Raw. Riveting. Sad. Triumph. Marylee MacDonald’s memoir, Surrender, is a memoir that I will not forget. In her past, Marylee was adopted in 1945 by a childless couple, Her adoptive mom was grade school teacher, and her father had serious problems that led to a divorce. In 1961, Marylee was a sophomore in high school and she found herself pregnant.
Marylee vividly describes what it was like to be sent to a home for unwed mothers. I am a few years younger that Marylee and girls who got pregnant were not allowed to stay in school when they showed. Students were told that the girl was going to an out-of-town relative’s for a few months to help take care of someone who was sick.
This is an amazing story of survival. She does end up reconnecting with her first-born many years later after having married her child’s father who was killed in a car accident In Germany while Marylee was pregnant with her fifth child.
Marylee’s resilience is a testament to the human soul. I appreciate all of the pictures of her life that are in this remarkable book.My thanks to Grand Canyon Press and NetGalley for an ARC. This is an honest review.
Marylee vividly describes what it was like to be sent to a home for unwed mothers. I am a few years younger that Marylee and girls who got pregnant were not allowed to stay in school when they showed. Students were told that the girl was going to an out-of-town relative’s for a few months to help take care of someone who was sick.
This is an amazing story of survival. She does end up reconnecting with her first-born many years later after having married her child’s father who was killed in a car accident In Germany while Marylee was pregnant with her fifth child.
Marylee’s resilience is a testament to the human soul. I appreciate all of the pictures of her life that are in this remarkable book.My thanks to Grand Canyon Press and NetGalley for an ARC. This is an honest review.