Women of a Promiscuous Nature

by Donna Everhart

Girl, Interrupted meets The Handmaid’s Tale in 1940s North Carolina, as a young woman is accused of “promiscuity” and unjustly incarcerated at The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women…

Based on the long-buried history of the American Plan, this powerful and shockingly timely story of resistance and resilience exposes the real government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half of the 20th century.

*A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection*

“Both a cautionary tale and a deeply compassionate rendering of women wrongly imprisoned in a system designed to break them, Everhart’s propulsive story is filled with injustice, intrigue, and the determination to fight back.” —LISA WINGATE, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shelterwood

On a brisk February morning while walking to the diner where she works, 24 year-old Ruth Foster is stopped by the local sheriff. He insists she accompany him to a health clinic, threatening to arrest her if she doesn’t undergo testing in order to preserve decency and prevent the spread of sexual disease.

Though Ruth has never shared more than a chaste kiss with a man, by day’s end she is one of dozens of women held at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. Some are there because they were reported for promiscuity by neighbors, husbands, strangers. Some were accused of prostitution. Others were just pretty and unmarried. Or poor and “suspicious.” One was eating dinner alone in a restaurant. Another spoke to a soldier. 

Josephine’s sin was running a business as a single woman. Maude’s was trying to drown her sorrows. Frances had lost her mind. Opal married a man with a mean streak. Some, like 15-year-old Stella, are brought in because they’re victims of assault. She’s too naive and broken to understand how unjust this imprisonment is.

Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she’s transforming degenerate souls into upstanding members of society, oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Sooner or later, everyone at the Colony learns to abide by Mrs. Baker’s rule book or face the consequences—solitary confinement, grueling work assignments, and worse.

But some refuse to be cowed. Some find ways to fight back – at any cost…

“A remarkable fusion of research and imagination [with] vivid scenes, compelling characters, perfect pacing—but most impressive of all is Everhart’s creation of Dorothy Baker. She is one of the most memorable characters I’ve read in recent fiction, and further proof of Donna Everhart’s immense talent.” —Ron Rash, award-winning author of Serena

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Feminism, Thriller, Audiobook, Literary Fiction

362 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2026

About the author

Donna Everhart is a USA Today bestselling author known for vividly evoking the challenges of the heart and the complex heritage of the American South in her acclaimed novels When the Jessamine Grows, The Saints of Swallow Hill, The Moonshiner’s Daughter, The Forgiving Kind, The Road to Bittersweet, and The Education of Dixie Dupree.

She is the recipient of the prestigious SELA Outstanding Southeastern Author Award from the Southeastern Library Association and her novels have received a SIBA Okra Pick, an Indie Next Pick, and two Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books selections.

Born and raised in Raleigh, she has stayed close to her hometown for much of her life and now lives just an hour away in Dunn, North Carolina. Please visit Donna Everhart online at DonnaEverhart.com.

Reviews

[Rosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A historical fiction based on true events. Excellent character and plot development. Fabulous atmosphere and research. Graphic abuse, though it’s never sensationalised. Compelling but also highly disturbing. Definitely recommended, but only when you are in a strong headspace.

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Plot Preview:

1941. Twenty-four-year-old Ruth Foster and fifteen-year-old Stella Temple find themselves enrolled at The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women in Kinston, North Carolina. Stella views it as a kind of escape while Ruth considers it a prison. Stella believes she did something wrong and hence needs to be redeemed during her stay at the Farm; Ruth is clear that she doesn’t deserve to be in the institution and wants to get out asap.
Superintendent Dorothy Baker, convinced that she is transforming degenerates and ”mental defectives” into morally worthy citizens, oversees all the training and treatment at the farm. If anyone dares break one of Mrs. Baker’s umpteen behavioural guidelines, the punishment is severe and in direct proportion to the breach of rule. But some of the residents simply refuse to be cowed down.
The story comes to us in the third-person perspective of these three women.

Bookish Yays:
🎀 The three quotes at the beginning of the novel - infuriating!

🎀 The plot concept, highlighting the relatively unknown “American Plan” and all the injustices done to women under its name.

🎀 The 1936 prologue that offers the perfect background to Dorothy Baker’s current situation.

🎀 The plot development: gripping from the start. I love the choice of presenting the story from three perspectives, with one of them being a high-ranking employee of the institution. Though written in third person, the story still captures the characters’ thought process and emotions convincingly. I like how Ruth and Stella’s chapters came under their first name but Dorothy Baker’s chapters were titled ‘Baker’, as if distancing us from her deliberately.

🎀 The depiction of two institutions (one briefly, one in detail) and of all that happened within their walls – so aggravating! It’s upsetting to know that these were actual institutions that incarcerated women against their will for all sorts of stupid reasons. The “land of the free” certainly wasn’t (and isn't) free for all of its citizens.

🎀 The three main characters: so different from each other. I loved how intricately their three personalities were sketched. Their thoughts and dialogues reflected their age and mindset. Ruth was my absolute favourite.

🎀 The characters other than the main trio. Varied in age and behaviour and even in importance for the plotline, yet their character development is such that we understand them intimately. Some of them (especially Lucy, Frances, and Nurse Crawford) left me wanting to know them more.

🎀 The writing. Though it gets a tad too lyrical at times, it is still impressive in its imagery and its impact. The brutal scenes are penned without feeling sensationalised. (They are still horrifying!)

🎀 The author's note at the end, clarifying the factual basis of the content. Gosh! I can't believe this used to happen not even a century ago.


Bookish Okays:
💄 The pacing is on the slower side, which is justified as the writing is character-oriented and it also helps heighten the dreary atmosphere. But given the anxiety and anger the plot generated, I found it very tough to read this novel at a stretch and the slow tempo didn’t help.

