All You Have to Do is Call

[GailW]

Our Feminist Fiction read for March is All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher

"A dramatic and inspiring novel based on the true story of the Jane Collective and the brave women who fought for the right to choose...

Chicago, early 1970s. Who does a girl call when she needs help? Jane. The best-known secret in the city, Jane is a women's health organization composed entirely of women helping women, freeing them from the expectations of society and family. Veronica, Jane's founder, prides herself on the services she has provided to thousands of women, yet the price of others' freedom is that she leads a double life--when she's not at Jane, Veronica plays the role of a conventional housewife--which becomes even more difficult during her own high-risk pregnancy.

Two more women in Veronica's neighborhood are grappling with similar disconnects. Margaret, a young professor at the University of Chicago, secretly volunteers at Jane as she falls in love with a man whose attitude toward his ex-wife increasingly disturbs her. Patty, who's long been content as a devoted wife and mother, has begun to sense that something essential is missing from her life. When her runaway younger sister Eliza shows up unexpectedly, Patty is forced to come to terms with what it really means to love and support a sister.

In this historic moment when the personal was nothing if not political, when television, movies, and commercials told women they'd "come a long way, baby," Veronica, Margaret, and Patty must make choices that will change the course of their lives forever."

Do you plan to join the read?

[Susan]

I will be picking this up at the library on Thursday!

[Nova]

Gail W wrote: "Our Feminist Fiction read for March is All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher

"A dramatic and inspiring novel based on the true story of the Jane Collective ..."

I have place a request for this book at the library! Can't wait.

[Rose]

I'll pick this up from the library today, and see you back here!

[GailW]

I finished this tonight. Although it was not quite what I expected, I did enjoy it. Angry that we could be going through this all over again. I'll hold the rest of my comments a bit longer. Except this, from one of my greatest heroes:

“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity ... It is a decision she must make for herself. When government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.”
― Irin Carmon, Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

[Susan]

I finished this a few a days ago. It wasn't quite what I expected either, although it was an enjoyable, easy read. I came to this book having read The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service late last year, so I had quite a bit of background into how Jane developed and functioned. It's impossible for me to know what the reading experience would have been like without that background.

I did like how this book explored a woman's true right to choose what to do with her body. There were characters who were pregnant, who had struggled to get pregnant, who already had children and chosen abortion, and who were childless and chosen abortion. I also enjoyed the related theme of female empowerment. Even the most conservative female character chose to pursue more agency in her life.

I also thought it was wise of the author to include a range of male characters: supportive, ambivalent, and not supportive and quite patriarchal.

It was a good snapshot of a time when women were struggling to have fuller lives, however they defined that, using reproductive rights as a way to illuminate that.

[GailW]

Susan wrote: "...It's impossible for me to know what the reading experience would have been like without that background..."

I can answer that from my perspective, It was a bit confusing. (Even though I was 20 when the service shut down in 1973, I was married with an infant and plans to return to college a few years later. I was as clueless as they came I now know! But my plans worked!) For the first few chapters I was annoyed with myself for not realizing it was more about the women themselves than how it all came to be in the first place. But I agree with you, Susan, the author did a great job with the question of choice. I still want to pursue a more herstorical read. The author admits in the afterword that the women in the book do not reflect the actual stories of the women who started Jane.

[Susan]

I forgot to mention that I was glad the author included how difficult it could be for unmarried women to get birth control from doctors at the time. I had forgotten about this and it seems so ridiculous now (except that the U.S. is currently moving backwards so who knows).

Also, I wish the author had fleshed out the race issue a bit more: that a majority of the women receiving abortions through Jane were black but almost all of the volunteers were white. Phyllis does make some comments about black women not having the same luxury of time to volunteer, but I wish there had been a bit more in this area.

[GailW]

Anyone else currently reading or planning to read?

[Sophie]

I decided to splurge and buy a copy since the library wait list was long.
I am 100 pages in and it’s a quick read. Ditto… not what I expected. Finding the characters caricature-ish.
I liked when Veronica interviewing Phyllis tells her she could be the Jane poster child and Phyllis puts her in her place.
I grew up in a small conservative town and still in high school during those times and looking back was not aware of the greater world or much about feminism. Policy was girls had to wear dresses all through school. Although in senior year I was allowed to enroll in a “boys” drafting class.
It is frightening what is happening now with a small group moving to take away women’s autonomy.

[Sophie]

*away*

[Ryo]

A bit late, but picked it up today! The topic of abortions is really dear to me and I've been looking forward to finally reading this now!

[Sophie]

I finished the book a few days ago and wanted to wait to comment to see if my feelings changed. While it is about an extremely important topic and I liked the book, the delivery wasn't terrific for me. Some of the women's relationships felt reminiscent of a soap opera.
Abortion is an extremely personal decision and should be made by the person it impacts the most, the woman. It is disheartening that it is used as a political football.
I heard the argument that women have the procedure without consulting the man who impregnated them. In those cases, I feel that there must be good reason for that, especially the lack of trust in the relationship. That was aptly related in this book between a few of the couples.
While I liked the book, I think there was something missing.