What readers think of Take My Hand, plus links to write your own review.

The beautiful cover on this book hints at the beautiful writing inside. All of the events are not beautiful because this is historical fiction, based on real events which span a wide range of topics, from Civil Rights to gender rights and reproductive rights.

A reader of any background will immediately be drawn into the story of young Civil Townsend who is starting a new career as a nurse in the Family Planning Center of Montgomery, Alabama in 1973. There is a hint of some heartache with an opening statement by the adult Civil, " What we didn't know was that there would be skin left on the playground after it was all over and done with." Most likely, the reader is expecting this, given the location and time period, 1973; George Wallace is the governor of Alabama.

Civil is the first-person narrator, and the chapters occasionally alternate between 1973 -when Civil has recently graduated with her nursing degree- and 2016. The transition between time periods is seamless and easy to understand. There are no jarring interruptions to make a reader turn back a few pages and look to see which characters are being discussed.

For the eight young Black women (including Civil) who are staffing Montgomery's family planning center, there are, incredulously, additional janitorial duties of the building. Overseeing their work is a demanding red-haired woman who may remind readers of another cold-hearted nurse from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Nursed Ratched. Despite Civil's upper-class background (her father is a doctor), she refuses to let any assignment bother her. However, the story is told honestly through Civil's eyes as events unfolded. So when the first home assignment takes Civil to the country, we readers are reminded that "country" back then and there meant outhouses and no running water and unpaved roads. In addition, poverty is neither glamorized (poor but so happy) nor glossed over; Civil is stunned by the ramshackle hut which a widowed father, two young daughters (ages 11 and 13), and an elderly grandmother call home. It smells like urine and "body funk."

I think readers will enjoy discovering this book for themselves, so no plot spoilers will be included. Suffice it to say that Civil has some personal heartbreaks and tough decisions that change the trajectory of her life forever. For anyone who has ever been an idealistic young employee, determined to make things good and right, you will be as outraged as Civil herself. This book is destined to be a modern classic!

The highest praise I can give "Take My Hand" is that it left me a smarter person for having read it. This book engaged me from the very first page. The book made me think and opened my eyes, leaving me wanting, actually needing, to learn more about the historical backstory —- for me, the hallmarks of an exceptional book. I loved it!

Powerful, thought-provoking, beautifully written. The characters - their emotions, convictions, struggles, and relationships, came alive in the pages of "Take My Hand." The story, built around a candid and troubling look at a case of reproductive injustice in Alabama, flowed easily going back a forth between the 70's and current (2016).

This book, while historical fiction, tackles topics still very relevant to our time. It is "must read" for book clubs willing to have meaningful, and possibly tough, discussions - not only about the book, but about the topics of civil rights, structural racism, and women's reproductive rights.

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez was a profound, enlightening and heartbreaking book. I will never be the same after reading this book.

We have learned that many things in our history as a nation are unforgivable but yet they happened. We cannot forget these things otherwise, they may be repeated. Back in the early 70s it came out that our government run agencies for women were distributing birth control for women of color and poor families. In many instances women were sterilized without proper informed consent. In this book two young girls ages 11 and 13 were sterilized because they were poor and black even though they were not sexually active. There were more than 70,000 women who were victims of this abuse. I'm heartbroken that there are people who felt they knew what was best for the future of these women.

I was a young adult back then and for the life of me I can't remember this happening or the trial that took place. We can't forget these things. This broke the summer after we learned of the Tuskegee experiments. How could this happen in our great nation? This is a book I will never forget. It has changed me for the better.

I would highly recommend this book. Although, it is fiction, it is based on a trial and a sad part of our American history. I hope you take some time to look up Relf v. Weinberger and another trial Buck v. Bell. You will be astounded.

Take My Hand is realistic fiction at its best. A black nurse in 1970's Montgomery Alabama takes a job at a family planning clinic where she becomes a beacon of hope for her poverty stricken patients. Soon, she discovers she is giving injections of a controversial drug, Depo-Provera, to very young girls. The nurse is Civil Townsend, and she wants to improve the lives of her patients, not realizing that her role will create medical consequences for the young ladies. Ms Townsend is an excellent role model as she refuses to give the drug. She also continues her schooling to become a doctor, which is admirable.

Today, long term studies indicate that Depo-Provera still carries an elevated risk for breast cancer, and it offers no protection against sexually transmitted diseases. It is not approved for birth control use in the United States, but is manufactured in Belgium and France for use in 80 countries. More than a million women currently use the injections worldwide.

Have you ever been so moved that you took to action? In Take My Hand, (inspired by true events) Civil Townsend becomes the catalyst for one of the biggest cases in American courts. This outstanding book holds no punches when relating another American tragedy propelled by Racism.

The author did an amazing job at identifying all the issues, portraying all the feelings and delivering the facts to readers like myself who were unaware of the events in Mobile, Al.

That this book should surface now as history is somewhat repeating itself is incredible. I was struck by the powerful feelings it evoked in me as I read. I kept asking myself "how" and "why" but at the same time thinking "yet" and "again".

I hope this book and this author get a lot of attention. Dolen Perkins-Valdez is as brave and courageous as her character Civil. As This book needs to be read by everyone and shared again and again so that it's powerful message ignites women everywhere to stand up for what's right and just and fair.

With meticulous research, the author weaves a fictional story around a sensational historic court case held in Alabama in 1973 involving reproductive rights for women.

The drama unfolds on two fronts, the US Governments role in the court case and the people closely involved. The narrative centers around the affected family, their nurses and an array of friends, all African Americans, who are attempting to navigate a tragedy in a bigoted southern environment.

I enjoyed this book because the subject was a revelation for me. It read like a crime novel exposing the extent and enormity of the practice of racial sterilization. This book is intended to bring these past atrocities to light and broadcast awareness to those who can voice dissent.

I was graduating from high school when Take My Hand takes place. I knew about Roe vs. Wade—but had no idea about the sterilizations of thousands of women. To read about a young nurse who recognized the inappropriate tubal ligations that her young patients are subjected to, and the court case that resulted from her protest of the practice, was a gripping narrative. Based on historical figures, the unfolding of events for the nurse, her coworkers, her patients, and their family make for a great, revealing read. Our history is not always our finest.

"Take My Hand" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a gut wrenching story, albeit fiction, based on true accounts of forced sterilization of girls and women of color. One might think that this takes place in "the dark ages", yet this happened in the 1970's, a mere 50 years ago. The book is voiced by a young nurse, working her first job in a Federally run Family Planning Clinic in Montgomery, Alabama. The nurse, Civil, is a black woman, daughter of a physician, who wants nothing more than to bring the women she attends to the much needed medical care that they don't have. The realization of what is happening under her watch spurs her to try to right an egregious wrong.
Perkins-Valdez speaks in a voice that is straightforward without bleeding heart melodrama. This makes the telling even more poignant. Her characters and their interactions are direct, giving this book a powerful message to all.
How ironic it is that those if us who were fortunate in choosing this book to read and review are doing this as the Supreme Court votes not to stay a Texas law to prohibit abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Yes, the difference is the later is out in the open and the former was in secret and unauthorized. Yet the bottom line is the complete disregard of the bodily right of a woman to decide what is best for her! Some things just don't change!!