💄 Minor spoiler: No closure. My head knows that this ending suits the story because a HEA would have been too farfetched to accept. Plus, given that the book is based on true events and the women in real life too received no justice for going through this trauma, the ending better reflects reality. But the heart wants what it wants, and my heart wanted the satisfaction of knowing that people ultimately got what they deserved; they didn’t.


Bookish Nays:
🔥 The similarity in the names of the two doctors in the Kinston institution. It’s so easy to confuse Dr. Greene and Dr. Graham! I wish they had been given more distinct-sounding names.


Overall, I found myself simultaneously repelled by the events and captivated by the characters and the storytelling. It took me ages to finish this book because it was too harrowing, but at no point did I lose my interest in it.

This is my second book by Donna Everhart, the first being ‘The Saints of Swallow Hill’ back in 2022. Both books were equally powerful in their historical content, but this novel shows me how much further the author has developed in character development within 3-4 years. I shall keep an eye out for all further historical offerings from this writer’s pen.

Definitely recommended to those interested in historical fiction based on true events. The content is tough on the head and the heart, so prioritise your mental health before picking this up.

4.25 stars.


My thanks to Kensington Books for providing the DRC of “Women of a Promiscuous Nature” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.


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I follow the Goodreads rating policy:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Lifelong favourite!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I loved the book.
⭐⭐⭐ - I liked the book.
⭐⭐ - I found the book average.
⭐ - I hated the book.
The decimals indicate the degree of the in-between feelings.

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Connect with me through:
My Blog || The StoryGraph || Instagram || Facebook ||

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

“That the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy are hereby authorized and directed to adopt measures for the purpose of assisting the various States in caring for civilian persons whose detention, isolation, quarantine, or commitment to institutions may be found necessary for the protection of the military and naval forces of the United States against venereal diseases. “ - -From the Chamberlain-Kahn Act of 1918

The civilian persons referred to were women and course, no such program existed for men. Women victimized at institutions, in some cases sent by their own families, others being taken off the streets by the government established American Plan in 1940’s North Carolina , and held against their will at The State Industrisl Farm Colony for Women in North Carolina . Donna Everhart in this eye opening and chilling story tells us about this plan through the experiences of two main characters . Stella , 15 abused by her father and pregnant, sent there under the guise of being a bad girl . Sent to this place where abortion and sterilization were common place . Ruth , 24 on her way to work stopped by the sheriff on the suspicion of being promiscuous because she lived on her own and wasn’t married and taken in to make sure she “don’t get others sick”. Ruth has never been with a man sexually, yet she is held and treated with harsh medications for a venereal disease she doesn’t have.

Alternating with these points of view is that of Mrs. Baker , the superintendent of the institution who believes she’s doing right by the inmates . I found the cruel treatment difficult to read about and my heart was broken and I felt sickened at times for Stella and Ruth and other inmates who suffered at the hands of doctors and administrators. A fictionalized account of a real place , well researched as are all of Everhart’s novels reflecting on North Carolina history. Chilling because I could see shades of this dominance over women’s freedoms even today. This is the sixth novel by Donna Everhart I’ve read and I keep reading them because they are gripping and moving and well written and I couldn’t wait to know the fate of these characters I came to care for.


I received a copy of this book from Kensington through Edelweiss.

[Karren Sandercock · Rating 5 out of 5]

North Carolina, 1940’s. Ruth Foster is twenty four and walking to work one February morning when a police car stops and the sheriff insists she goes with him. Ruth has no choice but to get in the car, she’s sure he’s made a terrible mistake and it will be quickly sorted out. Ruth has done nothing wrong, she’s targeted because she’s pretty and lives alone and is not married.

Stella Temple is fifteen, she attends school because it gets her out of the house, she’s young and has no real idea of what's happening to her and but she knows it’s wrong and hates her father and lazy mother.

Both are sent to the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women run by Superintendent Dorothy Baker, here she’s transforming them into upstanding members of society, she oversees the women’s medical treatment and “training” until they’re deemed ready for parole. Miss Baker has her own rule book, which inmates must abide by and if they don’t they have to face the consequences, including harder work assignments or meditation which is a fancy term for solitary confinement and kept in a tiny room and given the minimum food and water to keep a person alive.

Ruth and others including Frances, Josephine, Opal and eventually Stella take part in small acts of defiance and are determined to regain their freedom and health.

Based on true facts Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart is a story that will stun you, based around the American Plan, forced examinations, detention, and incarceration of women suspected of carrying sexually transmitted diseases, and in some cases sterilization.

These ladies were often in the wrong place at the wrong time, accused of being promiscuous and many had no idea what that meant, couldn’t defend themselves and victims of a government program that ran for almost three decades.

I received a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss+ and Kensington Publishing, Ms Everhart shares a shocking time in American history, one I wasn’t aware of prior to reading, she’s an advocating for the victims and many would no longer be alive. Five stars from me and I highly recommend.

[Dutchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just take a minute to imagine this… you’re minding your own business walking down the street heading to a job you enjoy. You have a nice apartment that you were able to afford on your own with no help from your family or a man. You’ve done well, you’re proud of yourself. All of a sudden there’s a sheriff pulled over and questioning you about what you’re doing out and about by yourself and then promptly throws you in his vehicle, takes you to a doctor who says you’re contaminated and promiscuous. Only now to find yourself in a reformatory for women who don’t fit society’s “standards”. It’s infuriating isn’t it?

While the accounts in this story told between three women are historical fiction, it is based on The American Plan. This so-called plan would detain women who were thought to be promiscuous in order to prevent STD transmission. I don’t recall ever learning about this in any of my history classes. It should definitely be a topic!

