Take My Hand was a 2022 book release, written by Dolen Perkins Valdez.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench. She was a finalist for two NAACP Image Awards and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for fiction, and she was awarded the First Novelist Award by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Take My Hand was the fiction Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work.
Take My Hand first came to my attention when I saw it featured on Between The Covers and I was instantly intrigued by it. I enjoy a good 20th century historical fiction novel and the case it covers sounded horrifying.
Take My Hand is loosely based on the real life case of Relf vs Weinberger in 1973. Two sisters, aged 12 and 14 were sterilised without their consent in Alabama. The sterilisation was conducted by a federally funded agency and a court case ensued.
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Plot
In Alabama 1973, Civil Townsend is fresh out of nursing school. Keen to make a difference in her community, Civil takes a job at Montgomery Family Planning Clinic.
However she is surprised to learn her first job is working with two young girls, India and Erica Williams. Just 11 and 13 years old, neither sister has never even kissed a boy so Civil is perplexed as to why she is needed there at all. She soon learns that because the girls are poor and black, that’s considered reason enough to have the girls on birth control.
Civil grows close to the family and she is determined to help and protect the young sisters as much as she can. However, when the unthinkable happens without Civil’s knowledge, she is appalled and devastated. Feeling like she has let the girls down, Civil decides to stand up for what she believes in and fight for justice.
Take My Hand Book Review
Wow. What a powerful story.
Take My Hand was such an eye-opening read. I’m ashamed to say I had no idea this happened back in the 1970s, which really isn’t that long ago at all. I was also shocked to discover when reading the author’s note, that the year before the Relf vs Weinberger case, black men were left untreated for syphilis in a study at Tuskegee.
I’ve read books about the injustices people of colour experience, even today. Books like Queenie, Black Cake and in particular We Are Not Like Them, all gave a glimpse into the prejudice that can be experienced. However I was truly horrified to learn that despite this being a historical fiction novel, this government-endorsed racism actually happened only 50 years ago.
The story is told in a sensitive way without shying away from the horror of forced sterilisation on children. I was gripped from this haunting opening line:
“A year never passes without me thinking of them. India. Erica. Their names are stitched inside every white coat I have ever worn. I tell this story to stitch their names inside your clothes, too.”
Despite the case happening 50 years ago, it was also the same year Roe vs Wade was introduced. It feels timely considering in 2022, the US Supreme Court overturned legislation that made access to an abortion a federal right in the United States. It highlights that even now, women don’t always have control over their own reproductive rights.
I was so immersed in this story. There are so many dark topics and themes discussed throughout the book including racism, discrimination, classism and medical ethics. However the book is also full of hope and courage and empathy. The book showcases resilience and solidarity and highlights the power just one person can have if they stand up for what’s right.
What books are like Take My Hand?
Although the plots different, I found that the following books had similar themes:
- We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
- Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
- Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Has Dolen Perkins-Valdez written any other novels?
Dolen Perkins-Valdez is also the author of Wench, published in 2010, and Balm, published in 2015.