Saturday, April 7, 2012

Sweet Saturday Sample - Apr 7

For the past several weeks, our Sweet Saturday Samples from I.O.U. Sex have focused on June’s back story from the 1960s. Pregnant and unmarried, her options were limited to four choices. She could:


1.  Marry Denny ~ But she discovered Denny had already married someone else, so that possibility was scratched off her list.


2.  Have an abortion ~ Illegal and dangerous, this wasn't something June wanted to do.


3. Give birth and keep the baby ~ Illegitimacy would bring untold heartache to both mother and child, and June never wanted to burden a child with that stigma.


4. Give the baby up for adoption ~ Young women usually ended up in a home for unwed mothers under this option, and that thought frightened June beyond belief.

However, help came from June’s Aunt Betty, who lived near the UC Berkeley campus.

Then Betty offered a solution. "Why don't you stay here with me and continue going to school? You could finish the spring semester and tell your parents you want to stay here for summer classes. That way you can keep your scholarship. And if the doctor's right, the baby will be born in early July. Maybe you won't start to show right away. Then we can arrange an adoption."

This was what June chose to do. Why? Because she cared more about the baby’s life and future than she did about her own, even though this choice broke her heart.  She wanted this child to have the love of two parents who would raise him or her in a safe and nurturing environment. She decided to sacrifice her own love for this baby to see that he or she had the very best life possible.

June decided not to tell Denny about any of this, given the fact that she was in California and he was in Texas, where he had recently married and was expecting a baby with his wife.

So when we return to the present in our story, it’s no wonder June is now grappling with whether or not she will tell Denny her lifelong secret.  Will she? And if she does, how will he react?

This concludes our posts about June. We hope you have enjoyed getting to know her and glimpsing a time in history when women did not have the autonomy and rights that are recognized in today’s world. We have enjoyed sharing a part of her story.




For more Sweet Saturday Samples, click here: Sweet Samples


Photo source (baby):  http://easypediatrics.com/brief-summary-of-newborn-nutrition

11 comments:

  1. It's very easy to identify with your protagonist and her situation--she's very likable and her story takes us back to a very different time in our nation's history. I'll be back!

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  2. Thank goodness for Aunt Betty! I think most of us can identify with June, even if we've never experienced her situation. Great story!

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  3. Wow, what a cliffhanger! And such a difficult situation. She is so very real to me. Excellent job!

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  4. I think I'm going to have to go back and reread this book

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  5. What a back story! I love how it adds depth to the character. :)

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  6. I have loved this story, but must say I don't agree with her decision not to tell Denny. The father has every right to know he's going to be a father. We women have been making those decisions and leaving them out for too long. I love the story and am looking forward to reading it.

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  7. I loved this book. Each of the heroines grabbed my attention completely. And whichever one we were following, was my favorite! June was very brave during a time when there were no good choices for such a situation.

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  8. Thanks, Sandra, for the heads up! I entered the link wrong!
    :( Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  9. Thanks for your kind and thoughtful comments. We're glad you enjoyed getting to know June.

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  10. It must have taken a lot of courage for June to have gone through that and made the decision she did. I"m going to have to read the whole book to see what happens next!

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