“‘I didn’t love my mother,’ Cowan declares. But this investigation into her mother’s life is equal parts memoir and love letter to the difficult, occasionally cruel woman who was not the person she claimed to be. Cowan has the doggedness of a public interest lawyer and a writer’s eye for detail.”

– The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice/Staff Pick

“Turns out Justine Cowan's British, fussy, mean, and secretive mother, whom she never got along with, was hiding everything about her past from her daughter, including her name. After her mother's death, Cowan sets aside her issues—"I feared that knowing the truth would give her a power over me that I couldn't bear"—and begins to search for the truth about her mother. This emotional and transatlantic journey is a page-turner about identity, the sacrifices mothers make for their children, how cruel society could be to unmarried mothers at the turn of the century in England, and the history of the Foundling Hospital.”

– Amazon Book Review, Editors’ Pick

“Justine Cowan's extraordinary memoir The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames tells the story of her mother's harrowing childhood. Although telling a deeply personal story, she painstakingly gathers her material as if assembling testimony for a day in court. The result is this fascinating, moving book; part history of the Foundling Hospital and the development of child psychology, part Cowan’s own story, and part that of Dorothy Soames (the name Cowan’s mother was given at the hospital).”

– The Telegraph

“A brutal institution is at the centre of this affecting family mystery. . . . As a social history of the Foundling Hospital, this is a fascinating read.”

– The Times

“Engrossing, emotional, and engaging, this is a can’t-look-away memoir that deserves to be read by all.”

– Woman and Home Magazine (UK)

“Part-memoir, part-detective story, The Secret Life Of Dorothy Soames will break your heart then piece it back together again. Despite a fractured and painful relationship, the death of her mother caused Justine Cowan to examine her mother’s lifelong secret before tracing her childhood to London’s Foundling Hospital. Set up as a refuge for poor mothers to place children in the mid-18th century, Dorothy Soames (as she was known) was left there during World War II and endured horrific abuse from the women who ran it. Simultaneously exploring her mother’s story of escape and the history of the hospital, this is an unforgettable read.”

– Stylist Magazine, The best new non-fiction books for 2021

“For some, the story of mother-daughter discord will resonate, while others might be intrigued by Dorothy’s childhood and still others fascinated by an institution whose history was as illustrious as it was wretched. In short, there is something for everyone in these provocative pages.”

– BookReporter

A “compelling story” and a “gripping biography” that reveals that “once the bond between a parent and a child has been broken, it is difficult to mend.'“

– The Daily Mail

“The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is the gripping true story of a daughter’s quest to find the truth about her mother’s origins—and, in the process, come to terms with her own life and choices. As she uncovers an increasingly dramatic tale of abuse, escape, and recovery, Justine Cowan must grapple with her complex feelings about this woman who, as she comes to learn, never had a real childhood of her own.  A riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately healing journey of discovery.”  

– Christina Baker Kline, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Orphan Train

“Stopped me in my tracks … part illuminating social history and part reckoning with the wreckage of the past.”

– Virginia Prescott, ArtsATL

Similar to How to Be a Refugee, Justine Cowan’s work is a mix of memoir and family history. . . . In this work, we follow Cowan’s journey as she seeks to uncover the past that shaped her mother into the woman she knew. Vividly written, Cowan’s work weaves together her mother’s history with that of the Hospital, which is famous for having inspired the likes of Dickens and Handel, with astonishing results.  

– The Glossary, London’s Style Guide, 11 Fascinating New Memoirs

“Part investigative journalism, part emotional excavation, this breathtaking and heartbreaking book tells the story of a daughter’s need to understand her difficult mother. An unexpected and original addition to the mother/daughter memoir oeuvre, The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is both moving and artful, rewarding its readers page after page.”

– Adrienne Brodeur, bestselling author of Wild Game: My Mother, Her Secret and Me

“Cowan debuts with an impressive memoir about the unearthing of her deceased mother’s secret past and a generations-long cycle of family trauma. This frank account of a real-life Dickensian dystopia captivates at every turn.”

– Publishers Weekly

“Well-researched and highly personal, the book presents a fascinating narrative tapestry that both informs and moves. A candidly illuminating debut memoir.”

-Kirkus Reviews

“This is a beautifully written and tender account of how a daughter came to a late understanding of her mother, and how she began to heal the wounds of all that had gone before.”

-The New Statesman

“Page-turning and profoundly moving. Cowan never sensationalises. Her meticulous research has uncovered a sadistically patriarchal strand of British history that we should be ashamed of - brought sharply and vividly to life through her personal quest. Her writing is emotionally sure-footed and dignifies its subject.”

– Virginia Nicholson, Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and author of Among the Bohemians

“This is not only a daughter's memoir about the realities of her mother's life, but also a work of history about an inhumane system and a reminder to always consider the pain others may be hiding. Readers will find it hard not to flinch over the fraught lives of Dorothy and her family, but this thoughtful account creates a context for compassion. Book groups will find as much to discuss here as they have with The Glass Castle (2005), by Jeannette Walls, and Educated (2018), by Tara Westover.”

– BookList

“Reading The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames is like discovering that a 20th-century suburban mom grew up in the bleak Lowood School from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. . . . This remarkable story illustrates how our lives can be shaped by a past we may never imagine.”

– Chapter 16