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Title:	Take My Hand
Authors:	Perkins-Valdez, Dolen
Genre:	Fiction
Pages:	352
Year:	2022
Language:	English
Description:	Fresh from nursing school, Civil Townsend is excited to be working for the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, with some of her earliest duties requiring her to administer a still experimental drug. Even more startling to her is to discover that some of the intended recipients of the birth control injections are innocent children - Erica and India are only eleven and thirteen, and worse is to come when Civil challenges what is being meted out to them by a health system supposedly there to help them. Inspired by real-life events of the 1970s, this is a powerful story both horrifying and hopeful, that wrestles with reproductive injustice, medical ethics and racism.
Categories:	Fiction, Culture/Ethnic/Racial, Faction, Gender Issues, Historical, Human Rights, Medical/Health, Morals/Ethics, Relationships, Social commentary/perspectives, America, 2024 Titles

Reviews

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By: OWAKA 001		2025-07-02 14:38:31

Extremely well-written. Hard-hitting, thought provoking read. Parallels with other countries. Compelled a member to recommend this book to friends in Australia who are in another book club. Should be compulsory reading for female politicians, nursing tutors and nursing students.

By: KATIK 008		2025-05-28 10:18:18

All read this book and it prompted good discussion around medical ethics. A good writer - lots of well drawn characters.

By: TAUR 059		2025-05-11 13:21:56

All conflicted about this book. Everyone was fascinated and disturbed by the story and appalled at the treatment of the recipients, or perhaps victims is a better word, of the health services provided/enforced. However most found the jumping back and forth in time annoying in this book and the main character and her family and back story flat and hard to engage with. All agreed the book was an important read and that despite what we found as negatives we would recommend it.

By: AUCK 360		2025-03-17 14:50:40

Distressing and important theme based on a true story. However we felt it was not well written - little depth of character, and chunky use of Afro American lingo. The fact that it was based on a real story kept us reading, but the love stories were distracting, undeveloped and unlikely. We had a good discussion about the theme of good intentions doing harm.

By: AUCK 459		2024-12-12 09:53:09

Very informative book to read and we were shocked by its content. Evoked a lot of comments about the injustice done to minorities, and still being done (women) in parts of Africa.

By: GORE 010		2024-08-26 12:21:22

Great read, good to learn about this history.

By: AUCK 009		2024-05-22 12:22:25

Unanimously we scored this book a 5. A few comments from a great discussion - "Horrific, very upsetting, an excellent book, had no idea unconsented sterilisation took place in the USA, Ralf v Weinberger was taking place while we were having children".

By: RICH 005		2024-05-20 12:18:49

An account of a shameful time in U.S. history which none of our group were aware of - we found this book very distressing but informative, and it led to a great discussion, especially about the belief of 'doing the right thing'.

By: FEILD 002		2024-05-09 10:24:42

Rated very highly.

By: AUCK 038		2024-05-01 14:42:19

Interesting, at times devastatingly so! We learnt a lot from reading 'Take My Hand' but the writing style was not amazing.

By: NAP 005		2024-03-15 11:32:04

All of our group liked the book and gave us plenty to discuss. We were inspired by Civil the compassionate black nurse who told the story from her perspective from a young age to decades later as a Doctor. A great read.

By: AUCK 150		2023-10-30 10:32:15

We enjoyed this book immensely - quite immature writing but an interesting and informative story for all of us. So hard to believe that people can be so racist.