Take My Hand

Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Apr 2022 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction

“Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze…an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption.”—Celeste Ng

Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench

Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she hopes to help women shape their destinies, to make their own choices for their lives and bodies.

But when her first week on the job takes her along a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, Civil is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children—just eleven and thirteen 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 their 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.

Inspired by true events and brimming with hope, Take My Hand is a stirring exploration of accountability and redemption.

“Highlights the horrific discrepancies in our healthcare system and illustrates their heartbreaking consequences.”—Essence

Ratings and reviews

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is Historical Fiction about a black nurse in 1973 Montgomery, Alabama. Civil, a new nurse, thinks she can make a difference by working in a Family Planning Clinic. Civil had an unwanted pregnancy and wished to teach and encourage her patients prevention rather than use abortion as birth control knowing her own difficult experience. A brilliantly written book that describes evil, poverty and conditions that most will find difficult to believe. It reminds us how government agencies and others have used their power to control people and achieve their goals. Have the medical methods and experiments with people really changed in the last hundred years? Does any government have the right to make choices for us or is it our right to make our own choices for our lives? Experimentation starts with those who are considered lower class, weak, poor, uneducated, and will eventually come for all of us except those considered the elite. I appreciated the author sharing all the long lasting impacts on each person and each family involved. Ms Perkins-Valdez has written a story based on real history that makes it clear that we must watch for any government treatments, medicine, and experiments, especially those forced without any real informed consent. For anyone who is not aware of what our government was capable of in the past and is capable of today, don't miss Take My Hand and the author’s note. Beware your eyes will be opened and this story will haunt you. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. Unforgettable! Bravo! 5 Stars

Enlightening.

Good

About the author

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench and Balm. 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. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.