Lemons in the Garden of Love
Ames Sheldon
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
It's 1977 and Cassie Lyman, a graduate student in women's history, is struggling to find a topic for her doctoral dissertation. When she discovers a trove of drawings, suffrage cartoons, letters, and diaries at Smith College belonging to Kate Easton, founder of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts in 1916, she believes she has located her subject. Digging deeper into Kate's life, Cassie learns that she and Kate are related--closely. Driven to understand why her family has never spoken of Kate, Cassie travels to Cape Ann to attend her sister's shotgun wedding, where she questions her female relatives about Kate--only to find herself soon afterward in the same challenging situation Kate faced.
Product Details
Price
$16.95
$15.76
Publisher
She Writes Press
Publish Date
May 11, 2021
Pages
248
Dimensions
5.4 X 8.4 X 0.8 inches | 0.75 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9781647420482
BISAC Categories:
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About the Author
Ames Sheldon worked as a reporter for two small-town newspapers in Minnesota before becoming lead author and editor of Women's History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States, which ignited her passion for studying and writing about the history of women in America. After that, Sheldon ventured into the world of creative nonfiction, writing grant proposals and raising funds for the Sierra Club in San Francisco, the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, the Minneapolis Public Library, and a variety of other nonprofits. She lives with her husband in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Reviews
2022 Firebird Book Award Winner for Current Events "Sheldon's evocative prose and compelling sense of the sweep of history grabs attention from page one."
--Booklife "Compelling..full of verve and determination. A rich historical novel that examines the slow acknowledgement of women's rights."
--Foreword Reviews "Ames Sheldon's third novel LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE demonstrates Sheldon's consummate skill at bringing history to life in an engaging story. Through the diaries of an early 20th century suffragist aunt, protagonist Cassie Lyman bolsters her own pursuit of autonomy as a woman, a spouse, a family member, and an historian in the late 1970s. As she finds her way, she learns the costs of change are, and always have been, steep. An extra added attraction is Sheldon's wonderfully evocative descriptions of the Massachusetts Cape Ann coast and its seasonal life. In the midst of current battles around reproductive rights, voting rights, and redefinition of family structures, LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVEis a relevant and compelling novel for fans of historical and women's fiction."
--Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of Even in Darkness and Hard Cider "Ames Sheldon's beautiful novel brings us on a journey with characters that come alive on the page, reminding us how far we've come in our fight for equality and reproductive health in this country. It's easy to forget what life was like for women before birth control was readily accessible . . . Sheldon's engaging writing is an important reminder of what's at stake today."
--Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO;Planned Parenthood North Central States "Using a deeply researched, imagined diary from the early twentieth
century and a crisis point in the life of her main character six decades later, Sheldon deftly juxtaposes the experiences of middle-class women around marriage, childbearing, professional opportunities, and reproductive rights. Readers will be caught up in Cassie's story, her hard decisions . . . and come away with a much deeper understanding of the depths and the human costs of the long struggle for reproductive rights and its centrality to the unfinished fight for gender equality."
--Sara M. Evans, author of Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America "A thoughtful exploration of the complexities of abortion and reproductive freedom. Ames Sheldon's characters draw you in as Cassie and her great-grand aunt Kate each navigate their own journeys. A great read."
--Jennifer Childs-Roshak, MD, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts Praise for author's Don't Put the Boats Away: 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in General Fiction/Novel (Under 80k Words) 2019 Best Book Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction "Don't Put the Boats Away is chock-full of well-researched historical details about political events, medical advancements, and even food trends of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, and it also offers important commentary on professional opportunities for women during these decades. The author creates believable characters with complex interior lives. Overall, it's a touching tale that examines the ways in which grief, regret, and unmet expectations can reverberate through generations." --Kirkus Reviews "Don't Put the Boats Away is an impeccably researched and simultaneously heartfelt novel about what it was to be a woman and a scientist in the wake of the Second World War. The world needs more novels like this." --Louisa Hall, The Carriage House, Speak, Trinity "Reading Don't Put the Boats Away is like being enveloped in a family, a real family bound by love and loss, music and science. It's a testament to the danger of secrets and the hope we place in future generations. I enjoyed it thoroughly." --Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, Eden and The Nine "Don't Put the Boats Away is a richly detailed family saga of the Suttons' post-WWII lives--and a wonderful sequel to Ames Sheldon's first novel Eleanor's Wars. Ames's knack for period authenticity is paired with a keen portrayal of the inner lives of major characters that transcend common narratives of '50s, '60s, and '70s America. Complex relationships, dedication to music, science, and family loyalty, and the haunting legacy of war even on privileged families make this a compelling read." --Barbara Stark-Nemon, Even in Darkness, Hard Cider "Sheldon shows us that, although the sea of life is filled with waves of change and raging riptides, if we surround ourselves with the people and things we love, the voyage is not so treacherous." --Minnesota Monthly
--Booklife "Compelling..full of verve and determination. A rich historical novel that examines the slow acknowledgement of women's rights."