As mentioned, this is told between three different POVs. Baker, the superintendent, Ruth, who is an independent woman, and Stella, who was assaulted and impregnated. How each of these three women view and are treated in the reformatory are shown in great detail. Three different perspectives in one awful establishment.

This is definitely a must-read, but it is not a happy read.

[Susan Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I read one of Donna Everhart’s books, I’m always in awe of her insight and research, no matter what she is writing about. In the past, she’s written about some difficult subjects: sexual abuse, bigotry, eating disorders, hardscrabble lives, the Civil War; and this book, which explores the plight of young women who are unjustly incarcerated by the government’s plan to regulate women’s bodies and their sexuality. In Women of a Promiscuous Nature, we hear the grim story of life at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women from the points of view of two of the women being held in the facility, Stella and Ruth, as well as that of the colony’s supervisor, Mrs. Baker. Hearing the stories from their very different perspectives, formed by their own families, by the things they’ve endured, by the circumstances and cruelty that brought them to this place, gave me insight and compassion for all of them. I didn’t have to approve of what they did—a lot of it was abhorrent—especially in the case of Mrs. Baker and the staff, but those insights provide important layers to the story. While I was reading, I kept thinking about POWER, as if it were lit up in lights. The power of the government to implement the American Plan; the power of the doctors, housemothers, and supervisors over the women who found themselves at the colony; the power of one person, then two, maybe more, to fight back and speak up. My heart broke for young Stella, whose home life was so repugnant that life at the Colony represented stability and safety and a way out of her old life. I wept for Ruth, whose life was upended in a way she’d never expected, and I cheered for her and worried for her when she bravely took a stand against the conditions at the Colony. I had just a modicum of sympathy toward Mrs. Baker, whose beginnings had their own share of tragedy, shaping her feelings toward the women and her own misguided ambitions. Once again I thank author Donna Everhart for giving her readers an intriguing, heart wrenching story; for giving us characters with layers upon layers; and for providing us the chance to view different perspectives from a very grave moment in our history. I received an advance reader copy of this book.

[Dona's Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐.5

Pre-Read Notes:

Couldn't resist that title and I'm not even a little bit embarrassed about it!😂

"“Tell me what you know.” “If I knew anything, I’d say so.” “You’ve been a difficult one, Miss Foster.” “Maybe. But I’ve always told the truth.”" p302

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) The material is harrowing and triggering but the plot is weak, which makes the text feel punishing. As though all this suffering is pointless from a literary standpoint. While this might have been the actual condition of these women's lives -- pointlessness -- it makes for a miserable read.

Having experienced forced institutionalization at more than one point in my life, I can say the author is quite accurate with the shape of violence these sorts of institutions perpetrate, and the characters' reactions to said violence. Trigger warnings are needed here.

For me, it would have been more engaging if there was a stronger spine of plot to hold up the moral and emotional weight of the content. But no one in this book seems to want anything. They're all just reacting to each other and the circumstances they share. This may be historically accurate in the sense that life was pretty much arrested during these women's confinements, but it's dreadful to read.

I recommend this one to fans of historical fiction, history of women in the US, and books about equity and social justice.

A Few Things:

✔️ "Mrs. Maynard, of the crooked spine, sorts through papers, signs something, and hands them to Mrs. Baker. Stella would like to read what’s been written about her, but maybe it’s best she doesn’t. She’ll have a good idea based on how they treat her anyway. That’s what official papers created by those in charge tend to do, make people treat you this way or that. Mrs. Baker scans the first few pages." p30 I think making this character disabled is fine and not morally significant. I think making this character capable of overcoming her disabilities during acts of violence is terribly ableist, as are descriptions like this: "The housemother’s curved stature gives the impression of a child sitting at a grownup’s desk." p302

✔️ Well how very racist of them both. "She’s kept her hair as it was back then too, the cut as precise as a paper’s edge, the color like glossy black paint. It’s a standout trait, the same as her father’s. He said they had Cherokee blood in them somewhere down the line." p81 I wish the author had made something more of this as she has with other issues of this story's day.

✔️ *trigger warning SA* "“Decorum? What does decorum have to do with rape?”" p303. Too much unfortunately, and that hasn't improved in the last 75 years.

Content Notes: confinement, isolation, misogyny, emotional and psychological abuse, public shaming, group punishment, beatings of adults with a switch, welts, eugenics/forced sterilization, infertility, child SA, incest, forced surgery

Thank you to Donna Everhart, Kensington Publishing Corp., and NetGalley for an accessible digital copy of WOMEN OF A PROMISCUOUS NATURE. All views are mine.

[None Ofyourbusiness Loves Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year 1918 introduces a specific variety of American hospitality through the Chamberlain-Kahn Act. Local officials patrol Newport News, Virginia, for ladies harboring suspect morals or microscopic passengers.

These women receive invitations to enforced residence within detention centers for the benefit of public hygiene. Men carry their infections into the streets with safety, while the state locks women away for identical biological circumstances.

Doctor Baker manages this collection of sequestered females with the warmth of a morgue freezer. Her professional ascent depends upon the incarceration of persons deemed socially acidic.

Set in mid-20th century North Carolina, the story centers on the State Industrial Farm Colony for Among the residents is fifteen-year-old Stella Temple, a loner from Deep Creek who initially finds a strange comfort in the colony's structure but is ultimately subjected to life-altering forced horrors.

In contrast, Ruth Foster acts as the facility's moral conscience, risking further punishment by refusing to participate in institutional cruelty and attempting to expose the facility's abuses to the outside world.

Supporting these women are figures like the rebellious Lucy, who openly challenges the staff's authority, and the empathetic Nurse Crawford, a rare source of care within a system designed to break those the state deemed "promiscuous".

