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Sarah. Often ahead ofher time, in 1929 the never-married Van Waters adopted a young girl she met through her work with the Juvenile Court in California, another act that would resonate with current trends. Freedman is quick to point out that Van Waters's maternal impulse to saven those around her did not extend to saving herself. Thematically, Van Waters built her life around helping others, yet found it extremely dificult to stop and take care of herselGanother postmodern theme in women's lives. Taking care of Van Waters often became the task of Geraldine Thompson, her lifelong friend, benefactor, and Guardian Angeln (Freedman, 1996: 234). The only troubling part of Freedman's biography, in fact, deals with the unfortunate lack of primary source material covering the forty-year Van Waters-Thompson relationship. Due to a 1949 political attack against Van Waters's suitability as Superintendent, Van Waters burned Thompson's letters, destroying a lifelong record of their devotion. Van Waters's motivation in burning the letters centered around her political opponents' allegations of institutionally-approved lesbianism at the Women's Reformatory. Freedman deals expertlywith the gap in her sources and freely admits that her research into that particular area of Van Waters's life proved difficult. Estelle Freedman deserves recognition for bringing Miriam Van Waters's life of maternalistic service to our attention. Put Maternal Justice on your reading list.
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