According to the author, this book was inspired and loosely based upon the true story of two sisters, Minnie Lee and Mary Alice Relf, who were sterilized without their consent in 1973 in Alabama. The girls were only twelve and fourteen at the time. It led to a federal court case which exposed the thousands of poor women, many of them women of color, who had been sterilized under federally funded programs.
In this book the narrator, Civil Townsend, is a young nurse working at a family planning clinic. She discovers that two of her young patients have been sterilized after illiterate family members signed approval papers, believing the girls were being taken to the clinic for contraceptive shots. Her story alternates between 1973, when she helps the family initiate a court case to stop the practice, and 2016 when she returns to Montgomery. Now a surgeon, she needs to revisit the past, and those who shaped her into the person she became.
The main character, her family, and others are Christian, and their faith is woven into the fabric of the story in a natural way. The plot also addresses the complex problems that arise from depression, anxiety, poverty, illiteracy and more.
VERDICT: 4 STARS. A well-written novel that grapples with important issues.
For more book reviews see these posts:
Feathers of Hope by Sharon Garlough Brown — Book Review
Mission Possible One-Year Devotional by Tim Tebow–Book Review
Prayer by O. Hallesby — Book Review
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