South Dakota didn’t have particularly lax divorce laws. What they did have was a short residency requirement before you could file for divorce. The state only required a 90 day residence.

This lead many people to travel to South Dakota and set up house in a fancy hotel for the three months required. Many of the local citizens were horrified. They shunned the “divorce colonists” socially. They required them to pretend that they weren’t there just for the divorce. This meant that they weren’t even allowed to talk to each other because socializing with people known to be looking for a divorce was seen as proof that a person was just there for a divorce.

Local people (those who weren’t making money from the visitors) tried to make the laws stricter. They were led by a preacher who was determined to outlaw divorce. Listening to this book made me constantly wonder why they cared so much. I understand they considered it to be immoral behavior but the colonists were staying to themselves and doing nothing but helping the local economy. Some busybodies should mind their own business.

This book tells the stories of a few women who went to South Dakota to get away from bad marriages to illustrate how the divorce laws worked at different periods of time.