Take My Hand: The inspiring and unforgettable BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick Paperback – 11 May 2023

Yay! I have finally had my first 5 star read of 2024 and what a beautifully captivating read it is! Take My Hand is an incredibly written, devastating book that I absolutely devoured. It's the type of book that changes how you think of different aspects of life and makes you feel yourself grow as a person through understanding.I think I read this book at such a relevant time (although that being said, when in recent years hasn’t been relevant?) what with all the discourse around abortion and fertility laws over the last few years it just made me really reflect on how far we have come in some ways whilst how much the same everything is in others. It really was heart wrenching to think about.I think one thing that I found really compelling about this book was how toxic the desire to be a 'saviour' can be. Of course I have thought about this before in bigger ways but I had not really appreciated it from an 'acts of kindness' perspective, it was an element of this book that really made me think and reflect on life and just how important it is to not sweep in and try to improve a situation for someone even if you think you can or should but instead letting them tell you what they need/want from you.Mace and Mrs Williams were both such great characters to get to know, I think they really shone a light on the disadvantages they faced and how it continued the cycle, their girls were so much more exposed to the cruelness of the world because of them being uneducated and it just then feeds the whole cycle. It honestly just broke my heart.I think the story being told from Civil's perspective worked really well, she was navigating growing up but also learning about the cruelties of the world at the same time. I liked that she didn’t just go through it without mistakes, but that she learnt from them and tried to do better. I liked that she had her own emotions and feelings alongside the storyline of the sisters. The set up was just perfect to be honest.Overall this book was absolutely devastating, it tore out my heart and made me feel such a deep sadness for humanity but at the same time it was filled with pockets of love and hope for better and that is just so true to life, it worked so well and will stay with me for a really long time. All of the stars!!

What a story. I picked this up for book club and I admit it is not a book I would have considered otherwise. I also didn't really know about it was about. It is set in a family planning clinic in America in the 60s / 70s where black females, living in poverty were sterilised as young as 14 years age. Shocking that this was done without consent and under the guise of 'preventing teenage pregnancies'This is a really good book that I would recommend. BUT..-it is too long and the middle is slightly boring and slow-the main character Civil steps over her boundaries horribly as a nurse and that was uncomfortable. She then acts as if rhe children are her own. However they move away and then she doesn't visit them for 20 plus years..which didn't feel believable.For that reason it was 4 stars for me⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I found this book to be eye-opening. It is a work of fiction, but it is based loosely on the real-life case of Relf v. Weinberger. In 1973 Minnie Lee and Mary Alice Relf were sterilised without consent when they were aged 12 and 14. This happened in Montgomery, Alabama and was conducted by a federally funded agency. A court case ensued, and this case was a pivotal moment in the history of reproductive injustice, it is also the year when Roe v. Wade was introduced. A year before this happened black men were left untreated for syphilis in a study at Tuskegee (information taken from the authors note).The character Civil in this book is a fictional character, who is a nurse, who works at a federally funded clinic who learns that two of her child patients, Erica and India, have been given a contraceptive drug that is not tested and then when she stopped giving it to them, for fear of the side-effects, they were taken to a hospital without her knowledge and forcibly sterilised. The book is both set in 1973 when the sterilisation took place, and 2016 when Civil returns to Montgomery to visit India, who now has cancer.I am glad I read this book, it brings to life what was happening in the 1970’s in America and it felt a timely read given how Roe v. Wade has just been overturned. The story is told in a sensitive way but does not shy away from the horror of forced sterilisation on children. I am grateful to Dolen Perkins-Valdez for writing this book, its unforgettable.

Loved the flow of this narrative and the ending added real depth to a previously unknown part of American black history

Based on a shocking true story, this novel will touch your soul and break your heart. The characters are strong and I feel their story will stay with me long after reading this novel. Civil, the main character and narrator, tells the story to her daughter. There’s so much more of her story we don’t get told. I like when loose ends are not “neatly” tied up.I look forward to reading more from Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Thanks BBC2 Between the Covers for this recommendation. It was spot on.