"The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is the gripping true story of a daughter’s quest to find the truth about her mother’s origins—and, in the process, come to terms with her own life and choices. As she uncovers an increasingly dramatic tale of abuse, escape, and recovery, Justine Cowan must grapple with her complex feelings about this woman who, as she comes to learn, never had a real childhood of her own. A riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately healing journey of discovery." — Christina Baker Kline, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train
“‘I didn’t love my mother,’ Cowan declares. But this investigation into her mother’s life is equal parts memoir and love letter to the difficult, occasionally cruel woman who was not the person she claimed to be. Cowan has the doggedness of a public interest lawyer and a writer’s eye for detail.”
— New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice
“This emotional and transatlantic journey is a page-turner about identity, the sacrifices mothers make for their children, how cruel society could be to unmarried mothers at the turn of the century in England, and the history of the Foundling Hospital.” — Amazon Book Review, Editor’s Pick
“Justine Cowan's extraordinary memoir The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames tells the story of her mother's harrowing childhood. Although telling a deeply personal story, she painstakingly gathers her material as if assembling testimony for a day in court. The result is this fascinating, moving book; part history of the Foundling Hospital and the development of child psychology, part Cowan’s own story, and part that of Dorothy Soames (the name Cowan’s mother was given at the hospital).” — Telegraph (UK)
“A brutal institution is at the centre of this affecting family mystery. . . . As a social history of the Foundling Hospital, this is a fascinating read.” — The Times (UK)
“Book groups will find as much to discuss here as they have with The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, and Educated, by Tara Westover.” — Booklist
“Well-researched and highly personal, the book presents a fascinating narrative tapestry that both informs and moves. A candidly illuminating debut memoir.” — Kirkus Reviews
"This frank account of a real-life Dickensian dystopia captivates at every turn." — Publishers Weekly
"Part investigative journalism, part emotional excavation, this breathtaking and heartbreaking book tells the story of a daughter’s need to understand her difficult mother. An unexpected and original addition to the mother/daughter memoir oeuvre, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is both moving and artful, rewarding its readers page after page." — Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret and Me
"Page-turning and profoundly moving. Justine Cowan's meticulous research has uncovered a strand of British history and she brings it sharply and vividly to life through her personal quest." — Virginia Nicholson, author of Among the Bohemians