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"A powerful, authentic voice for a generation of women whose struggles were erased from history - a heart-smashing debut that completely satisfies." - Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and SweetA young woman finds the most powerful love of her life when she gives birth at an institution for unwed mothers in 1883 Philadelphia. She is told she must give up her daughter to avoid lifelong poverty and shame. But she chooses to keep her. Pregnant, left behind by her lover, and banished from her Quaker home and teaching position, Lilli de Jong enters a home for wronged women to deliver her child. She is stunned at how much her infant needs her and at how quickly their bond overtakes her heart. Mothers in her position face disabling prejudice, which is why most give up their newborns. But Lilli can't accept such an outcome. Instead, she braves moral condemnation and financial ruin in a quest to keep herself and her baby alive. Confiding their story to her diary as it unfolds, Lilli takes readers from an impoverished charity to a wealthy family's home to the streets of a burgeoning American city. Drawing on rich history, Lilli de Jong is both an intimate portrait of loves lost and found and a testament to the work of mothers. "So little is permissible for a woman," writes Lilli, "yet on her back every human climbs to adulthood."



About the Author

Janet Benton

Janet Benton's debut novel LILLI DE JONG is the diary of an unwed Quaker mother in 1883 Philadelphia who decides to try to keep her baby. It was one of LIBRARY JOURNAL's and NPR's Best Books 2017 and a semifinalist for the Choice Awards and has received many additional honors. It is available in paperback, hardcover, audio book, e-book, and large print editions. Janet's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and elsewhere. She holds an M.F.A. from the Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst and a B. A. in religious studies from Oberlin College. Janet has worked hard to give books a central place in her life. Her family history has made her highly aware of the power of the mother-infant bond and of the need to stand up for outcasts. After working at magazines, newspapers, and publishers and teaching writing at four universities, she began The Word Studio () to offer workshops and mentoring to writers. She's also a mother, wife, singer, and person who gets teary-eyed when she sees kindness or cruelty. She loves to interact with readers by Skype, online, and in person. See



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