Necessary Lies

Larry Bowlden reviews the novel Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlain. Although the book centers around two families and is in many ways a love story, its underlying theme is the eugenics program that was employed in North Carolina from 1929–1975 and led to the sterilization of over 7,000 of its citizens. The early years of the program focused on institutionalized individuals, but in the fifties shifted to women on welfare.