Louise Armstrong (March 17, 1937 – August 10, 2008) was a published author of numerous adult and children's books. She joined the women's movement in New York City in 1972 and began researching father-daughter incest. A staunch

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and activist, Armstrong spoke widely for two decades in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on the subjects of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

family violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

, and

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

. Her book ''Kiss Daddy Goodnight'', published by

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...

in 1978, is a groundbreaking work on incest. In addition, she wrote many articles, keynoted numerous feminist conferences, and spoke at universities and to groups nationally and internationally on these issues. She wrote for magazines, including ''

Woman's Day ''Woman's Day'' is an American women's magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters (magazines), Seven Sisters magazines. ...

'', ''

Connecticut Magazine ''Connecticut Magazine'' is an American monthly magazine covering the life, culture, politics, and style of the state of Connecticut. Founded in 1971, it was purchased in 2017 by the Hearst Corporation. It is a sister magazine o''The'' ''Connect ...

'', and ''

On the Issues On the Issues or OnTheIssues is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization providing information to American voters on American candidates, primarily via their website. The organization was started in 1996, went non-profit in 2000, and is ...

''. Armstrong was on the faculty of the Institute of Children's Literature (1980–7) and chaired a committee on family violence for the

National Women's Health Network The National Women's Health Network (NWHN) was a non-profit women's health advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1975 by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, and Phyllis Chesler. The stated ...

(1979–84). She was an affiliate of the International Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and Children and was on the advisory board of the Center for the Study of Psychiatry, the advisory board of the National Center for Protective Parents, and the editorial board of ''Women and Therapy''. She was predeceased by her husband, businessman Tom Hawley. They had twin sons:

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-winning television producer and filmmaker

Noah Hawley Noah Hawley (born 1967) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, author, and singer. He is best known for creating and writing the FX series '' Fargo'' (2014–present) and '' Legion'' (2017–2019). He also worked on the series '' Bones ...

; and Alexi Hawley, who is also a television writer and is best known as the creator of the series ''State of Affairs'', ''The Rookie'', and ''The Recruit''.

Published works

Adult books

*''Kiss Daddy Goodnight: A Speak-out on Incest'' (

, 1978) *''Saving the Big-Deal Baby'', illustrated by Jack Hearne (

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

, 1980) *''The Home Front: Notes from the Family War Zone'' (McGraw-Hill, 1983) *''Kiss Daddy Goodnight: Ten Years Later'' (Pocket Books, 1987) *''Solomon Says: A Speakout on Foster Care'' (Pocket Books, 1989) *''And They Call It Help: The Psychiatric Policing of America's Children'' (

Addison-Wesley Addison–Wesley is an American publisher of textbooks and computer literature. It is an imprint of Pearson plc, a global publishing and education company. In addition to publishing books, Addison–Wesley also distributes its technical titles ...

, 1993) *''Rocking the Cradle of Sexual Politics: What Happened When Women Said Incest'' (Addison-Wesley, 1994;

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, The Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

, 1996) *''Of 'Sluts' and 'Bastards': A Feminist Decodes the Child Welfare Debate'' (

Common Courage Press Common Courage Press is a book publishing company based in Monroe, Maine. The company was formed in January 1990, in part by Greg Bates, who also serves as publisher. Bates explained his goal of the company: "by publishing books for social ju ...

, 1996)

Children's books

*''A Child's Guide to Freud'', illustrated by Whitney Darrow, Jr. (Simon & Schuster, 1963) *''The Thump, Blam, Bump Mystery'', illustrated by Ray Cruz (Walker, 1975) *''How to Turn Lemons into Money: A Child's Guide to Economics'', illustrated by Bill Basso (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975) *''How to Turn Up into Down into Up: A Child's Guide to Inflation, Depression, and Economic Recovery'', illustrated by Bill Basso (HBJ, 1978) *''How to Turn War into Peace: A Child's Guide to Conflict Resolution'', illustrated by Bill Basso (HBJ, 1979) *''Arthur Gets What He Spills'', illustrated by Syd Hoff (HBJ, 1979)

Collected works

Contributed chapters in the following collected works, both academic and trade: *''The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism'' (eds:

Dorchen Leidholdt Dorchen A. Leidholdt is an activist and leader in the feminist movement against violence against women. Since the mid-1970s, she has counseled and advocated for rape victims, organized against "the media's promotion of violence against women", ...

and Janice G. Raymond; Pergamon Press, 1990) *''Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed'' (eds: Diane Bell and

Renate Klein Renate Klein (born 5 April 1945) is an Australian academic, writer, publisher, and feminist health activist. Klein was an associate professor in women's studies at Deakin University until her retirement in 2006, and with Dr Susan Hawthorne, she co ...

; Zed Books, 1996) *''Feminist Foremothers in Women's Studies, Psychology, Mental Health'' (eds: Phyllis Chesler, Esther D. Rothblum, Ellen Cole; Haworth Press, 1995) *''Home Truths About Child Sexual Abuse: Influencing Policy and Practice'' (ed: Catherine Itzin; London: Routledge, 2000)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Louise 1937 births 2008 deaths American children's writers American feminists Place of birth missing Place of death missing American women children's writers Writers from New York City 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers