Take My Hand

This once again, feels quite topical at the moment and stories like this, as sad and tragic as they are give us a healthy reminder on basic human rights, racial prejudices and class.
This is disturbing, shocking, and one that you can't turn away from. Civil is a great female protagonist and the name cleverly also serves as a reminder.
As a feminist, this enraged me and I was appalled by it. So clever is the writing you really feel it, like Erica and India are your sisters, or friends.
Absorbing and captivating.

Take my hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is an important story, beautifully told.

Snippet moments remind us that this whole narrative is a mother telling her daughter the story of her lineage (of sorts), but it is much more than this too and Perkins-Valdez’s device here is brilliant for this reason. It is also about understanding a shared history that shapes us all – the mistakes made, and atrocities committed sometimes in the name of good, but ultimately led by misguided ideas fuelled by prejudice and racism.

The idea that we may think we know what is best for others runs throughout the story and is so expertly captured in how Civil grows and comes to understand her own actions too. There’s a lot of commentary on the misconceptions about welfare and assistance and the dehumanisation of those of us who might need it. The story offers insights that still apply today with regard to race, disability and financial inequality and it challenges all this as well as outing the violation of human rights - the theft of women’s rights to choose for themselves and their own bodies - that lies in this true story of medical aid in the US in the 1970s.

Civil is a satisfyingly complex character - young, well-meaning but with her own ghosts to face. I quickly fell in love with her and her love for the Williams girls and rushed to return to her story whenever I could.

The time slip device also works really well - Civil’s cross country trip as a mature woman unravelling alongside the story of her 23-year-old self. It was confidently handled and lovingly told, and I was enthralled.

I highly recommend this as one to watch in 2022 and I really hope it gains the attention and love it deserves. These stories of injustice - that reveal and challenge racism and prejudice - help us to understand our world and ourselves better and to learn from past mistakes. It’s also a beautiful story full of heart and complexity with wonderful characters to fall in love with.

Read it!!

This novel really brought home to me how many injustices there are in the world 0f which I am ignorant. It's a powerful story of medical discrimination against poor black people in America's south, not only the forced sterilization of under-age girls which is at the heart of the book, but also the experiments involving black men, denied treatment for STDs without their knowledge. It is truly horrifying that the time is 1973, and even worse to think that discrimination is still so prevalent today.

There are some powerful characters in this book, Civil of course whose life story is complex and multi-layered, but equally interesting is Mrs Williams, the powerful proud grandmother of the family at the centre of the novel.

The fight for justice is tense, with the young lawyer Lou sometimes seemingly out of his depth, but with strong convictions which lead him to mount a powerful case against the authorities.

Told through a split time perspective of 2016 and the early 1970s, we are forced to watch as the story unfolds through the eyes of Civil Townsend. Cleverly intertwined, there is enough information omitted or withheld by the narrator to create a suspense surrounding the lineage of her child and also the fate of the Erica and India, the poverty-stricken sisters who are unintentionally dragged through a civil rights legal battle.

Civil, tasked with administering the girls with birth control shots (despite being minors and unable to give their consent), starts out believing she is doing good. But what starts as a moral questioning of her actions quickly gathers momentum into something more sinister and far reaching.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez shines attention on a time and place once the world’s news stations had moved on.

Whilst it seems almost unbelievable that a programme of forced sterilisation could have taken place only a few generations ago, Dolen Perkins-Valdez has created a poignant tale which shows how easily those in power can coerce those without it.

Those who enjoyed Brit Bennett’s The Mothers will enjoy the exploration of motherhood as well as a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body.

This was an eye-opener for me, with a feel of ‘The Help’ to it. Set in Alabama in the early 1970s, it tells the story of Civil who starts her career in a family planning clinic which caters for poor black women. Civil is black herself, but comes from a well-off professional family and the social differences between her and her patients are stark. Based on a true story, this novel taught me a lot about a period of American history I knew nothing about. It is well written and engaging and I would definitely recommend it

Wow this book should be on everyone's to read pile. As it shines a light on so many important issues and how people are treated, laws that have been imposed and the events in history. It's is profoundly moving, beautiful, raw and emotional. You really need tissues with this one. Really well written with great characters. Beautiful

4.5 rounded up.

