The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

Written by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Narrated by Morgan Hallett

In this powerful novel of survival and resilience, New York Times bestselling author Ellen Marie Wiseman takes readers on a gripping, emotional journey as one brave young woman’s search for the truth about her sister leads her to an infamous institution called Willowbrook …

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that
Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly
believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705058268

Ellen Marie Wiseman

Ellen Marie Wiseman is the New York Times bestselling author of the highly acclaimed historical fiction novels The Orphan Collector, What She Left Behind, The Plum Tree, Coal River and The Life She Was Given. Born and raised in Three Mile Bay, a tiny hamlet in northern New York, she’s a first-generation German American who discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in New York State. Since then, her novels have been published worldwide, translated into twenty languages, and named to “Best Of” lists by Reading Group Choices, Good Housekeeping, Goodreads, The Historical Novel Society, Great Group Reads, and more. A mother of two, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and dog. Visit her online at EllenMarieWiseman.com.

Reviews for The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

[Laurie Balderson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It started off amazing! It had twists and turns and enough suspense to make you jump out of your skin. But then it started to drag and drag and drag until it became predictable and frankly ludicrous towards the end. I wanted to love it, but sadly I couldn’t.

[Laura Klowan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This audiobook skipped all over the place and I was lost for most of it. The chapters did not begin and end when the timer said that they would. It skipped chapters and scenes all the time. I think it would’ve been a good book if not for the technical difficulties with this audiobook

[Malissa Johnson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I may have figured it out by chapter 22 but wow the emotions it brought out in me has me absolutely exhausted.

[Barb L · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

At times difficult to listen to due to the graphic descriptions, but superbly written and read.

[Sadlerika sad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. Kept me interested and listening. I would recommend it.

[Ragnhild · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A must read! Intense, scary and important is how I would describe this book.

[Patty Noonan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story was enjoyable and well paced with good twists and turns. The writing was solid and consistent, but there was some filler - extra, unnecessary information that did not aid the progression of the plot. The ending was satisfactory. I read this book for a LiterALLy BOOKiSh monthly discussion.

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[micareads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

All her life Sage has believed that her twin sister, Rosemary died after a severe bout of pneumonia…at least that was what her parents told her. Six years after Rosemary's death, Sage overhears a conversation between her stepfather and his friend, discussing the fact that Rosemary has gone missing from Willowbrook; the state-run facility for the mentally ill with its own myth by the name of Cropsey who wanders the grounds killing the patients. In a bid to help find her sister, Rosemary takes a trip to Willowbrook and wants to apologize for not going to see her. As she wonders what her sister has been doing this whole time, she fails to pay attention to the fact that her purse has been stolen - along with any identifying information. When she arrives at Willowbrook, those in charge, unknowing that Sage exists, assume she is Rosemary and immediately throws her into a room and sedate her. When she awakens, she sees the horrors inflicted on her sister day after day for the last six years and feels even worse at not knowing she was sent there. When it is discovered that Rosemary was murdered and Sage is finally released from the facility, the hunt begins for the killer who has been haunting Staten Island and has made the Willowbrook campus his hunting ground. Willowbrook was exposed by Geraldo Rivera in 1972 when he and a news crew into the facility and showed the world how understaffed the hospital was as well as the conditions of the patients who were suffering from lack of care. This book was well researched and the first few chapters were very hard to read as the author describes what the ward looked, felt, and smelled like; it made me shudder many times over.

[dianekeenoy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I remember the special report that a very young Geraldo Rivera did on the horrific conditions at Willowbrook in Staten Island back in 1972 more than a decade before it was finally shut down. It's something you never forget. Wiseman uses the real-life Willowbrook State School as the main character in this book about a young woman, Sage looking for her missing twin sister who she thought died 6 years earlier. Very harrowing narrative.

[alekee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A story that is fiction, but touches on fact. Yes, parents were encouraged to send their children to places such as Willowbrook, and yes, it really existed on Staten Island NY.The author gives us a story that makes you want to yell "No", when Sage enters the facility to look for her sister Rosemary.Yes, I was able to figure out whom the killer was ahead of time, but it took a bit, and this will keep you holding your breath as you turn the pages for answers.Reads like this help us to remember that this horrible treatment of people should never happen again!If you like suspense, this one will keep you guessing, and changing your mind, and waiting for more surprises!I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This well-written and well-researched novel looks at the true horrors in institutions for people with mental disabilities and the way that they were treated in these institutions. It's difficult to read in parts because of the abuse of these people but I think it's a very important story that needs to be read so that we can all make sure that facilities like this never exist again.It's 1971 when sixteen year old Sage overhears her stepfather discussing the phone call that he'd just received from Willowbook School and the report that his step daughter Rosemary was missing. Sage demanded information from him and found out that her mother had lied to her six years earlier when she was told that her twin sister had died. She's shocked that Rosemary is in an institution and that she hadn't been told because she knew that she's have visited so that Rosemary knew she was loved. After a night out with friends, she decides to go to Willowbrook to help in the search for her sister. Her purse gets stolen from the bus and she has no way to prove her identity and when she shows up at the school, the administrators were sure that she was Rosemary and put back into her room. Even though she tried to explain, they didn't know that Rosemary had a twin plus Sage had no identification so no one paid any attention to her explanations. Her life in the institution is terrible. At first she thinks that because this is a school, she will have classes to attend and is shocked when she finds out that Willowbrook is just a dumping ground for people with mental disabilities. Sage finds out that the school is overcrowded and filled with neglected, over medicated people who are fed and treated horribly by a staff that just doesn't care about the patients. Will Sage find someone she can trust who will believe that she is not Rosemary?This was a tough book to read about the way that people in this institution were treated. The most interesting part of the story was seeing the changes in Sage. When she first went to try to find her sister, she was a party girl - more interested in spending time with her friends and having a few drinks. Her time in Willowbrook made her a strong and resilient young woman determined to help the residents of the school.I watched the 1972 expose of Willowbrook school done by Geraldo Rivera and it was a horrific look at he way mentally disabled people were treated at this so called school. We need to make sure that we learn from our pasts and nothing like this is allowed to happen again.

