Don't Forget to Write: A Novel

America in the 1960s was a place of rapid change and growth. In the fall of 1960, a few months after Don’t Forget to Write is set, John F. Kennedy was elected as president of the United States. The economic boom following the end of World War II led to the establishment of a robust middle class with access to new technologies and disposable income. The civil rights and women’s rights movements pushed back against traditional conservative values. Women and people of color fought for and steadily gained rights like equal pay for equal work, voting and marriage rights, and equal legal protections. Women fought for greater independence and freedom from the control of their husbands and fathers, especially as more women started entering the workforce. 

At this time, the employment opportunities open to women were still very limited, as were their financial freedoms. Women could only open bank accounts or obtain credit cards with their husband’s permission, often meaning that women were forced to stay in unhappy or abusive marriages for financial stability. Unmarried women were typically expected to continue living at home until they found husbands. The idea that women could have careers that took them beyond the home was troubling to many conservative Americans. Young women like Marilyn, who were raised in traditional households, faced pressure to marry early, eschew any pursuit of a career, and become mothers whose primary purpose was raising children and taking care of the home. One of the major goals of the feminist movement of the 1960s was to show women that another life was possible.