By Laura L. Engel
Reviewed by Lucinda Jackson
You’ll Forget This Ever Happened is a book you won’t ever forget. As memoir, it recounts the tragedy of a teenaged girl in the 1960s forced to give up her baby because she wasn’t married—and face the stigma, self-blame, and trauma that accompanied that event. I well remember girls during my own high school years in the 1960s who “disappeared” or whose families shipped them away to “homes for unwed mothers,” but I never truly imagined what they actually experienced. Engel does a huge service to all these young forgotten girls by telling their story. Her descriptions are so detailed, poignant, and gripping that I felt like I was right there along with her and the other young women. She recounts her own journey—finding out she was pregnant, being “sent away” mysteriously, her time in the Home, and the wrenching aftermath. Engel writes of her emotional roller coaster with such variation and insight that you feel each stage she goes through. She creates full characters through the reactions and emotions of her friends, mother, father, grandmother, boyfriend, and other characters that come to life in the book. You’ll Forget This Ever Happened is expertly written and edited (by Annie Tucker) to make it not only an “I can’t put this down book” but also a complete pleasure to read as a fellow writer. And just when I thought the unbelievable drama was finally over, a shock ending blew me away. You’ll Forget This Ever Happened should be made into a movie to further expose this shameful era in our American history to an even wider audience.After decades as a PhD scientist and executive, Lucinda Jackson now speaks, writes and consults on women in the workplace and in our next acts www.lucindajackson.com