The Light in the Window

Very enlightening recall of home for unwed mothers in 1950’s In Ireland. Man’s inhumanity to man is written by the nurse midwife

I chose to read this book of true stories of Unwanted Women & Their Children who suffered at the hands of Irish Catholic Nuns at “The Workhouse” the only option left to them, where they were locked away, abused, treated as slaves, allowed to keep there child with them for a maximum of 3 years and then be forced to give up their child for adoption and the women had to remain and work for The Nuns, a great deal of laundering services that they had to do in order to “Pay Off Their Debt To God” for the years they had (if you can call it) Lived with the Nuns to be washed of their sin of having a child out of wedlock, etc though most of these women were raped, forced to endure incest and once they became pregnant or was no longer useful to their families, they were cast away into the wind! I grew up on the beliefs of a gentle and kind Lord...not the Hellfire & Brimstone Of a cruel God. - I also watched “The Magdalene Sisters” movie, that told of the horrors and heartbreak of “Unwed & Uncared For Pregnant Females”....there is no “ONE AGE” to the stories nor do these women come “Only From The Wrong Side Of The Tracks”....in fact, it can be said by thousands of women that “But For The Grace Of God, Go I”.....Thousands Of babie WERE SOLD to couples, mainly in America and Australia. The horror of it all. Make a point of reading this book, it was a promise fulfilled by a Nurse who did all that she could to help these women, even a crust of bread was rejoiced over...and get the movie, watch it all the way through & look into your mirror, outside your window, within your heart & I believe your sorrows will become more bearable to you. If you can help a Mother or Child, please do so....you will never regret it. ~ ...one last thing, watch the movie “FALLING FOR A DANCER” it features such a story and the actors include a very young Colin Farrell and a young Liam Cunningham (Sir Davis, the onion smuggler from Game Of Thrones. “Falling For A Dancer will not disappoint you! ~ Laurie Turner

After seeing the movie "Philomena ", I was interested in reading more about the culture in Ireland in the mid-20th century with regard to the unwed mothers, their babies/children, and the role that the Catholic Church and certain religious orders (nuns) played in service to the poor, unfortunate souls who came (or were sent to them) for assistance. Was Philomena's case an anomaly? This book was told from the point of view of a young woman who was a lay-midwife. She was hired to work at a convent where the only other midwife (her boss) was a nun who had set in place an impressive protocol of making pregnancy, labor, delivery and recovery as miserable as possible for the women in her facility. The remainder of the nuns in this convent were complicit in this 3+ year horror, just as if none of them had ever read The New Testament, Christ's teachings on mercy and forgiveness, of not judging others, of being kind to "the least of these", or many other key passages. These nuns were certainly not willing to implement the principles of the faith, or serve their spiritual husband as "the brides of Christ". I found this book very interesting, and inspiring in how that one young midwife could practice kindness and love to so many of young women who were essentially imprisoned in that convent's facility. Her ability to do so, in such an oppressive environment, while being respectful of the nuns was amazing. I highly recommend this book; it is an eye-opener.

This is a simply but evocatively written account of a young woman who was a nurse in one of Ireland's most terrible Catholic homes for unwed mothers in the 1950s. We read about this case in the headlines now. This book helps to explain how society forced women into the homes in those days, from girls in their teens to women in their 40s. The resilience and courage of the young women abused by the nuns is extraordinary.

June Goulding, in this memoir, is hired as a nurse/midwife in 1951 in a Catholic home for unmarried pregnant girls in ireland. The treatment they faced was appalling. They were denied anesthesia during childbirth, because they "deserve the pain" from their transgressions. The nun/midwife, was cruel and vicious to the girls brought to the home. There was nothing more shameful to an Irish family than having a girl or woman pregnant without marriage. June, the author of this book, gives these unfortunates some of the only kindness they knew. These girls were underfed, overworked, and forced to stay , as unpaid labor, in the home for 3 years after giving birth. Their children were taken from them and "sold" to Catholic Americans,; or whoever had the money to adopt a child. There were very many awful homes like this up until the 1990's. Hard to believe.

This story, a true retelling of a Magellan Girl type story, is an amazing account of brutality and shame. I’ve read a lot about these unwed mothers, locked away in convents, and ultimately losing their babies in illegal adoption transactions. Which is - as June claims - actually selling babies.It is an extraordinary witness of cruelty.

June Golding's account of her two years as a midwife at a convent run as a home for unwed mothers in Ireland in the early fifties is a haunting reminder about human rights and basic human decency. These young mothers were effectively convicted and incarcerated for the untenable crime of conceiving a child out of wedlock. There children were taken, ostensibly to provide "better" lives for them, but often without the consent of their mothers. Golding did what she could and ultimately, all she could do was tell their stories. I am a birth mother, but the circumstances around my son's adoption was so far from what these women endured. I had a strong support network around me that included the parents I chose for my son and I knew that I was doing what was best for him and for me. These women in these homes had no such luck. My heart breaks for them but I am so grateful to Golding for bringing their stories to light.

I was captivated by June's heartbreaking account of her life as a midwife at one of the Irish homes for unmarried mothers in the 1950s. Her account portrays these homes as harsh and cruel and we are transported into this society, that thankfully has changed in which unmarried mothers were treated as the lowest of the low.Equally I loved the descriptions of June's dates with Pat, her fiancé and this side of her story I found heartwarming. Unlike the mothers in the home she was lucky to have met a caring man who stood by her and cherished her and it was a happy ending when they finally were able to be together.I would have liked to know how these Irish homes contrasted with the English homes. It's hard to find much information about the English homes but there has been a great deal written about Irish institutions, Magdalene laundries, convents and such like. It would also have been useful to know about the legalities of writing this book.Nicely written and from the heart June tells her story as she remembers it. This will appeal to fans of 'Call The Midwife'

Pity you didn't report that place when you left. Or made it public knowledge the goings on there.You could have made a difference and got them proper help

I read this book years ago and with all the talk of mother and baby homes here in Ireland, I wanted to read it again. I couldn't find it after numerous searches I was delighted to pick it up on amazon

This was a very interesting read and the author clearly shows compassion and warmth towards the girls. It was a noticeably shorter book to read than others on the same subject matter but it still provided a good overview of how the women were treated and the overall way in which those in charge ran the home. A very important part of history documented.

The stories in this book did not surprise me as I knew of similar events (The Magdalene Sisters) and the cruelty that the Catholic Church and the nuns in particular exercised in Ireland.But for women to act like this towards other women is almost incomprehensible. Obviously there were some good nuns and not all behaved in this manner but just one or two wouldbe too many. Well done to June Goulding for sharing her experiences, and for showing humanity and kindness to those poor girls. A good read.