What readers think of Take My Hand, plus links to write your own review.

It's 2016 and Civil Townsend, now in retirement, feels compelled to share with her daughter, a piece of dark history in her life that took place in the early 1970s, when she took a job at a family planning clinic in Alabama…

Civil is fresh out of school, with big dreams for her future, when she is introduced to her first patients- two young girls who are to receive birth control injections.

Civil is shocked by their near homeless living conditions, and by the age of the girls- one of which was only eleven years old and hadn't even started menstruating.

Believing she was doing the right thing, she intervenes on the family's behalf, pushing the boundaries of her job description.

But she also begins to question the healthcare decisions made on behalf of these girls and others like them, once again taking matters into her own hands.

This novel is based on shocking true events, where the government, through the guise of free healthcare, manipulated both the poor women the clinic catered to, as well as the healthcare professionals who thought they were doing the best thing for their patients.

Emotional, terrifying and powerful- this rich novel remembers shocking atrocities, but also serves as an eye-opening and poignant cautionary tale. A must read!

The highest praise I can give "Take My Hand" is that it left me a smarter person for having read it. This book engaged me from the very first page. The book made me think and opened my eyes, leaving me wanting, actually needing, to learn more about the historical backstory —- for me, the hallmarks of an exceptional book. I loved it!

Powerful, thought-provoking, beautifully written. The characters - their emotions, convictions, struggles, and relationships, came alive in the pages of "Take My Hand." The story, built around a candid and troubling look at a case of reproductive injustice in Alabama, flowed easily going back a forth between the 70's and current (2016).

This book, while historical fiction, tackles topics still very relevant to our time. It is "must read" for book clubs willing to have meaningful, and possibly tough, discussions - not only about the book, but about the topics of civil rights, structural racism, and women's reproductive rights.

Take My Hand is realistic fiction at its best. A black nurse in 1970's Montgomery Alabama takes a job at a family planning clinic where she becomes a beacon of hope for her poverty stricken patients. Soon, she discovers she is giving injections of a controversial drug, Depo-Provera, to very young girls. The nurse is Civil Townsend, and she wants to improve the lives of her patients, not realizing that her role will create medical consequences for the young ladies. Ms Townsend is an excellent role model as she refuses to give the drug. She also continues her schooling to become a doctor, which is admirable.

Today, long term studies indicate that Depo-Provera still carries an elevated risk for breast cancer, and it offers no protection against sexually transmitted diseases. It is not approved for birth control use in the United States, but is manufactured in Belgium and France for use in 80 countries. More than a million women currently use the injections worldwide.

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez was a profound, enlightening and heartbreaking book. I will never be the same after reading this book.

We have learned that many things in our history as a nation are unforgivable but yet they happened. We cannot forget these things otherwise, they may be repeated. Back in the early 70s it came out that our government run agencies for women were distributing birth control for women of color and poor families. In many instances women were sterilized without proper informed consent. In this book two young girls ages 11 and 13 were sterilized because they were poor and black even though they were not sexually active. There were more than 70,000 women who were victims of this abuse. I'm heartbroken that there are people who felt they knew what was best for the future of these women.

I was a young adult back then and for the life of me I can't remember this happening or the trial that took place. We can't forget these things. This broke the summer after we learned of the Tuskegee experiments. How could this happen in our great nation? This is a book I will never forget. It has changed me for the better.

I would highly recommend this book. Although, it is fiction, it is based on a trial and a sad part of our American history. I hope you take some time to look up Relf v. Weinberger and another trial Buck v. Bell. You will be astounded.

Have you ever been so moved that you took to action? In Take My Hand, (inspired by true events) Civil Townsend becomes the catalyst for one of the biggest cases in American courts. This outstanding book holds no punches when relating another American tragedy propelled by Racism.

The author did an amazing job at identifying all the issues, portraying all the feelings and delivering the facts to readers like myself who were unaware of the events in Mobile, Al.

That this book should surface now as history is somewhat repeating itself is incredible. I was struck by the powerful feelings it evoked in me as I read. I kept asking myself "how" and "why" but at the same time thinking "yet" and "again".

I hope this book and this author get a lot of attention. Dolen Perkins-Valdez is as brave and courageous as her character Civil. As This book needs to be read by everyone and shared again and again so that it's powerful message ignites women everywhere to stand up for what's right and just and fair.

I was graduating from high school when Take My Hand takes place. I knew about Roe vs. Wade—but had no idea about the sterilizations of thousands of women. To read about a young nurse who recognized the inappropriate tubal ligations that her young patients are subjected to, and the court case that resulted from her protest of the practice, was a gripping narrative. Based on historical figures, the unfolding of events for the nurse, her coworkers, her patients, and their family make for a great, revealing read. Our history is not always our finest.

With meticulous research, the author weaves a fictional story around a sensational historic court case held in Alabama in 1973 involving reproductive rights for women.

The drama unfolds on two fronts, the US Governments role in the court case and the people closely involved. The narrative centers around the affected family, their nurses and an array of friends, all African Americans, who are attempting to navigate a tragedy in a bigoted southern environment.

I enjoyed this book because the subject was a revelation for me. It read like a crime novel exposing the extent and enormity of the practice of racial sterilization. This book is intended to bring these past atrocities to light and broadcast awareness to those who can voice dissent.

"Take My Hand" is a deeply touching book. I would have liked to think this forced sterilization of poor black women happened much longer ago than it actually did. I had just recently gone into the working world in 1973, so it brought me back to the reality of how women were sometimes treated in that time. I was aware of earlier concerns around sterilization of women with disabilities, but had not been aware of the same being true for poor black women. And that it was still happening in 1973! It shocked me as well, that these girls were so very young and had no prior awareness of what was going to be done to them. While this story is fiction, I appreciated the author's notes about it being based on fact. Also, I found the story especially authentic due to the initially mixed feelings of some of those involved. I felt the author presented this as not always an evil attempt to abuse women, but rather sometimes a terribly misguided action. This gave the story greater depth and impact for me. It is definitely a book I would share.