The Incredible True Story of the Argentine Grandmothers Who Fought to Find a Stolen Generation of Children

An oppressive authoritarian regime tries to terrorize Argentina, but a group of grandmothers prevails in A Flower Traveled in My Blood, the product of extensive archival research and meticulous, original reporting.

In the early hours of March 24, 1976, the streets of Buenos Aires rumble with tanks as a military junta seizes the presidential palace. The junta swiftly launches the National Reorganization Process or El Proceso—a ruthless campaign to crush the political left and instill the country with “Western, Christian” values, including kidnapping pregnant women, “disappearing” them after they give birth in captivity, and secretly giving their babies to other families. 

A group of fierce grandmothers forms the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, dedicated to finding the stolen infants and seeking justice from a nation that betrayed them. Speaking out could mean death, but the Abuelas confront military officers, launch protests, become detectives, and even work alongside a renowned American scientist to pioneer groundbreaking genetic tests. This program is co-sponsored by LiveGirl for Women's History Month. Registration information will be shared with their organization. 

Haley Cohen Gilliland is a journalist and the director of the Yale Journalism Initiative. She previously worked at TheEconomist for seven years, four of which were spent in Buenos Aires as the paper’s Argentina correspondent. Following her time at The Economist, she has focused on narrative nonfiction and has published articles in The New York Times, National Geographic, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Vanity Fair, among other publications.