We Grew Up Together

"Based primarily on the letters that brothers and sisters wrote to each other from 1840 to 1920, this is a pioneering study of emotional relationships among adult siblings... This book casts new light on sibling bonds and should be read by anyone interested in family history." -- Choice "This evocative study illuminates the significance of both the sibling bond and family culture in historical studies." -- Julia Grant, American Historical Review "Atkins is an insightful storyteller who carefully depicts the motives of her characters... Atkins fully exploits the depth of psychological insights that working with long series of family letters affords her." -- Stephen M. Frank, The Historian "By providing a fresh look at nineteenth-century family dynamics, this study of sibling relationships counters some of the idealizations that have shaded our assumptions concerning American family life in previous centuries. Atkins accomplishes this important work through close readings of letters exchanged by ten sets of siblings over the course of nearly a century." -- Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith, Minnesota History "[Atkins] critically challenges nostalgic renderings of the traditional family structure... Atkins' work on sibling relationships does develop, and significantly contributes to, current scholarship by adding nuanced layers to family, gender, and social histories and family studies." -- Anne M. Heutsche, American Nineteenth Century History "A delightful story... Rather than exclusively quoting from the letters, [Atkins] painted a complete story that reads more like literature than history. I came away from the book enlightened by the families Atkin studied and wanted even more to 'find the various and multiple truths' of 'the families in [my] own past.'" -- Jessie L. Embry, Western Historical Quarterly