Abortion, Unwed Mothers, Infertility, Miscarriage. This book covers it all, and very sensitively.

Betsey (Elizabeth) is sent to live with Lily Berg and her husband, who is a gynaecologist, or an ob-gyn as they like to say in the U.S.

Lily is pregnant with her second child, her sister Rose, living with an abusive husband (though she hasn't yet realised it) and not wanting to get pregnant due to her career.

Lily's Canasta group from the neighbourhood are all in varying stages of their life - including their family planning...

Then tragedy strikes and they all must find a way to do the right thing. No matter what their beliefs.

Loved this! I found it very reminiscent of Lessons in Chemistry as it is set in the same time period. Lily and Rose, Jewish sisters, are married to an obstetrician and lawyer respectively. Lily is the eldest and has been the mother figure to Rose after the death of their mother. Lily is mother to an infant daughter, expecting her second child and meets her friends for weekly canasta sessions where they support each other through their middle class, suburban lives. It is set in 1960s America where The Feminine mystique gets passed around women surreptitiously and discussed discreetly. Reflecting this time, young unmarried girls are shamed and ostracised and here, sent away to a mother and baby home where after they give birth their babies are adopted. Betsy is fifteen, doesn't know how she got pregnant and moves in with lily and her family for a few months before her baby is due. It's seen as a charitable thing to do and young Betsy becomes close to Lily who actually enlightens her on sex, pregnancy and what can happen after her baby is born. Lily's friends and her sister Rose have crises of their own and how they are dealt with truly reflects again the times they are living in. As an ex-sociology teacher I think this is a great book that shows women's lives in 1960s middle America and is a study in social history. At times it makes you smile and also, I did shed a few tears but it also has a very gratifying ending. Thoroughly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ Publishers UK for providing me with a copy of In the Family Way by Laney Katz Becker in exchange for an honest review.
I recently had the pleasure of diving into Laney Katz Becker's In the Family Way, a novel that transports you straight to 1965 Ohio, placing you amidst a group of women on the cusp of significant societal change. This book resonated deeply with me, offering a poignant look at friendship, womanhood, and the quiet revolutions brewing beneath the surface of suburban life. I genuinely liked this book and have rated it 4 out of 5 stars.
About the Book
Set in 1965 Ohio, In the Family Way centres on a weekly card game shared by a group of suburban housewives. Lily Berg, seemingly with a perfect life as a doctor's wife, is secretly struggling. Her best friend, Becca, is facing an unwanted fourth pregnancy, while Lily’s younger sister, Rose, navigates a seemingly modern but complex marriage. Their lives are further shaken when Lily takes in fifteen-year-old Betsy, who is pregnant and frightened, from a home for unwed mothers. Over six months, these women’s lives intertwine, testing their friendships and forcing them to confront secrets, make difficult choices, and challenge a society not yet ready for women to embrace their own dreams and ambitions.
Thematic Exploration: Women on the Cusp of Liberation
The core theme woven throughout In the Family Way is undoubtedly the nuanced exploration of womanhood in the mid-1960s. Becker masterfully captures the simmering discontent and burgeoning desire for independence that characterised this era for many women. We see characters grappling with societal expectations – the pressure to be the perfect wife and mother, the limited professional opportunities, and the often-silent sacrifices made for family.
The arrival of Betsy, a pregnant teenager in a time when unmarried pregnancy carried immense stigma, serves as a catalyst, forcing the other women to confront their own suppressed desires, hidden struggles, and evolving perspectives on morality and autonomy. The book beautifully illustrates how individual acts of rebellion, support, and self-discovery contribute to a larger narrative of female empowerment, even within the confines of seemingly idyllic suburban settings. It’s a powerful reminder of how far women's rights have come, but also of the timeless questions surrounding identity, choice, and agency that continue to resonate.
What I Loved (Pros)
Compelling Characters: The cast of characters, particularly Lily, Becca, Rose, and Betsy, are incredibly well-developed and feel authentically human. Each woman carries her own burdens and triumphs, making them highly relatable. I found myself deeply invested in their individual journeys and collective struggles.
Authentic Historical Setting: Becker’s meticulous research shines through, immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and social norms of 1960s America. The backdrop of evolving attitudes towards women, birth control, and unwed mothers felt incredibly real and added significant depth to the narrative.
Focus on Female Friendship: The heart of this novel lies in the powerful bonds of friendship between these women. Their weekly card games serve as a sanctuary where they can share vulnerabilities, offer solace, and provide unwavering support. It's a beautiful portrayal of the strength found in female solidarity.
Emotional Depth and Resonance: The book tackles challenging topics with sensitivity and nuance, from marital dissatisfaction to teenage pregnancy and judgment. It's an emotionally rich read that prompts reflection on the universal experiences of love, loss, hope, and resilience.
​Areas for Consideration (Cons)
While I thoroughly enjoyed In the Family Way, there were a couple of minor points worth noting. For some readers, the pacing in the middle section might feel a touch slower as the narrative spends more time on character introspection and relationship dynamics before accelerating towards the latter half. Additionally, while the resolutions were satisfying, a few felt perhaps a little tidier than real-life complexities might allow, though this certainly contributes to the uplifting tone.
Final Thoughts
In the Family Way is a warm, insightful, and ultimately empowering novel that I wholeheartedly recommend. Laney Katz Becker has crafted a compelling story that celebrates the enduring spirit of women and the transformative power of friendship against a vivid historical backdrop. If you enjoy character-driven historical fiction that explores significant social themes, then this book is definitely one to add to your reading list.