The government demands that female virtue possess a government seal and a sturdy padlock. Medical procedures serve as punitive lectures for the crime of being female in a patriarchal era. To survive, the women require a brand of internal fortitude that spreads among the captives. Power dynamics shift as Baker learns the toxicity of her own sanitarium.

The book takes a slice of American history that prefers to stay powdered and polite and drags it into fluorescent light. The American Plan, reform colonies, moral hygiene crusades, the idea that the state can police female bodies for the greater good. All of it wrapped in the language of virtue while functioning like a bureaucratic meat grinder. The novel lets hypocrisy ring loud.

Dorothy Baker is not a cartoon villain twirling a mustache. She is terrifying precisely because she believes she is right. She thinks she is saving girls from ruin. She thinks discipline equals love. Her moral certainty is the real accelerant in the story.

Stella, on the other hand, is not a symbol. She is a damaged, intelligent child trying to survive systems and adults who redefined her trauma.

Watching those two arcs intersect is like watching a train move toward a broken bridge. You can trace clean lines from the world of this novel to modern debates all over the globe. Is history about to repeat itself?

[Angie Miale · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing yet sad historical fiction story about the 1940’s when women were imprisoned under the charge of being “promiscuous.” If you’re paying attention, this book should make you angry and concerned for the way things are going.

Stella was sent to the detention center by her parents at the age of 15, Ruth was taken off the street on her way to her job at a diner. Despite not having any sexual experience beyond a chaste kiss at the end of a date, Ruth is tested and treated for all manner of sexually transmitted diseases and imprisoned.

There are no such detention centers for men.

The narrative allows for secrets to be revealed and things get worse before they get better. The positive aspect of a book like this is that there are many strong female characters. This would be a compelling book to choose for a book club as there are sure to be great conversations.

Some books with similar themes
The Girls Who Grew Big
Wayward Girls

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC. Book to be published January 26, 2026.

[kim baccellia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense, disturbing yet riveting historical tale of women deemed promiscuous or 'loose' in the 1940s. This story is based on the Chamberlain-Kahn Act or the American Plan. That alone makes this story frightening. This cautionary tale is more like a 1930-1940s Handmaid's Tale when the government decides to 'treat' those it thinks are spreading sexual infections to servicemen.

Told in three different POVs, readers meet Dorothy Baker, who is passionate about reform but hides her own secret. Teen Stella Temple, who is sexually abused by her father, and sent to the colony by her parents to get 'better.' Ruth Foster, who lives independently and is picked up by the sheriff and taken to the colony.

Baker's story is one of a woman who has her own tragic past and finds some redemption in her part of the colony. Her zeal to try to find good in what she does is overshadowed by the thought that some don't agree and that she might lose the only quest she believes in.

Stella's story is beyond tragic, but is realistic because no one spoke out loud about sexual abuse at that time. If anything, it was the young girl's and sometimes the young boy's fault. Some people were thought of as fallen and worse. Stella tries to be the 'good' girl. Anything to not be sent back home.

Ruth's story is one of those who are threatened by women who refused to fit the role society had for them. Add to that those young women who were attractive and confident. I really felt for Ruth as she struggles to find sense in why she's being held. She's strong even when others in the farm colony beat her down.

This story had me glued. What's horrifying is the justifications the government at the time used to round up and send these women to the colony. The treatments were before penicillin and were mercury and materials likened to today's chemotherapies. The side effects are shown in graphic details. What's beyond horrific is that most of those subjected to these inhumane treatments didn't have venereal diseases.

At the end, there is a mention of how the government's stand on eugenics was used to separate the so-called less than from the others in the population.

Haunting historical where women are rounded up and deemed a threat to those men who fight the war, but in reality is a chilling case of the overextension of power and control. This is one story that will stay with me for some time.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. This takes place during World War ll in North Carolina, 1941—and follows three women and their experiences within a U.S. government eugenics program. The program involved placing teen girls/women in state run reform academy’s or a “Colony” that would perform sterilizations in order to “cleanse” them. They were established to protect American servicemen from promiscuous women/venereal disease. Back then promiscuity could mean something as simple as a woman not wanting marriage as most were not prostitutes. Parental placement, being poor, talking to a serviceman, or just being pretty and unmarried could also land you in the program.
It’s utterly heartbreaking to learn this is based on true life with these facilities existing all around the U.S. I can’t imagine the trauma caused. And to be left barren is incomprehensible—their choice taken/their lives changed forever.
Ms. Everhart tells of a raw, unjust, and emotionally crippling situation that our main characters Ruth and Stella were placed in.. as for superintendent Dorothy Baker, she believed what she was doing, forcibly—was for the greater good, and that I’ll never understand. A remarkable story. Pub. 1/27/26

Many thanks to Kensington Publishing via NetGalley for the advanced reading copy.

[Karen’s Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Women of a Promiscuous Nature is historical fiction set in the 1940s about three woman. This novel had a Girl Interrupted meets The Handmaid’s Tale feel to it. Yikes!

Ruth was locked up in a “reform school”, The State Industrial Farm Colony For Women, for being independent enough to have a job and live alone. She was stopped by the local police who had her checked for an STD and even though she’d never been with a man, was deemed promiscuous and taken away.

Stella was being visited by her evil father every night beginning at age 12 and when she became pregnant at 15, her parents allowed her to be taken away to the Colony to end the pregnancy and then to be reformed.

Mrs. Baker was the strict Superintendent of the Colony who believed in what they were doing was actually working to reform these women and girls.

This reads as dystopian fiction, and was so disturbing! This story is not dystopian fiction but based on true events that really happened in our history between the 1920’s and 1940’s.

