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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Buy the Little Ones a Dolly by Rose E. Bingham is the non-fiction memoir about the author's life following the disappearance of her mother. Rosie is woken up by her mother calling from the bottom of the stairs, giving her instructions on how to manage the day and prepare for her father's birthday during her summer vacation in 1952. It's the last time Rosie hears from her mother until a letter arrives weeks later in which the kids are told she couldn't come home for fear of going to jail. At fifteen, Rosie becomes a maternal figure to her six younger siblings, but the situation is untenable. After an accusation of negligence brings the family to court, the children are all placed in an orphanage and, ultimately, separated indefinitely into foster care.
Rose E. Bingham puts her life on paper in Buy the Little Ones a Dolly. There's a great deal of hardship balanced out with some moments of levity and a lot of hope. The siblings did reunite and strengthened the bond they'd shared prior to separation. It was interesting to me that there was a general consensus of acceptance for their mother's absence, musing how it was a different time and a different era, with laws that are inconceivable to us today. As a reader who is not part of and does not know any members of the family except through Bingham's storytelling, I found it difficult to invest in this emotionally. However, grief is extremely personal and there is no right or wrong way to experience it. What I do believe is that this accounting of Bingham's life is a testament to the strength of her family and will no doubt be cherished by their descendants for generations to come.
