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There are currently 32 member reviews
for All You Have to Do Is Call
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Beth M. (New York, NY)
A fabulous story of women fighting for our right to choose.
I love this book. This is the story of the Jane network It is- fictionalized account of women in Chicago in the 1970's who sacrificed much to provide secret health care and abortions to women. Sadly it is a very timely story when women's right to choose is now being criminalized in many states. The author has done a fabulous job of uncovering the stories of these little known women who were so vital to the freedoms I took for granted in 80s. This is an inspiring story of what a group of housewives can accomplish with the will, belief and courage to make change happen. I particularly identified with the character of Veronica and her ability to juggle so many roles and keep pushing for change and women's freedom. This is a book I won't forget and I'm so grateful I had the opportunity to read it early.
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Karen R. (Columbus, OH)
Wow, how history repeats itself
This is a novel about women who learned how to perform abortions to help and liberate other women, in the pre Roe vs Wade United States. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and observing how they developed. Now in the post Dobbs United States to have so many states currently trying to limit women's health care at this time, and to read about the wonderful brave Janes in the period before Roe vs Wade is so powerful. Would I be brave enough to be a Jane, I would like to hope so, but am not sure. Wonderful book, highly recommend. Received this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review. But I am going to buy I this book to give to friends to read.
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Colleen C. (Bourne, MA)
All You Have to Do is Call
All you Have to Do is Call is a historical fiction account of a Chicago organization that assisted women in having illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973. In 1969, a group of 7 women started "Jane" to help women with confidential safe abortions. This fiction story follows closely to the real life struggles at Jane and details the women's feelings regarding abortion. The organization was made up of "secretive fronts" and was constantly under the threat of being outed for this illegal activity. The women of Jane put their lives on the line by providing illegal abortions. Along the way, Jane gathered some surprising allies to their cause – police officers, doctors and even a priest. For anyone interested in the abortion landscape in America before 1973, this is an interesting fictional account. The author does a good job providing references to the non-fiction accounts of "Jane" that were researched to this book.
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DeAnn A. (Denver, CO)
Call for help
Sometimes women need a little help. In early 1970s Chicago, they could call on the Jane Collective to help with a safe abortion. The health organization had an elaborate system of women helping women without judgment. These women were all unique with different motivations for being involved.
This was an interesting and timely book to read in 2023 considering last year's Supreme Court Dobbs ruling. The author presented various viewpoints of women involved in Jane, those that needed Jane's help, and others in the community, like husbands, the police, and a priest.
I am glad to have read this story based on a real group and I am saddened and outraged that in many states we have returned to a time when women cannot legally make choices about their own bodies.
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Janice A. (Colfax, WI)
The present is the past
Maher's novel is set a few years before the United States Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade (1973). Maher also provides a look into what residents in many states are currently facing as a result of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision (2022). This book woke me up to the few choices pregnant girls and women had pre-Roe. The commitment of a small group women and men to provide safe, affordable abortions made me realize that there are caring and supportive people that will risk everything for a woman's right to choose. While others will do whatever it takes to prevent abortions, without realistic safety nets in place to prevent unsafe, undesired and/or forced pregnancies. Be sure to read the "Author's Note" at the end of the book to discover the background of this book. This book made me think and contemplate the current plight of girls and women and the choices they may not have.
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Molly A. (Pryor, OK)
All You Have To Do Is Read!
For fans of Kerri Maher, I must forewarn: this book is NOT The Paris Bookseller, or like anything she has previously written. While this fact is not necessarily a bad thing, it is worth noting that if you are expecting clean, feel-good fiction, you are in for a rude awakening.
All You Have To Do Is Call centers around the controversial Jane Collective, an organization that provided illegal, underground abortions, and the main fictional characters through which the story unfolds. The six main women ebb and flow through each other's lives, weaving together a tale of complex relationships and life choices, and narrate the story of how women fought for control over their bodies in the days prior to Roe v. Wade. The book does a wonderful job of describing the challenges women faced, such as misogyny, reproductive rights, access to birth control, career opportunities and advancement, the never-ending work-life-balance conundrum, and child-rearing. It was eye-opening, to me, to learn that women had almost no access to the the pill unless they were married, and had to endure privacy-invading questions from chauvinistic doctors.
The timing of this book has not been more relevant since Roe v. Wade. In 2023, our country has gone backwards in time and relegated women to the same Dark Ages mentality that continues to trap women in third world countries. While her book tends to get overly melodramatic about some of the characters personal lives, Maher does a thorough job of highlighting why it is important to understand the sins of the past in order to prevent the downfall of the future.
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Dianne S. (East Meadow, NY)
An important plot
All You Have to do is Call by Kerri Maher brings light to the underground "Jane" network in Chicago that provided abortions to women just prior to such healthcare being legalized in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. A core of extraordinary women volunteered hours and hours to train, organize and keep this enterprise afloat. Safe houses, treatment rooms, ties to sympathetic doctors, politicians, mobsters and police were just a part of the many facets that kept Jane operating.
This book is at its best when it highlights Jane and all it's intricacies. Once the book shifts to the relationships each major character, Veronica, Patty, Margaret and others have with their partners, it becomes somewhat trite. I cared about these women without descriptions of their moribund or active sex lives. An encounter between a former wife and current girlfriend of one of the more disliked male characters seemed unnecessary to the plot. I am sure Maher wanted to personalize these amazing activists but I was fine with being aware there were children, other careers and partners that often took a back seat to Jane.
Overall, this book is far more important and timely now that the Dobbs decision gave States a green light to re-criminalize abortion. These incredible women might have to be our role models.
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