Y’all one of the best things I have ever done was join the book of the month club so far this is my fourth month and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the books that get to pick out. If you are interested in joining I do have a referral link here. So because I love my book of the month box so much I thought I would share a book that I am currently reading. Now, mind you some of the books I will be sharing with you are from the club but some are others that I have either been gifted with or I myself have bought for my reading pleasure. There may be weeks where I don’t share what I am currently reading because I may still be reading the same book from the week before, but I will be sharing what is on my reading wish list in that case. So with that said, here is my take on Take My Hand.
First, before I start with my opinion let me share what the book is about.
Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she intends to help women make their own choices for their lives and bodies. But when her first week on the job takes her down a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, she’s shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children—just 11 and 13 years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica, and their family into her heart. Until one day she arrives at the door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace, and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten. Because history repeats what we don’t remember.
I will say first I love that this story is a fictional account of a true story!!! I found myself stopping while I was reading the book to research the case as well. Another thing I love about this story is that is written by a woman African American Author Dolen Perkins-Valdez. I think if any other author had attempted to retell this story it would not have gone over well.
This story is so well written that I as a mom of 3 beautiful mixed girls ( my girls are first-generation Mexican- Americans) cried when the young girls were subjected to something that would change their lives forever- and that was before they could even really begin to have a life. How disheartening to see this happening to some just because of their race? It is sad to read and even sadder to realize that a lot of this is still happening in our country today. Just look at the mortality rates of patients with COVID.
I honestly did not know what to expect when I picked this book, something just drew me to it. But I will say that I am making a conscious effort to read more books written by people of color thanks to my dear friend Azanique who started an online book club during Covid that focuses on reading only books written by people of color. It has opened my eyes to authors that I never would have found and who I now devour anything they write.
Would I recommend this book?
100% yes I would. I love that the story is told through the eyes of the nurse who becomes a doctor and realizes the horror that she inflicts on these sisters without really knowing what was happening all in the name of medicine. And I love how Civil does everything she could to make it right!!
So that is what I am reading this week. Tell me what do you have on your bedside table?
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