Louise Armstrong


Louise Armstrong 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 and activist, Armstrong spoke widely for two decades in the United States, Canada, and England on the subjects of child abuse, violence against women, incest, family violence, and sexual abuse. Her book Kiss Daddy Goodnight, published by Pocket Books 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, Connecticut Magazine, and On the Issues.
Armstrong was on the faculty of the Institute of Children's Literature and chaired a committee on family violence for the National [Women's Health Network]. 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: Emmy Award-winning television producer and filmmaker Noah Hawley; 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
  • Saving the Big-Deal Baby, illustrated by Jack Hearne
  • The Home Front: Notes from the Family War Zone
  • Kiss Daddy Goodnight: Ten Years Later
  • Solomon Says: A Speakout on Foster Care
  • And They Call It Help: The Psychiatric Policing of America's Children
  • Rocking the Cradle of Sexual Politics: What Happened When Women Said Incest
  • ''Of 'Sluts' and 'Bastards': A Feminist Decodes the Child Welfare Debate''

    Children's books

  • A Child's Guide to Freud, illustrated by Whitney Darrow, Jr.
  • The Thump, Blam, Bump Mystery, illustrated by Ray Cruz
  • How to Turn Lemons into Money: A Child's Guide to Economics, illustrated by Bill Basso
  • How to Turn Up into Down into Up: A Child's Guide to Inflation, Depression, and Economic Recovery, illustrated by Bill Basso
  • How to Turn War into Peace: A Child's Guide to Conflict Resolution, illustrated by Bill Basso
  • Arthur Gets What He Spills, illustrated by Syd Hoff

    Collected works

Contributed chapters in the following collected works, both academic and trade:
  • The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism
  • Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed
  • Feminist Foremothers in Women's Studies, Psychology, Mental Health
  • ''Home Truths About Child Sexual Abuse: Influencing Policy and Practice''