The orphan story has been mythologized: Step one: While a child is still too young to form distinct memories of them, their parents die in an untimely fashion. Step two: Orphan acquires caretakers who amplify the world's cruelty. Step three: Orphan escapes and goes on an adventure, encountering the world's vast possibilities.
The Sun Won't Come Out Tomorrow upends this story. Alongside powerful critiques of popular orphan narratives, from
Annie to the
Boxcar Children to
Party of Five, journalist Kristen Martin explores the real history of orphanhood in the United States, from the 1800s to the present. Martin reveals the mission of religious indoctrination that was at the core of the first orphanages, the orphan trains that took poor children out West (often without a choice), and the inherent racism and classism that still underlie the United States' approach to child welfare.
Through a combination of in-depth archival research, memoir (Martin herself lost both her parents as a child), and cultural analysis,
The Sun Won't Come out Tomorrow is a compellingly argued, compassionate book that forces us to reconsider autonomy, family, and community. Martin delivers a searing indictment of America's consistent inability to care for those who need it most.