Many of the women taken away all across the nation during this time period were actually tortured, some even sterilized as Eugenics was also being practiced.

Our nation’s dirty little secret was long buried and Donna Everhart’s immaculate research brings it all to light in her amazing novel.

*Thanks so much to the author, Kensington Books, and to Suzy Approved Book Tours for the gifted ARC and wonderful PR box, and for including me on the book tour.*

[Taury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger Alerts:
– Sexual content
– Social stigma
– Domestic conflict
– Emotional manipulation

Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart is a historical Southern fiction novel set in North Carolina, spanning the mid-20th century (primarily the 1960s–1970s). The story centers on women whose reputations define and often confine them in a small Southern town where judgment travels fast and forgiveness doesn’t. What stood out to me is the hypocrisy in society as the book explores shame, double standards, and how differently men and women are treated for the same behavior. The small-town setting really amplifies that tension. It’s character-driven and leans more into emotional fallout than plot twists. There’s drama, but it feels amplified in double standards and unfair treatments.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and disturbing book that I wish was hard to believe happened, but really was not. Enjoyed Donna Everhart’s story of women taken and treated for sexual abuse, venereal diseases, and just being suspicious. This was well researched and based on actual events.

Although hard to read at points, I was engaged with the characters and wanted to know the outcome. At times the pacing was a little slow, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It was another eye opening glimpse into completely wrong practices toward women. Definitely, glad I read this book.

[Claire Switzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book just felt like rage bait for women. I’m annoyed at the ending and wish there was more vindication. Also to find out that this is based on a true story just further makes me embarrassed for the US and how women have been treated since the beginning of time.

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by Donna Everhart and I was completely into this story. A historical fiction taking place during the 20’s- 40’s. Women who lived alone, dined alone and were seen having conversations with men, were picked up by the government and sent to be tested for venereal disease at the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. These independent women were seen as being promiscuous. Men were experiencing STD’s at a higher rate than usual and of course they'd blame the women for this. Our main character Ruth is picked up and taken to the clinic because she lives on her own, and works to support herself. She tests positive even though she's never been with a man and is forced to stay there until she tests negative. Reading the things that women endured while at these facilities, was so disturbing to say the least. You gotta read this one. Donna has definitely done her research about this and reading about it was so fascinating yet infuriating at the same time. Truly unreal. This is quite a thought provoking novel.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley, and Suzy approved book tours for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After being wrongfully accused of being promiscuous, Ruth Baker is sent to the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. "The Colony" is designed to transform the women into upstanding members of society that abide by societal rules - marriage, children, submission. The Colony, however, is a place of rules and severe consequences, where women are punished for asking questions, and where deviance can lead to disaster.

Donna Everhart did a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life. The Colony's women - Ruth, Stella, Josephine, Lucy, Frances, Opal - are so endearing. My heart broke for all they endured. Even Dorothy Baker, the superintendent of the Colony, while a hated character throughout the novel, inspired some empathy for her role in "educating" these women.

I really liked how the story was told in multiple voices. Sometimes for me, this format doesn't work as well, but in this case it was brilliant. It's really three very different tellings of the same story; Ruth who pushes back on the requirements of the Colony, Stella, the 14 year old girl who sees the Colony as a respite from her terrible home life, and Baker, who honestly thinks the Colony, and her role in it, are benefitting society. I think doing it this way allows the reader to see the complex emotions that these women faced, especially relating to some of the more questionable rules and punishments.

My one complaint about this book was that the ending felt very rushed. While I was not expecting a perfectly happy ending, I did feel like there could have been more resolution for some of the characters. The book is 368 pages, and it was only in the last 30 pages or so that the author starts resolving some of the story line. I would have liked to see the final outcome of the Colony, what happened to Frances, what happened to the other women who left the Colony.

The author did a ton of research for this novel. Regrettably, places like the Colony existed between WWI and WWII. The America Plan was passed by the federal government as a way to control the spread of syphillis through the military. These institutions, however, became places of shame and horror as women and girls were subjected to abhorrent treatment, forced sterilization, and incarceration for not abiding by societal standards. I had never heard of these places, and the links the author provides in the afterward provided fascinating, though depressing, additional information.

Overall, 4.5 ⭐s rounded up. If you like historical fiction based on actual events, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advanced copy of this novel. It's scheduled to be published on January 27, 2026.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is dark, unsettling and hard to believe this ever happened. In 1927 to the 1940’s all around the United States had State Industrial farm colonies or reform schools. Everyday women were stalked, pursued, and the local Sheriff sees a local woman walking down the street, stop and question her, haul her to jail, and end up in a reform school. These women would be degraded to humiliating exams, undergo painful treatments for STI’s. The tests were sent out for testing, come back positive even though the girl never had sex.
Sexually transmitted diseases started in Europe in the 1870’s and then United States became involved to control or eliminate STI’s. It was WWI, WWII servicemen were getting infected in their own communities. Women of all backgrounds were being checked, their lifestyles and accused of promiscuity.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart. Thanks to @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fictional stories of women’s accounts during the true story of the American Plan, a government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality in the first half of the 20th century.

I had no idea about the Chamberlain-Kahn Act and the American Plan, allowing US law enforcement and health officials to detain and examine women deemed at risk of transmitting venereal disease to US troops. I love books like this that teach me of a shameful part of our history; these acts are not taught in school, at least not when I was in school. The book circled through a few different women’s stories, as well as an official of the institution they were kept at. The stories were shocking, and it’s a difficult one to read but important. I liked how the ending stayed with the characters and not with the historical track in later times. Not every woman affected saw justice or immediate closure of these institutions, and that’s true history.

