On Friday 20 November 2026, Atria warmly invites you to an inspiring afternoon with author Suzanna Jansen and senior researcher Paula Thijs.
On Friday 20 November 2026, Atria warmly invites you to an inspiring afternoon with author Suzanna Jansen and senior researcher Paula Thijs.
What happened to the thousands of women in The Netherlands who became ‘overwrought’ in the 1950s and 1960s? They were tired, had unexplained symptoms and were sent to a convalescent home for weeks or even months to rest and recover. But what was really going on in their lives? And did that rest actually lead to recovery?
Suzanna Jansen, known for works including Het pauperparadijs, wrote the Essay of the National History Month 2026, entitled Project RUST: Rest Homes for Overworked Mothers. For this essay, she delved into letters, archives and personal accounts of women who had stayed in convalescent homes. She also spoke to their children, who described the impact their mothers’ absence had on the family. The result is a poignant account of a largely forgotten chapter of history, in which womanhood, care, work and societal expectations converge in a painful way.
Drawing on her own mother’s story, Jansen brings to life an overlooked chapter of Dutch history. A history that not only tells us something about the past, but also proves to be surprisingly relevant today.
More than just an essay
Project RUST is more than just a publication. It is also an invitation to explore this history further together. Stories, memories and documents collected through the project will be housed at Atria and made available for future research.
During this afternoon’s session, senior researcher Paula Thijs will demonstrate how personal stories can contribute to new insights into women’s history and how, together, we can build a collective memory of women whose experiences have long remained overlooked.
Programme [in Dutch]
1.30 pm – 2.00 pm: Doors open with coffee and tea
2.00 pm – 2.05 pm: Welcome by Karin van der Heiden, Managing Director of Atria
2.05 pm – 3.30 pm: Project RUST – lecture by Suzanna Jansen
3.30 pm – 3.45 pm: Project RUST and follow-up research at Atria – Dr Paula Thijs
3.45 pm – 4.30 pm: Informal discussion over coffee, tea and cake
Register
The event is fully booked, but you can still sign up for the waiting list using the button below.
Admission is free.
We hope to welcome you to an afternoon filled with stories, history and conversation. Together, we will reflect on a forgotten chapter in women’s history and explore how these stories can be preserved and made accessible to future generations.
Atria’s 90th Anniversary and the StudieSalon
This event is the third lecture in the series marking Atria’s 90th anniversary. At the same time, Project RUST serves as a prelude to the Atria Study Salon: a new series of lectures which, from 2027, will provide a forum for meeting, sharing knowledge and debating current issues in the fields of gender equality, gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