--Foreword Reviews "Ames Sheldon's third novel LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE demonstrates Sheldon's consummate skill at bringing history to life in an engaging story. Through the diaries of an early 20th century suffragist aunt, protagonist Cassie Lyman bolsters her own pursuit of autonomy as a woman, a spouse, a family member, and an historian in the late 1970s. As she finds her way, she learns the costs of change are, and always have been, steep. An extra added attraction is Sheldon's wonderfully evocative descriptions of the Massachusetts Cape Ann coast and its seasonal life. In the midst of current battles around reproductive rights, voting rights, and redefinition of family structures, LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVEis a relevant and compelling novel for fans of historical and women's fiction."
--Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of Even in Darkness and Hard Cider "Ames Sheldon's beautiful novel brings us on a journey with characters that come alive on the page, reminding us how far we've come in our fight for equality and reproductive health in this country. It's easy to forget what life was like for women before birth control was readily accessible . . . Sheldon's engaging writing is an important reminder of what's at stake today."
--Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO;Planned Parenthood North Central States "Using a deeply researched, imagined diary from the early twentieth
century and a crisis point in the life of her main character six decades later, Sheldon deftly juxtaposes the experiences of middle-class women around marriage, childbearing, professional opportunities, and reproductive rights. Readers will be caught up in Cassie's story, her hard decisions . . . and come away with a much deeper understanding of the depths and the human costs of the long struggle for reproductive rights and its centrality to the unfinished fight for gender equality."
--Sara M. Evans, author of Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America "A thoughtful exploration of the complexities of abortion and reproductive freedom. Ames Sheldon's characters draw you in as Cassie and her great-grand aunt Kate each navigate their own journeys. A great read."
--Jennifer Childs-Roshak, MD, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts Praise for author's Don't Put the Boats Away: 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in General Fiction/Novel (Under 80k Words) 2019 Best Book Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction "Don't Put the Boats Away is chock-full of well-researched historical details about political events, medical advancements, and even food trends of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, and it also offers important commentary on professional opportunities for women during these decades. The author creates believable characters with complex interior lives. Overall, it's a touching tale that examines the ways in which grief, regret, and unmet expectations can reverberate through generations." --Kirkus Reviews "Don't Put the Boats Away is an impeccably researched and simultaneously heartfelt novel about what it was to be a woman and a scientist in the wake of the Second World War. The world needs more novels like this." --Louisa Hall, The Carriage House, Speak, Trinity "Reading Don't Put the Boats Away is like being enveloped in a family, a real family bound by love and loss, music and science. It's a testament to the danger of secrets and the hope we place in future generations. I enjoyed it thoroughly." --Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, Eden and The Nine "Don't Put the Boats Away is a richly detailed family saga of the Suttons' post-WWII lives--and a wonderful sequel to Ames Sheldon's first novel Eleanor's Wars. Ames's knack for period authenticity is paired with a keen portrayal of the inner lives of major characters that transcend common narratives of '50s, '60s, and '70s America. Complex relationships, dedication to music, science, and family loyalty, and the haunting legacy of war even on privileged families make this a compelling read." --Barbara Stark-Nemon, Even in Darkness, Hard Cider "Sheldon shows us that, although the sea of life is filled with waves of change and raging riptides, if we surround ourselves with the people and things we love, the voyage is not so treacherous." --Minnesota Monthly
