ABOUT THE BOOK
ABOUT THE BOOK
ABOUT THE BOOK
A dramatic and inspiring novel based on the true story of the Jane Collective and the brave women who fought for our right to choose, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Paris Bookseller.
Chicago, early 1970s: Who does a woman call when she needs help? Jane.
The best-known secret in the city, Jane is an underground women’s health organization composed entirely of women helping women, empowering them to live lives free from the expectations of society by offering reproductive counseling and safe, illegal abortions. Veronica, Jane’s founder, prides herself on the services she has provided to thousands of women, yet the price of others’ freedom is that she leads a double life. When she’s not at Jane, Veronica plays the role of a conventional housewife—which becomes even more difficult during her own high-risk pregnancy.
Two more women in Veronica’s neighborhood are grappling with similar disconnects. Margaret, a young professor at the University of Chicago, secretly volunteers at Jane as she falls in love with a man whose attitude toward his ex-wife increasingly disturbs her. Patty, who’s long been content as a devoted wife and mother, has begun to sense that something essential is missing from her life. When her runaway younger sister Eliza shows up unexpectedly, Patty is forced to come to terms with what it really means to love and support a sister.
In this historic moment when the personal was nothing if not political, when television, movies, and commercials told women they’d “come a long way, baby,” Veronica, Margaret, and Patty must make choices that will change the course of their lives forever.
Publish date Sep 19,2023 Berkley publisher
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MY THOUGHTS
Historical fiction has never been as timely or relevant as Kerri Maher’s All You Have to do Is Call.
Based on actual events, the story is modeled after Chicago in the 1970’s when women had two choices, have the child they carried or get an illegal abortion.
I will tell you this, the book was not easy to read, me being a woman and reading about the lack of choices woman had toward their own reproductive health and being made to feel shamed for the choices they made.
The best kept “secret” Chicago had was the Jan Collective and the women who fought to do what was right.
The book features not only the working life but the day-to-day life of 3 women.
Jane is a women based and founded organization helping women get the reproductive services they need. These women are compassionate and help other women make choices they couldn’t make on their own, letting them know they don’t have to be held prisoner by choices society expects us to make, like becoming a mother and wife.
The author shares the facts of how it was for women back then, but she does it in a compassionate and respectful way.
I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the women’s personal lives. Though these women were supportive of the women coming into the clinic they had their own struggles as well.
I enjoy the author’s writing style. She writes about a very important subject. The book is very well researched and factual.
A very powerful book and the strong bond women have when it comes to matter of the heart.
Recommended for all women because we deserve choices regarding ourselves.
First published September 19, 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KERRI MAHER is the USA Today bestselling author of The Paris Bookseller, The Girl in White Gloves, The Kennedy Debutante, and, under the name Kerri Majors, This Is Not a Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and lives with her daughter and dog in a leafy suburb west of Boston, Massachusetts. Learn more online at www.kerrimaher.com.
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