This is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel about Ginny and her husband Ab who are "forced" to give up their newborn, Lucy after she is born with Down Syndrome. Ab's controlling father convinces his son that she would be better off institutionalized as she may have heart problems and developmental difficulties. And while it was difficult to read as people are so callous and refer to her with derogatory language not acceptable anymore, I loved seeing Ginny and her friend, Marsha as they attempt to rescue Lucy after several newspaper articles expose the injustices and poor living conditions in the institute. It's a tribute to parenting and the lengths to which one will go to keep a family together!

Reading Keeping Lucy is an emotional roller coaster of a read. I was enraged and repulsed by the school and Lucy's physical condition and thoroughly disgusted by Ab's father's attitude and treatment of others. On the flip side, I loved Marsha's fiesty, take charge, we'll figure it out approach to life and applauded Ginny's drive to do what was right for her daughter. Keeping Lucy is about making difficult decisions, about doing what is right, and about learning to live life on your own terms. In many ways, it is a coming of age book for most of the main characters - Ginny, Marsha, Ab, and even Sylvia.

This is EASILY the best book I've read this year.

When Ginny has her baby daughter, she's immediately taken away from her. Her husband and father-in-law spirit baby Lucy away to a "school," insisting that it's the best thing to do because Lucy has Down Syndrome. Ginny is heartbroken, but she learns to live without her daughter, believing that she's in good hands.

Two years later, Ginny learns that Willowridge, the special school, is criminally neglecting their children wards. She travels there without her husband's knowledge and finds that the situation is even worse than she thought. She and her best friend, Marsha, take Lucy for a weekend visit, but soon Ginny resolves never to let her daughter return to that asylum of horrors.

What happens next is an epic road trip with young children in tow, threatened by kidnapping charges and the wrath of Ginny's father-in-law. What kind of monster would submit their flesh and blood to those conditions? What kind of man is Ab, Ginny's husband? There are so many questions and so many decisions to make for Ginny, naive SAHM Ginny, who has been shuttled into a lifestyle she doesn't want, away from what she really needs. I loved Ginny, and Marsha too - I felt a little bit of a Thelma and Louise vibe with their road trip. And baby Lucy stole my heart from the first scene at Willowridge. All in all, I thought this was a perfectly plotted, written, and executed novel.

T. Greenwood's Rust & Stardust was heartbreaking, and this novel will break your heart too, yet fill you with equal measures of hope. I think that Greenwood is easily becoming one of my favorite authors, and I look forward to what she writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

In 1971, a time when women were navigating the waters of independence apart from their children and husbands, Ginny Richardson -wife of attorney Ab and mother to son, Peyton - learns that the institution where her disabled daughter Lucy was committed is being accused of abuse and neglect. Ginny and her best friend Marsha- a woman who, in the parlance of the day, is "loose", as well as unmarried and possibly pregnant - take off for the institution to sign the child out for a long weekend. This is the first time Ginny has visited her daughter with Down syndrome and she is horrified to see the conditions. Her feelings of maternal neglect for two years are made even greater when she realizes her daughter is a beautiful, sweet child who has likely been subject to physical abuse. She and Marsha (and Peyton) abscond with the child to Florida, at first unaware that the little girl is a ward of the state of Massachusetts and that, thanks to her husband's controlling father, Ginny is not legally Lucy's parent.

I absolutely loved this book. Of course we are meant to sympathize with Ginny and her innocent daughter, and we do, but we also feel for her husband, who was himself bullied by his father into forgoing the life he truly wanted in favor of following in his father's footsteps. I appreciated the nuance in character development and the authenticity of details for the time period (for instance, the fear that Ginny has when she uses her husband's charge card for the first time, or when she admits to not knowing much about local news because she spends her time ironing pajamas and so on; Ginny doesn't drive and she doesn't have her own bank account, all things we will take for granted just a couple of decades later). Greenwood does a terrific job with the details for the Sixties and early Seventies; it all feels genuine and real, especially the characters.

A story like this (mother kidnaps disabled daughter after being overcome by her maternal love) could easily have been cliche or filled with tropes that would have made me roll my eyes and put it down but it wasn't. It was heartfelt yet heartbreaking. We truly feel for Ginny. And neither does Greenwood shy from the facts about raising a disabled child: Ginny makes it very clear that the kind of money her husband's family has will make it possible for her daughter to have the care she needs while others without her affluence will suffer. The limitations of a child with Down syndrome, as well as the genetic problems like being born with a hole in the heart, are also explored. Life with Lucy will not be easy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc to review. I highly recommend this book to others who enjoy contemporary fiction.

I was excited to receive a copy of T.Greenwoods newest book as I was a big fan of th authors previous work and I was not disappointed.
This was a tough read at times. I was aware of how much progress we have made regarding disabilities, but wasn’t aware of how much progress we have made. To think that not that long ago children who were not born “perfect” were sent away never it be seen or heard from again.
Back in the late 1960’s early 1970’s it was so different for mother’s... many just did what there husbands said .... like it or not.
I was so proud that Ginny, as hard as it was...fought for her daughter. A mother doesn’t disability but sees instead the ability.
It was a joy to see someone in Ginny’s position, who couldn’t even drive go after what she believed was right!
This author writes beautifully.
If you haven’t had a chance to pick up a book by T.Greenwood do yourself a favour and grab a copy of her latest work. What a treat.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was so heartbreaking that even the obligatory happy ending didn’t put me to rights. It’s a well-written, enjoyable book, but it’s also a very important book, as it shows us who we have been as a society to the most vulnerable. Keep your hanky handy

Thank you Net galley for the free ARC:
Barbaric Laws and ideas in the 1950's America. mademothers of Down syndrome babies ign them over to state institutions which by all means were disgusting, understaffed and primitive. THis book is how one mother reclaims her baby; did not like the backstory.

Wow!!! This book is superbly written courtroom drama that examines Life's Big Questions with empathy and leaves you spinning. Trust me, this is one you don't want to miss—it's going to be huge!! Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy.

This book was sent to me to be read over Christmas break.
I have read all of T. Greenwood's books and bought several of them to read repeatedly
and pass through friends which created new fans of T. Greenwood. I enjoy her books!
Upon reading the description- I knew I had to read this one!

I had a short time to read before work one day, so I opened it to start reading to just get
started--- I could not stop reading- I was late to work and I kept trying to read it while I
was working. It was a terrific read, I could not stop reading!!

I have enjoyed T. Greenwood's other books, but, THIS one blew me away.
It is such an excellent book, everyone needs to be reading this book.

I want more of this story, these characters, and this author to bring it to me.

A well written,heart-wrenching story.
People did not know what to do with "not"perfect babies that were born in the 1960's. Families felt shame and blame as they placed these little ones into facilities to live out their days. They were called "residential schools" aka institutions.
Parents went on and tried to forget.
The children were better off, weren't they?
Lucy was born with Down's Syndrome. Her Dad gave up parental rights the day she was born and she was placed into an institution. It was the right decision.
This is a story of a mom who could not forget her little girl.
Ginny had always wondered about Lucy. Was she happy, healthy and receiving adequate care?
When she learns that there have been deficiencies in the "Home" Lucy lives in, Ginny sets out on a mission to right the wrongs. Ginny will not stop nor will she ever give up fighting for her child.
It is a novel of hope, love, courage, despair, tragedy and yet inspiration.

Beautiful heart wrenching story.A book that stays with you long after you finish.Highly recommend for book clubs, #netgalley #Keeping Lucy #St.Martins

A beautiful, well-written story. This is easily going to be a favorite for 2019. I could see a lot of book clubs picking it for their book of the month to read. Well done!