Read this if you like:
-US women’s history
-Women’s rights and historical oppression stories
-Historical fiction
-Institution setting stories

Women of a Promiscuous Nature comes 0ut 1/27.

[Candace Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary story base around the real-life "American Plan" which was a government initiative from the early 1940's used to detain women suspected of "promiscuity" or having a sexual transmitted disease such as syphillus. Everhart cleverly retales what happened to some of these women who were plucked from the streets and made to get tested and then placed into a "reformatory" womens camp for treatment. Expertly done!

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A somewhat disturbing book that really drags.

[Linda Zagon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Donna Everhart has written an eye-opening, thought-provoking, and unique Historical Fiction Novel. The Genres for this well written and extraordinary are : Historical Fiction, Thriller, Feminism, Adult Fiction, Eugenics, Suspense, and Psychological Thriller. The timeline for this story is 1940-ish in North Carolina. It seems like the Twilight Zone, or Science Fiction to believe that a single woman walking to work, could be stopped by the sheriff and accused of “promiscuity” and" sent to The State Industrial Farm Colony for Women and “subjected to involuntary medical treatment”. This was based on the “American Plan”, the government program designed to regulate women’s bodies and sexuality throughout the first half if the 20th century.”(from the Goodreads Blurb)

Donna Everhart vividly describes the depressing and dark environment, and the dramatic, complex, and complicated characters. Ruth is one of the women who was walking to work, and found herself imprisoned. Another one of the women was raped and impregnated by her stepfather, and finds herself blamed and imprisoned. There are other “difficult” or impoverished girls sent there as well.

Some of the staff is unbalanced and believe that they are doing society and the girls a favor. If the girls break the rules there are sadistic and cruel consequences. If any of the girls try to run away. there is severe punishment. There is involuntary sterilization, and medications that make the girls sick. I found it difficult to believe practices could exist in this country that allowed for such torture. There is betrayal, twists and turns, surprises, and danger.

My heart goes out to many of those girls, and I found them to be courageous, and determined. When some of the girls work out a plan together, I was on pins and needles. This is a book that should be read, and that I highly recommend. I appreciate that Donna Everhart brings these historical events to our attention, so they can permanently be stopped forever.

[Lupita_333 (on a break) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was inspired by the hidden horrific abuse and torment that many woman suffered through the hands of those in charge of reform centers and the American Plan. It was beyond devastating and at times painful to read even though this was fiction. This is a great story that explores how the abuse of woman many times is hidden away. Even decades later it’s difficult to understand why and how people are capable of committing these atrocities.

The characters were so well developed and the author did a great job at creating an emotional yet powerful story. They were very easy to love and I desperately wanted to be able to help them through out the story. The evil characters were also so well written that I hated all of the evil ones.

The ending left me wanting to know more about the characters future but it was a great ending.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Trisha]

This feels so timely and relevant. Can't wait to learn more about our troubled history. . .

** Update : ARC REC'D THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Desirae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into Women of a Promiscuous Nature expecting something incendiary—a furious, emotionally charged story about the policing of women’s bodies in the American South. With the novel set around the real historical policy known as the American Plan, which allowed authorities to detain women suspected of spreading venereal disease, the premise alone promised a timely exploration of gender, power, and injustice. In a moment like 2026—when debates around reproductive rights and bodily autonomy dominate public conversation—I was ready for a novel that would channel historical injustice into something raw and powerful.

Instead, I found myself bored.

That’s perhaps the most surprising thing about this book: the subject matter is so outrageous and infuriating that it practically demands emotional engagement. Yet the writing rarely rises to the level of its premise. The novel follows several women—including Ruth Foster, a single woman arrested simply for walking to work, and Stella, a teenage victim of sexual abuse—who are imprisoned in North Carolina’s State Industrial Farm Colony for Women after being accused of “promiscuity.” Once there, they face invasive medical testing, forced treatments, and a rigid system of punishment designed to reform them into socially acceptable women.

Historically, the material is fascinating. The American Plan allowed authorities to detain women with little to no due process, often based on suspicion alone. Women could be arrested for living independently, speaking with soldiers, or simply being perceived as “loose.”
In theory, this should create a story overflowing with outrage. The entire system was built on misogyny—on the idea that women’s sexuality was a public threat to be controlled while men’s behavior remained largely unquestioned.

But the novel never fully taps into that fury.

Instead, the narrative feels strangely lifeless. The prose is flat and methodical, often reading more like a procedural recounting of institutional life than a story fueled by anger or urgency. Scene after scene documents the colony’s rules, punishments, and medical procedures. While this may demonstrate the depth of Everhart’s research—and it’s clear she did extensive historical work—the result is a story that often feels bogged down in detail rather than propelled by emotion.

Characterization is another major issue. We move between multiple points of view, including detainees and the colony’s superintendent, Dorothy Baker. Yet despite the horrific circumstances these women face—forced medical treatment, imprisonment without trial, and social condemnation—I never truly connected with them. I should have felt devastated for Stella. I should have felt righteous anger on Ruth’s behalf. Instead, the characters remained distant and oddly muted.

This lack of emotional connection undermines the book’s central themes about women’s rights. The colony is essentially a carceral system designed to control female sexuality. Women who defy traditional roles—working, living alone, or asserting independence—are labeled immoral and forcibly corrected.
That’s an incredibly potent framework for exploring how societies punish women who step outside prescribed boundaries.

Yet the narrative rarely interrogates this system with the depth or ferocity it deserves.

There are moments when the book gestures toward larger questions—why are only women punished for sexually transmitted disease? Why are victims treated as criminals?—but these moments pass quickly. The novel seems more interested in documenting the system than dismantling it.

