Rosa’s Reviews > The Book Club for Troublesome Women > Status Update

Grandfather reached down into the firm, found an ambitious and unscrupulous but socially acceptable lower-level manager, Howard Gustafson, who was willing to marry his pregnant daughter and keep the secret in exchange for a promotion to director with the promise of more to come.
An elopement was arranged, an announcement was placed in the Times, face was saved, and the problem was solved." Page 166

Charlotte

"After she refused to 'take care of the problem, Denise said, making air quotes with her fingers, "the problem being me, Grandfather got involved. Page 166

Bitsy and her husband King

So yes, Mrs. Graham, I am a college dropout. It's a huge embarrassment to me, something I've kept secret from everyone, even friends. King is an experienced equine veterinarian, and I'm not. But there's one thing I know how to do that he doesn't: heal a horse with laminitis. I know because I've seen it done success-fully. King never has.' Page 153

Bitsy

"Although," she said slowly, as if reexamining her earlier state-ment. "It does seem a little cruel, doesn't it? I mean, how can you say you love animals and devote your life to taking care of them but still feel absolutely no compunction about eating them!" Page 134

My personal preference is for in between. I don't think I've ever met anybody who was all one thing or the other, have you? Most people are a walking bundle of contradictions. Page 105

“Books sprung from an author's imagination can be just as meaningful as those based on facts, figures, and events, or even more meaningful. Novels force you to think-to make your own conclusions about characters and themes, and decide if they're valid or relevant or true or good, or the opposite, or maybe somewhere in between. Page 105

"Not to me. When men find new mountains to climb, they get a pat on the back and a round of applause. People call them Go-getters. Why should it be different for women? Page 101

Because of state laws, some married women and single women could not legally obtain it. It wasn't until the landmark Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 that birth control was legalized for married couples, and 1972 for unmarried people.

The world's first commercially produced birth control pill, Enovid, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for sale as an oral contraceptive on May 9, 1960, and became available to the public in June of that same year.
Initially, access was heavily restricted.

Viv was pregnant in 1963.

Viv

"Seven interviews..." The doctor sounded almost impressed.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" Viv said, then thumped her chest. "I am a terrific nurse! The best! Gunshot wounds, gangrene, cholera, compound fractures, viruses, infections, tropical diseases—I've seen it all and can handle it all. Nothing fazes me."
"Good to know," the doctor said. "Because in this neighbor-hood, we deal with it all. Page 94