Jayne, a newly married woman in her early twenties who takes a job as a social worker. Completely untrained and out of her depth but with a desire to help those less fortunate than her she is given a caseload of families to visit. Without giving too much away, the story centres around two families working the tobacco fields and living on state welfare. During this time the state was involved in a eugenics programme that authorised and undertook thousands of sterilisation of young women and men living on welfare, many without the subjects knowledge. It’s almost unbelievable that this happened let alone that it continued until the seventies and draws comparisons of the Nazis ideology. It’s not an in depth detailed read but it’s fast paced and I was drawn in by the characters and need to know their fate. A fascinating piece of history and an real eye opener, I really recommend reading. The narrator, who voiced ALL of the characters is excellent and there is clear distinction between them. Not my usual read but really glad I gave it a chance.

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