In While the Women Only Wept Janice Potter-MacKinnon traces the story of Loyalist women from their experiences in the American colonies as antagonism toward the British Crown increased, through their forced exodus from the colonies in the late 1770s and early 1780s, to their eventual settlement in eastern Ontario in the area around present-day Kingston.

Potter-MacKinnon argues that the importance of the Loyalist women's endeavours was obscured in the historical record because most accounts of the Loyalist experience were provided by Loyalist men. She documents the women's vital services to the Crown in providing information and refuge to Loyalist fighters, maintaining open communication with Native allies, and helping provision the Loyalist forces.

While the Women Only Wept contributes an important new perspective to Loyalist literature and adds a further chapter to women's history.