Lemons In The Garden of Love: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Highly relatable topic: The one in five womenthats 33 million womenin the US who have visited a Planned Parenthood health center for birth control, cancer screenings, or testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections will see themselves in this story. Based on a fascinating true story: This novel was inspired by the authors ancestor Blanche Ames, who founded the Birth Control League of Massachusetts. The author spent many days doing research in the Ames Family Papers within the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, and the CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts is writing a blurb for this novel. Award-winning author: The authors debut historical novel, Eleanors Wars, won the 2016 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Best New Voice in Fiction and her second historical novel, Dont Put the Boats Away, was named finalist in historical fiction for the 2019 Best Book Awards. She has an established fan base and readership in the historical novel genre.

Reviews

2022 Firebird Book Award Winner for Current Events

"Sheldon's evocative prose and compelling sense of the sweep of history grabs attention from page one."
--Booklife

"Compelling..full of verve and determination. A rich historical novel that examines the slow acknowledgement of women's rights."
--Foreword Reviews

"Ames Sheldon's third novel LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVE demonstrates Sheldon's consummate skill at bringing history to life in an engaging story. Through the diaries of an early 20th century suffragist aunt, protagonist Cassie Lyman bolsters her own pursuit of autonomy as a woman, a spouse, a family member, and an historian in the late 1970s. As she finds her way, she learns the costs of change are, and always have been, steep. An extra added attraction is Sheldon's wonderfully evocative descriptions of the Massachusetts Cape Ann coast and its seasonal life. In the midst of current battles around reproductive rights, voting rights, and redefinition of family structures, LEMONS IN THE GARDEN OF LOVEis a relevant and compelling novel for fans of historical and women's fiction."
--Barbara Stark-Nemon, author of Even in Darkness and Hard Cider

"Ames Sheldon's beautiful novel brings us on a journey with characters that come alive on the page, reminding us how far we've come in our fight for equality and reproductive health in this country. It's easy to forget what life was like for women before birth control was readily accessible . . . Sheldon's engaging writing is an important reminder of what's at stake today."
--Sarah Stoesz, President and CEO;Planned Parenthood North Central States

"Using a deeply researched, imagined diary from the early twentieth
century and a crisis point in the life of her main character six decades later, Sheldon deftly juxtaposes the experiences of middle-class women around marriage, childbearing, professional opportunities, and reproductive rights. Readers will be caught up in Cassie's story, her hard decisions . . . and come away with a much deeper understanding of the depths and the human costs of the long struggle for reproductive rights and its centrality to the unfinished fight for gender equality."
--Sara M. Evans, author of Born for Liberty: A History of Women in America

"A thoughtful exploration of the complexities of abortion and reproductive freedom. Ames Sheldon's characters draw you in as Cassie and her great-grand aunt Kate each navigate their own journeys. A great read."
--Jennifer Childs-Roshak, MD, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

Praise for author's Don't Put the Boats Away:

2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in General Fiction/Novel (Under 80k Words)

2019 Best Book Awards Finalist in Historical Fiction

"Don't Put the Boats Away is chock-full of well-researched historical details about political events, medical advancements, and even food trends of the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, and it also offers important commentary on professional opportunities for women during these decades. The author creates believable characters with complex interior lives. Overall, it's a touching tale that examines the ways in which grief, regret, and unmet expectations can reverberate through generations."

--Kirkus Reviews

"Don't Put the Boats Away is an impeccably researched and simultaneously heartfelt novel about what it was to be a woman and a scientist in the wake of the Second World War. The world needs more novels like this."

--Louisa Hall, The Carriage House, Speak, Trinity

"Reading Don't Put the Boats Away is like being enveloped in a family, a real family bound by love and loss, music and science. It's a testament to the danger of secrets and the hope we place in future generations. I enjoyed it thoroughly."

--Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, Eden and The Nine

"Don't Put the Boats Away is a richly detailed family saga of the Suttons' post-WWII lives--and a wonderful sequel to Ames Sheldon's first novel Eleanor's Wars. Ames's knack for period authenticity is paired with a keen portrayal of the inner lives of major characters that transcend common narratives of '50s, '60s, and '70s America. Complex relationships, dedication to music, science, and family loyalty, and the haunting legacy of war even on privileged families make this a compelling read."

--Barbara Stark-Nemon, Even in Darkness, Hard Cider

"Sheldon shows us that, although the sea of life is filled with waves of change and raging riptides, if we surround ourselves with the people and things we love, the voyage is not so treacherous."

--Minnesota Monthly

Author Bio

Ames Sheldon worked as a reporter for two small-town newspapers in Minnesota before becoming lead author and associate editor of the monumental reference work Womens History Sources: A Guide to Archives and Manuscript Collections in the United States, which ignited her passion for writing about the history of women in America. Then she worked as a development officer, raising funds for the Sierra Club in San Francisco, the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, the Minneapolis Public Library, and other nonprofit organizations. Her first historical novel, Eleanors Wars, won the 2016 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for Best New Voice: Fiction. Her second historical novel, Dont Put the Boats Away, was finalist in historical fiction for the 2019 Best Book Awards. Sheldon lives with her husband in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.