I've never read anything like this before and I absolutely loved every single second of the story. The depth, the emotional aspect as well as the beautiful writing pulled me in from the first few pages. Will definitely be thinking about this one for a while...

In a Family Way by Laney Katz Becker isn’t the kind of book I usually pick up, but I’m glad I gave it a chance. Set in 1950s America, it follows the lives of young unwed mothers who are sent to live with a family until they give birth and then give up their babies for adoption, returning home as if nothing ever happened. Abortion is illegal, options are limited, and the emotional weight of that reality comes through.

I found the writing to be absorbing, and the story was sensitively told. It sheds light on a time and experience that’s not often discussed, and it made me think about how much has changed—and how much hasn't. It’s a heartbreaking but ultimately compassionate read. A solid 4 stars from me.

In the Family Way is a moving and eye-opening story that stayed with me long after I finished it. It explores infertility and surrogacy with honesty, but what really struck me was how it also sheds light on the history of how society has treated women — especially so-called “fallen women” who became pregnant outside of marriage. Through the characters’ stories, the book effectively conveys the weight of the judgment these women faced, and it opened my eyes to how harsh and isolating it can be.

I also appreciated how the novel informed me about how policies and attitudes around abortion and adoption have changed over the years. Those parts of the story were heartbreaking but important, and they added a real depth to what could have just been a family drama. At its heart, though, this is a book about resilience — about women finding strength and carving out their own paths even in the face of shame, silence, and setbacks.

It’s a heartfelt, thought-provoking read that made me reflect on how far we’ve come, and how much further we still have to go when it comes to compassion and choice.

This US-American author and her previous work were unfamiliar to me, so I relished the chance to review her latest novel through the pages of a digital ARC that I was gifted by the publishers through NetGalley – thank you!
The novel starts in the 1960s at an important societal turning point when women were still personally, professionally and legally disadvantaged. The novel has at its root the personal confessions shared throughout weekly canasta game by a group of New York housewives, including central character Lily who decides to provide board and lodging in exchange for some housework to local teen Betsy. Both young women are pregnant, but their societal status – Betsy was residing at a home for unmarried mothers whilst Lily is a doctor’s wife – could not be more disparate. Another member of the Canasta circle, Becca, is also pregnant, so the topic of motherhood – from unwanted pregnancy to treasured childrearing – comes up regularly throughout the novel, as do abortion rights and general thoughts about female livelihood and liberties then and now. Sympathetically written and hugely relevant, this is a novel that deserves a wide and understanding readership.

A powerful read set in 1965 America when women had no power and were subservient to their husbands. 15 year old Betsy is sent to live with middle class Lily and her family during her pregnancy. Betsy is so innocent she has no idea how she got into this situation but her parents have sent her to a home for unwed mothers who have sent her to Lily. Lily has a toddler and is also pregnant. They open each other's eyes to life. Lily's group of friends have their own problems and it's interesting to gradually see minds and eyes opening. A disturbing read. #netgalley #inthefamilyway

Such a heart warming story. It was such a powerful and up lifting book, I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about family, about what happens in families and is not only a heart-warming read but is powerful and uplifting as well. The cast of characters are great, the setting in Ohio in 1965 (you can just picture it) we have the suburban housewives, a teenager who is pregnant and how they all interact is what makes this book such a great read.

I love the premise of this book, I love reading the stories of these women and their friendships. I can picture the USA in this period and it really did bring the whole story to life. A great, strong and wonderful read.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

In The Family Way by Laney Katz Becker was both an enjoyable and thought-provoking read, one that lingered in my mind long after I finished it. At its core, the novel explores the emotional complexities of pregnancy and abortion in US in the 60s, and the personal decisions that shape—and sometimes upend—our lives.

