The Hidden Child is such a perceptive look at how we value other people as human beings, how we view ourselves, and the need to fight for others rather than judging what we don’t understand. And what we choose to believe at face value when data can be so easily manipulated towards a bias, rather than doing our own reevaluation.

Eugenics is such a dangerous view. We’ve all seen it from Hitler’s reign of terror and hate but Ms Fein shows how much it was subversively laced in America, Britain, and other countries pre-WW2. It lumps people who aren’t “perfect” (whatever that means) or having desirable genetics and intelligence into this “Undesirable” category and therefore, not valuable and not necessary. However, at what extent is that line drawn? How perfect do you have to be? And as is pointed out in the book, you also begin to “wonder whose right it should be to decide what is a valuable human life.” Eugenics strips humanity from an individual diagnosis. There are so many people who are or who know someone that would fall in their category of “deficient” but their lives and those around them have been enriched to have them, and thru all the hardship, resilience and joy they often bring.

Ms Fein also does a great job showing a mother’s love and fight for her child, no matter what value someone else puts on her.

There were times the book dragged a bit towards the middle, which is really my only detractor in my review. It was both at times a sad and hopeful book watching Eleanor’s struggle to sort out what she’s believed thus far compared to what her mama heart is telling her, and hoping and fighting for Mabel as well as not giving up on her family as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.