[fredreeca · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sage has just discovered her twin sister is missing. She has thought for years that her twin, Rosemary, died. But Sage has now discovered her mother placed her in Willowbrook School and kept it a secret from Sage. Well, Sage is going to help. She tells no one she is leaving to go help with the search of her sister. Little does Sage know, but this is going to turn into a nightmare.Sage is mistaken for her missing twin Rosemary and she is committed to Willowbrook herself. All her efforts fail to convince the powers that be that she is, in fact, Sage. But, what she discovers is a nightmare. The residents are living in inhumane conditions and neglect. Sage is powerless.This book wore me out. Talk about intense! I just kept reading faster and faster…I had to get Sage out of danger! And to know this is based on a real place…You can read about it here. I cannot fathom! I do not understand how people can mistreat other people to this extent.This is a book you will not soon forget! Sage’s difficult situation just kept getting worse as the story went on. You finally think she is out of the woods…but life turns on a dime and she is back in a mess!Need a book you can’t put down…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

[Amy Webster · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not always an easy read, but a good one. It’s hard to believe the horrible conditions at Willowbrook.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have never heard of Willowbrook but this expose by Geraldo Rivera was before I was born. After reading this book, I did research more about the tragic events that took place at Willowbrook. They are so sad. The residents did not deserve the inhuman treatment that she had to endure. Reading this book, does showcase just how very important mental health is needed. It is a topic that is getting more spotlight attention shown on it but there is more to be done.Instantly, I imagined the horror and fear that Sage might have felt when she entered this facility in search of her sister. With each new day, Sage uncovered so many secrets. I really could not believe what I was reading but at the same time I could not stop reading. Having finished this book, I will be checking out more books by this author.

[juju2cat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The horrors of this institution are made worse by the fact that this is based on a true story. I was overcome with depression and anger reading the book. It was only towards the end that I was able to calm down. If I had been admitted to this travesty of a "school" I too would have sought out the Angel of Death.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thanks to Kensington for providing me with this amazing book that tells in historical fiction form the story of the Willowbrook institution on Staten Island. When Sage Winters discovers that her twin sister, Rosemary, is not dead, but is actually living at The Willowbrook State School she is shocked and heartbroken. She travels to the school to see her sister. However, upon arrival, the staff believes that Sage is actually Rosemary, and they lock her up in the institution. The conditions are deplorable, and no one will believe her. Finally, a janitor, Eddie, befriends her and plans to help her escape. Sage discovers more terrifying secrets about the institution, and people start dying. Sage is desperate to escape. This is a terrifying expose of the conditions of these state institutions. Mental health is not something to be looked at as a condition to lock someone up and treat them in such awful ways.

[cassiesbooksreader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman is a Novel set in 1970’s New York. A young girl from a very troubled family looks for her twin sister and finds herself living a life of unimaginable horror. Will she find her sister and escape a place that could only be designed by pure evil? Excellent, a well written story with realistic characters, who are quite frightening and the stuff of nightmares. Obvious extensive research based on real historic facts and people woven into an exciting fictional story that reads like history. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

historical-places-events, historical-figures, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, invisible-disability, disability, discrimination, disbelieved, twins, lies, secrets, sanitarium, asylum, true-horror, survival, suspense, suspicion, abuse, murder, triggers*****In a time when there was only minimal medication for mental illness and shunning/fear of people with intellectual disabilities, there were "sanitariums" and "asylums" that became places of true horror. Not only in the distant past, or in the time of Nelly Bly and Jacob Riis, but from 1947 until 1987 right here in the US. This is a fictionalized story about horrible things that actually did happen and the bravery and fortitude of one young woman who overcame/survived and then went on to help others to learn to live with what happened to them. A difficult read for many of us.I requested and received an e-book copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you

[d-fbuser-543855943 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

?????
Is this a work of fiction or a first- hand account of the horrific, embarrassment that was WILLOWBROOK?
I enjoyed it very much but it left me confused!
I grew up in Staten Island and the mention of that place gives horrible thoughts
I worked for a short time for ARC,which I believe was founded from WILLOWBROOKs ashes, so to speak, and many of their group homes residents are to be treated under a strict group of guidelines called The Willowbrook Rules.

[Ada Lynn Allison · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it! Th he only thing that didn’t make sense was the age Sage was when she passed… she should have been over 20 years younger according to story line.