by Kate Moore
Sourcebooks, 2021. 540 pages. Biography
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.
This is a fascinating portrait of an amazing woman. Few books illustrate the hardships women have faced throughout history and how powerless they often were to change their situations. Elizabeth’s attempts to stand up for herself were used against her as proof of her instability. Because, obviously, any woman who disagrees with her husband must be insane. What I found most inspiring about her story is that when she finally won her own battles for freedom and independence, she dedicated herself to establishing laws that would help others avoid what she suffered. An important look at an overlooked piece of history.
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