This powerful novel is based on a true story with the central character being Civil Townsend and is told in two timelines. The first is 1973 when she’s a nurse and newly employed by the Montgomery family planning clinic which takes her to the Williams farm where she is to administer Depo-Provera to Erica aged 13 and India aged 11. These girls live in terrible poverty in a one room cabin, neither have ever kissed a boy never mind anything else and one of them is incredibly young. The second timeline is 2016 and Civil is now a doctor considering retirement and is trying to come to terms with what unfolds in 1973 but some things are just too big to ever leave behind .

This is an emotional and incredibly sad tale which the author tells well. Although I knew some things about the eugenics program (it’s also covered in Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain) but the author fills in a lot of details I don’t know such as Depo-Provera. These girls are almost lab rats as at the time it’s not even FDA approved. Civil tries to do good, to do what she believes is the right thing which she will come to regret bitterly. The novel starts slowly but builds as a horrifying tale emerges evoking a whole range of feelings. There are some courtroom scenes that are utterly riveting, the pathos of the girls situation strikes a heartbreaking unforgettable blow.

This is one book you won’t forget in a hurry and nor should it be so as it’s deeply profound and tragic raising a multitude of questions not least on human rights. It’s compelling, raw, disturbing and very well written as the two timelines flow very well, weaving the past with present.

This book led me to some additional reading especially on the Relf versus Weinberger case of 1973 and on the early use of Depo-Provera and any book that leads you to further research has to be worth reading in my opinion.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Orion for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This book will be one of the stand out stars of 2022 and it will be utterly well deserved. I had heard about this heinous piece of history, but history gains impact by being told first person and as first person narrators go, you can’t beat Civil! Perkins-Valdez has very cleverly placed Civil right smack in the middle of the story; both as the character who relates to the victims and their family but also as a colleague and employee of some of the culprits but also as a wealthy African American. She hasn’t grown up in poverty, is well educated and has a responsible job but will never have white privileged and nor will she fully understand what Mrs Williams and Mace have been through. It gave a truly unique perspective and one that meant the story was truly examine on and reported on all angles. Blame is apportioned calmly and squarely and forgiveness easily and with grace. It is a shame that when the crimes went to court the perpetrators were barely punished as the fight moved to those higher up the chain.
Civil’s compassion for the girls, and for her own mother and her forgiveness of the nurses sets a good example in a present day society obsessed with vengeance and punishment.
I could easily read another 2 or 3 books with these characters in, and I’m sure I won’t be the only reader.
In a #metoo #blm world our youngsters should be reading this book in high school.

This is a book that really has a powerful message. Civil Townsend is fresh out of nursing school and ready to make a difference at The Montgomery Alabama Family Planning Clinic. She is assigned to visit homes and give young girls shots of Depo Provera. This is a form of longer lasting birth control. She meets with two sisters, India, 11 and Erica, 13. They are black and poor. It is just assumed that this means they will be sexually active. India has not even gotten her period yet, so can’t get pregnant. Civil thinks she is helping, but starts to check into exactly what she is injecting these girls with. Things get much worse after this.

I think the powerful message is if you know something is wrong, speak up. It is so much easier to be quiet or get pulled along with others who try to convince you that everything is being done correctly and for a reason. It is much harder to speak up and yes, there is a price to pay for doing so. Yet, I do not know of any acts of social injustice that get changed without someone refusing to keep quiet and knows it is necessary to bring about change so that is the motivation to say something.

Civil is outraged by the cruelty toward India and Erica and really loves these girls. It is always hard to be the first to speak out and not tolerate horrendous acts, yet for Civil it is not a choice. She can’t drop this. She is not going to let these girls and their family be hurt anymore. I was incredibly moved by the courage Civil shows. This is how we make a difference, this is how we try in our flawed way to bring about change, and it was a tremendous book to read.

It will disturb you. It should disturb you. It will also inspire you. I read to remind myself that it is important to remember my role and to be brave and not allow injustice to continue because I am complacent. I think I should strive to be aware and leave the world a little better then when I stepped into it. Something to think about and this book certainly will make you do that. The author does an outstanding job and I can not recommend this book enough.