By the end, I felt a deep sense of missed opportunity. The history behind this story is shocking and relevant, and Everhart clearly took great care in researching it. But research alone doesn’t create a compelling novel. What this story needed was rage—moral clarity, emotional intensity, and characters whose resistance felt urgent and alive.

Given its premise, Women of a Promiscuous Nature should have been unforgettable.

Instead, it was simply dull.

[Hoarding Wyrm | Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the eARC, and to the author for crafting something so heart-wrenching, so meticulously researched, and so devastatingly relevant. This book made me angry. Frustrated. Stunned. It filled me with a despair I genuinely wasn't prepared for, and a sense of injustice so deep I felt it in my bones.

I'm usually a fast reader. Not with this one. The events described here demanded time, to sit with, to process, to breathe through. And the fact that they are based on true events makes every single page hit harder. Under the American Plan (the Chamberlain-Kahn Act of 1918), women deemed "promiscuous" (or simply suspected of carrying sexually transmitted diseases) were declared a danger to society, and subjected to forced physical examinations, detention, incarceration, and in some cases sterilisation. The definition of "promiscuous" was so vague, so deliberately malleable, that it was inevitably abused. Living independently, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not being a "good" woman… That was enough to have you locked away and reformed into a good and decent citizen.

The alternating POVs (two inmates and the superintendent) are masterfully handled. The superintendent is an exercise in sustained frustration: arrogant, prejudiced, and utterly convinced of her own righteousness, and chillingly skilled at gaslighting those on the outside into believing that what is being done to these women is for their own good. The two inmates shift between hope, disbelief, and a desperate, fragile drive to survive a situation that should never have existed. It is not an easy read. But it is a necessary one, especially when the parallels with how women's rights are treated today are impossible to ignore.

[Jae Alberi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novel based on an ACTUAL event called "The American Plan" where in order to protect WW1 troops from STIs, "promiscuous" girls and women were sent away, many innocent and simply captured off the streets and put in institutions where they were imprisoned and abused. And STERILIZED. The modern Salem witch trials of the time. Today we have Project 2025. In the cloak of protecting our country and following religion, there will always be those wanting to hold abusive power over others.

It was a well written story with good characters, and uncomfortably relevant.

[Judy Collins]

Set against the backdrop of 1941 North Carolina, WOMEN OF A PROMISCUOUS NATURE by master Southern storyteller Donna Everhart unfolds as a poignant and gripping historical novel.

This compelling narrative delves into the dark realities of the "American Plan," a draconian government initiative that wrongfully imprisoned women under the pretense of safeguarding public health.

Through vividly drawn characters and richly textured settings, Everhart exposes the harsh injustices faced by these women, illuminating a haunting chapter of history that resonates with themes of resilience and courage. Her best yet!

About...

Ruth Foster:
24-year-old Ruth Foster is walking to her job at a diner when the local sheriff stops her. Because she is a single woman living alone, she is accused of "promiscuity" and forced into medical testing for venereal diseases.

The Colony:
Despite being innocent, Ruth is sent to the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. There, she meets other women held for arbitrary reasons: being "too pretty," eating alone in a restaurant, or being reported by spiteful neighbors.

The "American Plan" Treatments: 
Inmates are subjected to "curative" treatments, including grueling physical labor and toxic mercury treatments for diseases they often do not have. And the horrific practice of forced sterilization.

The Superintendent’s Vision: 
Dorothy Baker, the Colony’s superintendent, believes she is patriotically "reforming" degenerate souls. However, as her own past is revealed, her humanity and secrets complicate her role as a villain.

Stella’s Respite: 
15-year-old Stella Temple is sent to the Colony by her family after being a victim of assault. Unlike others, she initially views the Colony as a respite from her nightmarish home life because she finally has regular meals and a safe bed.

The Path to Resistance: 
Ruth refuses to be broken by the system. She and other inmates, including a misunderstood woman named Frances, eventually begin to work together secretly to sabotage the Colony's authority and find a way back to their freedom. 

My thoughts...

Set in 1940s North Carolina, the novel brilliantly explores the dark and disturbing historical "American Plan," a government program that regulated women’s bodies under the guise of public health. With historical accuracy, Everhart bases the story on real aspects of the early 20th-century American system for controlling women's bodies, making it a powerfully moving historical novel.

Told from three distinct POV:

~Ruth Foster:
~Stella Temple:
~Superintendent Dorothy Baker:

Donna Everhart skillfully depicts the brutal and dark State Industrial Farm Colony for Women as a facility that functions more like a prison than a reform school. The conditions and treatments described in the novel are based on actual historical records of the American Plan. 

Characterized by isolation, grueling menial labor, and a strict rule book enforced with harsh punishments like solitary confinement, the women are forced with involuntary medical interventions, subjected to invasive testing and toxic mercury treatments for diseases they often do not have. The novel also addresses the horrific practice of forced sterilization and more, with horrific living conditions, hard labor, and harsh discipline.

The primary themes are the regulation of women's bodies and sexuality, the abuse of power, the historical injustice of the American Plan, and the enduring themes of resistance and resilience.

~Regulation of Women's Bodies and Sexuality
~Abuse of Power and Injustice
~Resistance and Resilience
~Challenging Societal Norms

A major theme is shedding light on a "long-buried history" of American social injustice that many people are unaware of, emphasizing how fear and stigma can influence policy and violate civil rights.

The historical figures associated with the "American Plan" (established via the 1918 Chamberlain-Kahn Act) range from high-level government architects to the women who legally challenged the system's abuses. From reformers and activists to victims who resisted, those who opposed the American Plan challenged it on constitutional, moral, and humanitarian grounds.

The bonds formed between the women demonstrate that even in a system designed to break the spirit, solidarity and resistance provide a path toward regaining one's humanity.

