Sour Milk in Sheep's Wool

"A moving and incisive historical novel."

"Helen Lundström Erwin writes historical novels about regular people with unusual lives, questioning issues that are still relevant today."

"Helen Erwin has thoroughly researched this important period in the history of women's suffrage in Sweden and tells their story in a way that immerses you completely in their lives."

I found myself lost in the personal stories of the main characters, one who's life was shaped by her culture and another who played an active role in shaping that culture right back. The story is especially fascinating when read against the current fights for equality. Attitudes didn't change overnight. It is a highly entertaining read that gives great depth and color to rights that we take for granted today.

From the first page I was transported back to Sweden in 1889 and caught up in the stories of two women from very different backgrounds who eventually connected in a way I would never have predicted. Each woman's story is compelling in a different way. The novel is well-researched and is loosely based on the author's great-grandmother. I highly recommend Sour Milk in Sheep's Wool!

I really enjoyed this book. In part because of the insight into cultural attitudes towards women and the suffrage movement in Sweden but also because of its emotional impact on the main characters and what they did to survive or experience for independence - which is thanks to women like them is now taken for granted.
Great read for historical fans but also good for those who like stories of relationship dynamics and survival.

What a fantastic book. This book is a shining example for why Historical Fiction is my favorite genre of book. The characters are authentic both in a literal and figurative sense. I think the author’s great grandmother would be incredibly proud the book and the way she was portrayed. Absolutely loved the book!

An Extremely Timely Historical Novel. One may not think that the women's suffrage and rights movement in late 1800s-early 1900's Sweden would have such relevance to the United States in the present, but Erwin's "Sour Milk in Sheep's Wool" certainly does. This historical novel tells two engaging tales of two different women on different paths as they contend with the restrictions imposed on women who very much live in a man's world. But to Erwin's credit, she does not make her book about victimization - but about the birth of a movement born out of human experience. Highly recommended.

I appreciate the perspective of women and reproductive rights at a pivotal time in the history of women. It really changed the perspective on my family comprised of an adopted grandmother who married a man after she was already pregnant by another. Women had few rights even back then.

Historical fiction at its best! That it is autobiographical – a couple of
generations removed – makes it even more interesting. One of my favorite
parts was the appendix, where you learn what was real versus imagined,
based on the author’s research into her own great grandmother’s life and
events in Sweden at the turn of the 20th century.I originally
bought this book because I am from Sweden. I wanted to learn more about
my own heritage and what life was like in Sweden when my great
grandparents were young. But it ended up being so much more than that.
It encouraged me to reflect on the status of women in modern society and
how much we owe so much to those who came before us -- how they dared
to stand up for their rights and defy expectations.Before this
book, I had not thought much about suffragette’s and how they paved the
way for women around the world to vote. I had taken the right to vote,
as well as the right to make decisions regarding my own body, for
granted. This book helped me appreciate what it was like when women did
not have either of these rights.It made me reflect on ‘A Spark
of Light’ by Jodi Picoult, another thought-provoking book addressing the
issue of abortion and reproductive rights. Picoult’s book takes place
in modern day and shows how complicated reproductive rights is still a
hot-button, divisive political issue. Helen’s book is generations before
then, when women had very few if any rights depending on their
circumstance.It is important for us to see the longer-term
historical perspective to appreciate how far we have come and what might
happen if we regress as a society, taking away women’s right to choose.This
book also addresses alcoholism, sexual assault, and marital abuse. And
while it addresses these heavy topics, it does so from the vantage point
of two strong female protagonists, Hanna and Annette, and their
respective friends. They are both memorable characters, and as the book
unfolds, you cannot wait to find out what is going to happen to them.It
will stick with you like Khaled Hosseini’s book, A Thousand Splendid
Suns, and make you glad you were born in a modern age, in a country
where women have the right to vote and access to contraception. But even
in modern-day America, women in some states are losing access to
abortion and possibly some forms of contraception. This book will make
you think long and hard about that.One of my favorite lines from the book: “Love without children is better than children without love.”Last,
the quaint coffee shop that Hanna runs in the book, also has a place in
the metaverse where you can interact with the author. It is called the
Foremothers Cafe. Hope to see you there! (Can't wait to see what the
shop sign, decorations, and cookies looks like! There is even a
restaurant in Stockholm called Grodan (The Frog). While not related, it
makes me want to go :) I'm traveling there in a few weeks.

"I couldn't put it down once I started reading! Even though it traces the efforts to gain women's rights in Sweden in the late 19th C. and early 20th C., it is completely relevant to the U.S. struggle because the issues are the same.
The glossary is outstanding because it includes Swedish words, and real life characters, organizations , publications and places which are helpful to keep the reader on track. This is a must read!" -Scandinavian Jamestown

"Helen writes about people who question their worldviews and recognize the limits of their own bubbles."

- Hopewell Valley Neighbors Magazine

“Wow- this was great! Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles meets the movie Everlasting Moments, EXCEPT the ending is much more empowering for women.”

-Westchester Reader

“A timely and poignant look into her own history, Lundström Erwin’s weaving of these women’s stories serves to remind us that we modern torchbearers of reproductive rights owe an insurmountable debt to the women who came before us. And while today we fight to hold on to the choices we have, we must always remember those who have none.”

- Women's Health Volunteer

"I was drawn into their world."

“A well written and interesting historic drama which paints a vivid picture of the challenges an unmarried young mother could face at the end of the 19th century. The way Helen Lundström Erwin depicts the life, struggles and meager pay of “statare” in rural Sweden makes you understand why so many opted for a more uncertain future across the Atlantic.”

"Erwin makes history come alive through a beautiful portrayal of ordinary women, their struggle and desire for change." - Swedish American Museum, Chicago