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Take My Hand: The inspiring and unforgettable BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
True stories, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Historical fiction, Birth control, contraception, family planning, Women's health
Inspired by true events and a landmark case in US history, the unputdownable and deeply moving story of a black nurse who makes a shocking discovery about two young girls in her care, from a New York Times bestselling author
AS SEEN ON BBC2 BETWEEN THE COVERS
Montgomery, Alabama. 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend has big plans to make a difference in her community. She wants 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 tumbledown cabin and into the heart of the Williams family, Civil learns there is more to her new role than she bargained for. Neither of the two young sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling their welfare benefits, that's reason enough to have them on birth control. When Civil discovers a terrible injustice, she must choose between carrying out instructions or following her heart and decides to risk everything to stand up for what is right.
Inspired by true events and a shocking chapter of recent history, Take My Hand is a novel that will open your eyes and break your heart. An unforgettable story about love and courage, it is also a timely and uplifting reminder that one person can change the world.
More books by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Praise for Take My Hand: The inspiring and unforgettable BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick
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Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze, Take My Hand is an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption, the dangers of good intentions, and the folly of believing anyone can decide what's best for another's life - Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere
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A wonderful novel. Moving, powerful and completely absorbing - I cared deeply about all the characters and rooted for them to the last page - Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love
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An utterly gripping tale from start to finish, Take My Hand is storytelling at its finest. - Glamour UK
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Wench. In 2011, she was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award for fiction. She received a DC Commission on the Arts Grant for her second novel Balm, which was published by HarperCollins in 2015. Dolen is also a 2020 nominee for a United States Artists Fellowship, and the current Chair of the Board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. On behalf of the foundation, she has visited nearly every public high school in the District of Columbia to talk about the importance of reading and writing. She is currently Associate Professor in the Literature Department at American University and lives in Washington, DC with her family.
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