What stood out to me most was Becker’s ability to handle such deeply personal and often polarizing topics with nuance and compassion. The story doesn’t shy away from the difficult realities that can come with an unplanned pregnancy, nor does it offer easy answers. Instead, it presents characters who are faced with life-changing choices and portrays them in an honest, human light.

Becker’s writing is engaging and accessible, but also layered with emotional depth. The characters felt authentic—messy, conflicted, and real—and their internal struggles pulled me in completely. The book made me reflect on how personal decisions, especially around reproductive choices, are rarely black and white. It challenges the reader to consider empathy and understanding above judgment.

I would recommend In The Family Way to anyone looking for a compelling novel that balances emotional storytelling with timely, relevant themes. It’s a meaningful read that encourages conversation and reflection, while still being an engaging and heartfelt story.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. I am so happy it has finally been released.

In the Family Way left me feeling incredibly grateful for the generations of women and girls who fought for the rights so many of us now enjoy. The ability to be financially independent and have autonomy over our own bodies is something we owe to their courage and perseverance (and I say this with the privilege of not living in the US).

This novel shines a stark and moving light on what life was like for women in the past, particularly the difficulty of breaking free from the narrow mould of the 1950s housewife. Laney Katz Becker captures this struggle with empathy and realism. It’s a powerful and thought-provoking read that reminds us how far we’ve come—and why we must continue to protect and progress women’s rights.

In the Family Way is a fictional look at the state of maternity care and abortion in the US in the 1960s.

The story is narrated by 3 women - Lily Berg, Rose Seigel and Betsey Eunbanks. Rose and Lily are sisters married to a lawyer and obstetrician respectively. Betsey is a 15 year old young woman who has found herself "in the family way" most likely due to ignorance of how female bodies worked. Lily has opened her home to unwed mothers before but in Betsey she senses a young woman who is curious and willing to learn.

As the stories unfold of Lily, Rose and Betsey (along with the other neighbourhood women) Laney Becker gives us a taste of various scenarios that women encountered before Women's Lib really took off.

There are several difficult subjects discussed including spousal control of finances, unplanned pregnancies, the adoption of illegitimate children, spousal abuse and the women's movement.

The story will be enlightening for a lot of people who perhaps don't realise how little women controlled in their lives even as recently as the 1970s. The women themselves provide various viewpoints - the happy housewife married to a decent man, the wife who unwittingly married an abuser, the wide who cannot stay pregnant and the wife who is prepared to undergo the dangerscof backstreet abortionists because of the laws.

I think this book is appropriate for our time as the repeal of Roe v Wade threatens to send women's rights back half a century and all the horrors that entails. With further attacks on legal abortions in the US women are fighting for their rights and their lives harder now than for many decades.

It is an emotive book that made me cry at times. I would definitely recommend a read no matter which way you lean on women's rights.

Thankyou to Netgalley and HQ Publishing for the advance review copy.

Lily Berg has a small child, Jo Jo, and another on the way her husband is a obstetrician. She has a mothers help consisting of a fallen woman, Betsy, who is 15 and pregnant and is a bit clueless about how it happened and what happens next. Betsy slowly begins to trust Lily and starts to ask questions finally working out what is happening. Lily's sister Rose went to college and now works as a teacher her husband can't understand why she wants to continue which isn't possible if she gets pregnant. Lily's friends include an activist and a harassed mother of three boys. Together they give us a glimpse of what life was like before the women's liberation movement in the 60's. Interesting reminder how things have moved on and why we don't want to go back to the dark ages.

This felt a little disjointed for a significant amount of the novel. It has multiple voices as several characters are telling their own story, the common link being females in the 1960s who play card together weekly. Each has a very different private personal situation, but I struggled to warm to them initially.

I was most intrigued by Lily, who is probably the main protagonist, and is pregnant with her second child. She takes in a young pregnant unwed girl to help her around the house and take care of Lily's young child. Lily is married to a doctor and her life looks quite easy, but behind it, is a sad story of a young girl giving everything up to raise her sister when their mother unexpectedly dies. Lily appears to have had grit about her, but is living a boring predictable life. She is incredibly kind to Betsey, her pregnant helper, and spends a long time helping Betsy understand life and how she even managed to get herself pregnant.