By shedding light on this "shadow history," Everhart challenges the reader to acknowledge a period where the American government legally kidnapped and poisoned its own citizens, ensuring that the victims’ stories are no longer ignored.

The "American Plan" did not have a single, definitive end date, as it was a decentralized system of state and local laws rather than one federal operation. Its dissolution occurred in phases between the 1950s and 1970s.

The central takeaway of WOMEN OF A PROMISCUOUS NATURE is a searing indictment of how fear and moral panic can be weaponized by the state to strip away the civil liberties of the vulnerable. Through the lens of the "American Plan," Donna Everhart delivers several key messages:

~The Fragility of Rights
~The Danger of Moral Certainty
~The Injustice of the Gender Double Standard
~The Strength of Unlikely Alliances

Despite the harrowing conditions, the ultimate message is one of human resilience.

The title is a direct reference to the vague and weaponized legal language used by officials to justify the state-sponsored kidnapping of women under the American Plan. The novel seeks to reclaim the individual stories of characters like Ruth and Stella from under this dehumanizing historical blanket.

While the state accused the women of being "promiscuous" (immoral), the novel argues that the true immorality lay with the government officials who authorized forced medical testing, toxic poisonings, and the theft of years of these women's lives. The "promiscuous nature" in the book is less about the women’s behavior and more about the government's promiscuous (unrestricted and indiscriminate) use of power.

A central focus is the "sisterhood" formed among inmates. Women like Ruth and a misunderstood inmate work together secretly to sabotage authority and fight for their freedom. The book explores how the legal system targeted women for arbitrary reasons: being "too pretty," living alone, or eating dinner in a restaurant without a male companion, while highlighting the endurance of women in a system designed to break them. 

Sadly, the health consequences these women suffered include neurological, mental health, organ damage, chronic illness, reproductive, and social consequences. As a native of North Carolina, I enjoy books set in the area and history, even though it is sad to think women had to experience such horrific actions in nearby Kinston, NC.

Thought-provoking, rich in history, and meticulously researched with resources and further reading as well as discussion questions for your book club (an ideal pick). Unfortunaely this program that used public health as a justification for mass detention and bodily control resonates with several significant contemporary debates today in 2026.

As an avid admirer of the author, I have delved into every one of her captivating works, each time emerging with invaluable insights and profound takeaways that resonate deeply. This particular book stands out as my absolute favorite, leaving me in awe of her exceptional talent and masterful storytelling. She has an extraordinary ability to breathe life into the courageous women of history, celebrating their strength and resilience in a way that is both moving and inspiring. I highly recommend.

Recs...

Readers interested in the themes of institutional abuse, the "American Plan," and women's historical fight for autonomy will find several powerful historical fiction and non-fiction books on similar subjects.

Non-Fiction
~The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison "Promiscuous" Women by Scott W. Stern

Several novels set in North Carolina and the South share themes of institutional abuse, injustice, the policing of women's bodies, and resilience in the face of systemic injustice.
 
~Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
~The Last Carolina Girl by Meagan Church
~The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church
~The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman
~Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
~The Saints of Swallow Hill by Donna Everhart 
~When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart

Special thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for graciously providing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 27, 2026
Jan Newsletter

[Sharon Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Donna Everhart’s impeccable research and storytelling unfolds a dark time in U. S. history in her novel, Women of a Promiscuous Nature that tells how the government’s “ American Plan” berated and controlled women during the 1930’s & 1940’s. The program allowed and encouraged the detention and incarceration of women who were suspected of having sexually transmitted diseases. These women were then subjected to invasive medical treatments, drugged and sent to work farms or ‘colonies’ as a way to “cure” these women of promiscuity.

This horrifying and powerful novel is told from different points of view to reveal the terrors these women faced and the fact that others were convinced that this was necessary and would help America. Ruth, one of the narrators, lives in an apartment by herself, works as a waitress and relies on no one until one day she is accosted by the sheriff, taken into custody and sent to a colony. She was not told why, not allowed an attorney, and unable to call anyone. Baker, a 2nd narrator, is the director of one of these work farms and believes that what she is doing is patriotic, making her job honorable.

Readers will not only be horrified by the atrocities committed, they will also cheer for the determination and strength of the women who fought for answers and a way to escape.

Everhart’s at the top of her craft with this unforgettable historical novel!

[Kate B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth is a young, independent woman in 1940s North Carolina. She lives alone, which raises suspicion amongst others, including the sheriff. One day, she’s forcibly taken to be tested for STIs at the health clinic. Despite her insistence, Ruth is not believed when she says there’s no possibly way she could be infected, and she’s carted off to the State Industrial Farm Colony for Women. There, women are given medical treatment and taught how to be “productive” members of society. While at the Colony, Ruth meets 15-year-old Stella and Superintendent Dorothy Baker Told from all three perspectives, this story gives a detailed account of a shameful part of American history.

Women of a Promiscuous Nature had me entranced from start to finish. The story was so shocking and alarming, especially considering that it’s based on true events. I think it’s also a timely tale, as parallels can be drawn to modern-day women fighting to maintain bodily autonomy. One of the starkest moments for me was when Ruth asked what happened to the men who tested positive for syphilis- were they sent away to a reform facility too? I’ll bet you can guess the answer to that one. This is a remarkable story, and one I highly recommend!

Thank you to Kensington Publishing and NetGalley for this e-ARC!

[Danielle B · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOMEN OF A PROMISCUOUS NATURE was a very though provoking story in the historical fiction genre. The title is a little bit misleading, so I went in blind and it was a wild story. The writing is superb and will definitely pull at your heart strings. I loved it!

Many thanks to Donna Everhart for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram account (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the future.