Virginia, 1924. Ruth Ann Riley is 17 years old when she gives birth to a baby girl. Unwed and undereducated, she's deemed "feeble-minded" and sent to live in a state-run institution where the doctors decide she must be sterilized "for the greater good." But Ruth Ann won't give up her baby Annabel or the hope of future children without a fight.
Based on the true story behind a landmark U.S. Supreme Court Decision, K.D. Alden's debut is a rich and moving story of one woman's courage and determination to get her child back when all odds are stacked against her.

Virginia, 1927: All Ruth Ann Riley wants is a chance to have a family. But because she was poor and unwed when she became pregnant, she was sent to an institution and her child was given to another woman. Ruth Ann can't stand the thought of never seeing little Annabel's face again, never snuggling up to her warmth or watching her blue eyes crinkle with laughter. And now they want to take away her right to have any other babies? She is not going to let that happen.
All the rich and fancy folks may call her feebleminded, but Ruth Ann is smarter than any of them have bargained for. Because no matter how high the odds are stacked against her, she is going to overcome the scandals in her past and get her child back. She just never expects her battle will go to the U.S. Supreme Court, or that she'd find unexpected friendships . . . and even the possibility of love along the way.