The other females seem to be secondary characters, but their personal situations bring the story together. I did not realise until I got to the end of the whole book, how much of a historical moment in time, this book was trying to capture. I very quickly went from slightly irritated by what appeared to be female inertia, to a total understanding of how limited their options actually were and the levels of desperation this forced some of them to feel.

This was such a worthwhile read, but you do have to just go with the leisurely pace of the beginning. I just hope that the story being told remains facts of history!

This is a book which focuses upon a small group of women in 1965 in America and it reminded me just how far women have come in the past 60 years. This was a time when women couldn’t get bank account, credit card, mortgages without applications being countersigned by a male. Contraception was only available to married women and around America there were not only homes where unmarried pregnant girls were sent but also hospitals with special wards to care for those who had botched abortion. Into this world we have Lily who is married to a doctor, has a little girl, Jo-Jo and is expecting her second child. She welcomes into her house one of the unmarried, pregnant girls, Betsy. Betsy is 15 and so innocent. Her mother never explained anything to her and so, even when she arrives at Lily’s, she has no idea how she became pregnant. As Lily and Betsy’s relationship develops - which is lovely to follow - she finds herself able to ask all of those questions that her mother would not/did not answer. Also in the group are Rose, Lily’s sister who is married and is a teacher, Becca who has three boys, Robin who is something of an activist and Sarah who is the newcomer and yet to start a family. These women support one another and are there for each other. They all have very different journeys within the book, as they navigate pregnancy and motherhood and all that it entails. There are themes here of abuse and of abortion. I liked Lily who was so prudish and had euphemisms for everything and I loved Betsy’s growth but there wasn’t one woman within the group that I didn’t not like. The novel’s final section takes us to the 1980s and just as the world for women has changed, so to the chapter headings. In the beginning each chapter is titled as Mrs David Berg, Mrs Marty Seigel etc. The women did not have their own name. In the latter chapters they reclaim their names. Ms Joan …. A book that reminds us what life was like for women so little as 60 years ago, which is the blink of an eye.

I loved this book, all about 1950s America where women’s rights were non-existent, only married women could have contraception, single women still required a man to sign form so they could have bank accounts, mortgages etc and men were allowed to rape their wives and treat them as their property. Lily opened her home to look after unmarried pregnant girls, albeit so they could work as an unpaid nanny for her. When Betsy arrives, Lily gets unexpectedly close to her in between her canasta games with her friends. Lily is feeling unfulfilled with her life as a young mother and housewife in this book explores how she finds her way forward, building a relationship with Betsy and trying to make things better for her daughter and other future young women.
This book is definitely for fans of Lessons in Chemistry, but also for those who are interested in the changing role of women over our recent decades. I really cared for the main characters and loved how the final chapters caught up with them in the present. I highly recommend this book.

This book is set in 1965 and is about 4 women in Ohio.

There is Lily, married to a doctor with a young daughter and a baby on the way. She is struggling but doesn’t want her husband to know so she confides in her friends when they meet to play canasta every week.

Becca is Lily’s best friend and neighbour and is messy where Lily is prim and proper. Becca is also pregnant with her fourth child that she cannot afford and she turns to Lily with her concerns.

Rose is Lily’s younger sister, a teacher who married her husband Marty a year ago. Rose is not ready to give up her independence just yet and behind closed doors her marriage is far from perfect.

Finally there is Betsy a fifteen year old who has been shipped off to an unmarried mother’s home when she gets pregnant after her first sexual encounter. Betsy is scared and is taken in by Lily from the home to help out with her toddler. However, taking in Betsy shakes up all their lives.

Over the course of 6 months there are secrets and decisions to be made but most of all the four of them need to face up to a society that isn’t ready for women to have their own dreams and ambitions.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the way the chapters were written as each were from one of the four women’s pov. There are a lot of things that are hidden behind closed doors and it shows that although the 60’s were not that long ago the way that women were expected to be seen and not have aspirations of their own. They were seen as homemakers and were there to raise the children. There is also the stigma behind teen moms from back then. I do recommend this book but it could have some triggers for some people so I would check before reading. A solid 4 star read for me

I cannot recommend this book enough. It is very well written with chapters from different women’s points of view - always a winner for me, and has a subject matter that I was previously uneducated about. The book is set in the mid 60s in a suburban town in America and involves five married women and a young girl who is pregnant but unmarried. The times are beautifully described with all the discrimination and male bias and lack of power for women but not in a condescending way, more a telling of how it was then. You have to accept this and marvel about how far society has changed in the third decade of the 21st century. Parts of this book enraged me while other parts made me cry. Lanky Katz Becker is a talented writer who I’ll be looking out for in the future.