![]() ![]() Nelson exposes the varied responses to these secrets as families conceal them either from outsiders or their own members. "Margaret Nelson’s innovative book analyzes memoirs from the 1950s and 60s to tell the compelling stories of outsiders-institutionalized children’s siblings, same-sex boys, unmarried pregnant girls, hidden ancestors or genetic connections, and red diaper babies. Hansen, author of Encounter on the Great Plains: Scandinavian Settlers and the Dispossession of Dakota Indians, 1890-1930 Nelson traffics in contradictions, which makes her analysis all the more complex and interesting." ![]() "This highly original book uses memoirs as a window into the ways that families are both constructed and disassembled. Pierce, co-author of Telling Stories: The Use of Personal Narratives in the Social Sciences and History ![]() Nelson is a terrific writer, she highlights the difficult and painful processes entailed in keeping different kinds of family secrets.this book will make a big splash." An excellent addition to any memoir or history collection." "At a time when the sanctity of the family unit was prized above all else, the hollowing of these connections through collusion and lies is a stark consequence of the pressure of keeping up appearances. I enthusiastically invite scholars to assign, share, and build upon her beautifully written and widely useful book." " Keeping Family Secrets: Shame and Silence in Memoirs from the 1950s offers foundational connections for the lay and early sociological audience, yet also contains thoughtful fodder for more senior sociologists. Keeping Family Secrets sheds light not only on decades-old secrets but pushes us to confront what secrets our families keep today. Personal accounts reveal the costs associated with keeping family secrets, as family members lie, hurl epithets, inflict abuse, and even deny family membership to protect themselves from the shame and danger of public knowledge. The members of ordinary families kept these issues secret to hide the disconnect between the reality of their own family and the prevailing ideals of what a family should be. Keeping Family Secrets uncovers hidden stories of same-sex attraction among boys, unwed pregnancies among teenage girls, the institutionalization of children with mental and physical disabilities, participation in left-wing political activities, adoption, and Jewish ancestry. Drawing on over 150 memoirs describing childhoods in the period between the aftermath of World War II and the 1960s, Nelson highlights the importance of history in creating family secrets and demonstrates the use of personal stories to understand how people make sense of themselves and their social worlds. Nelson is interested in how families keep secrets from each other and from outsiders when to do otherwise would risk eliciting not only embarrassment or discomfort, but profound shame and, in some cases, danger. Nowadays A lesbian partnership, a “bastard” son, an aunt who is a prostitute, or a criminal grandfather might be of little or no consequence but could have unraveled a family at an earlier moment in history. From teen pregnancy and gay sexuality to Communism and disability, the startling secrets that families kept during the Cold War eraĪll families have secrets but the facts requiring secrecy change with time. ![]()
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