What readers think of All You Have to Do Is Call, plus links to write your own review.

I really enjoyed "All You Have to Do Is Call" - the book focuses on the lives of several very different women during the 1970s, particularly on their struggles on the tradition roles of women at that time, low pay, limited child care support, but mostly on abortion - women trying to obtain one, caregivers providing them and the challenges faced. Very good and interesting read on the topic - I highly recommend!

Kerri Maher’s current novel covers a very timely, important and relevant topic - the right of women to control their own bodies. Although this story takes place in the 70s, this is still an issue in today’s world. This book will surely be a favorite for women’s book clubs! Recommended

All You Have to Do Is Call was an easy read in terms of the writing style of Kerri Maher; the plot was simple and the characters easy to get to know. All You Have to Do Is Call was, for me, a difficult read as I lived this time and had many friends who had to face the difficult decision of abortion and resulting angst and sometimes shame. This story is difficult because today the future of choice is unknown.

I do wish that in the book men had been portrayed in a more favorable light. In the 70s many men were very supportive of women and walked with them on the journey of abortion and made decisions together. This is not a male vs female issue and to portray it that way is damaging.

I would recommend this as a good book for Book Clubs. This is an issue that needs to talked about openly in a safe space.

Kerri Maher's 'All You Have to Do is Call' is a sobering reminder of the direction our country is headed unless women are given the autonomy of their own bodies. Based on a real-life organization in Chicago, the Janes run an illegal abortion clinic and provide other reproductive care such as birth control pills to women in need of these services. They encounter a surprising number of people willing to help by providing legal services, pill prescriptions, and, surprisingly, help and clients from the police and a Catholic priest. The story is narrated by several women and this helps to make the story come alive. My only criticisms are that I kept waiting for a climax that didn't really happen. A group of mostly white women being arrested in a wealthy neighborhood didn't worry me. And I felt that the ending was a little too happy-ever-after for the times. I hope that the real-life Jane network really did end up like this. And I hope we don't have to go there again.

This book tells the fictionalized story of the Jane Collective, which was a real grassroots collective of women and doctors who worked to facilitate abortions for women in Chicago. They existed between 1969 and 1973. As demand skyrocketed and the doctors could not keep up, several of the lay-people were taught to carry out the procedure. Their safety rate was almost 100 percent.

The book shows how dangerous, demeaning and expensive an experience abortions were, and how these people made it a safe, supportive, informed process. They worked in secret as they were very much breaking the law. Eventually some were arrested, but Roe vs Wade was resolved before they went to trial.

Prior to the 2016 election this book would have felt like a quaint retelling of an historic moment, now it feels urgent and as if we will be seeing Jane Collectives again. That is why this book is important and relevant. Through her characters and their relationships the author explores how different women held very different views on the issue. She also shows how the women who needed this service the most were low-income women and women of color. The most harrowing part was when they talked about women seeking illegal abortions being forced to perform sex acts (as well as pay a lot of money) for their procedures. It illustrated how vulnerable and desperate these women were before Jane was formed.

This book should be read by everyone, but especially by all the male politicians making laws controlling women's health care and their bodies!

This book is a welcome tool for the ongoing debate over abortions. There are many reasons a woman many want/need to end a pregnancy. The fact that so many people feel they should have a say in this very personal decision is mind boggling. This book was well written and kept a good pace. The discussion was not heavy on blame or excuses, just stating that this medical procedure should be made available with consequence. An excellent resource.

Thank you to the publisher and BookBrowse for an advance copy of Kerri Maher’s book, All You Have To Do Is Call.

This is a timely read given the decision of the overturn of Roe v Wade. This decision overturned the longstanding Constitutional right to abortion and eliminated federal standards on abortion access. To think we have gone back 50 years and now have to start over fighting for a God-given, free-will right for women to determine what is best for them and not the government making their decision.

Kerri Maher has written a powerful and compelling novel that is loosely based on the true story of the Jane Collective, based in Chicago, in the early 1970’s. It pays tribute to these brave women who fought for a woman’s right to choose.

This is a pre-Roe v Wade read and the author brings a group of ordinary women together to fight for the right to choose. It is illegal to provide abortions and these women have trained to do a safe abortion, if a woman decides it is best for her. The group of Jane’s lead double lives because of the secrecy of the group and their personal everyday lives. It’s a story of sisterhood and the comaraderie of women helping women; knowing that they can be arrested because of the illegality of what they are doing.

This is a first read for me by this author and I enjoyed reading the advance copy of her book.

Thank you to Book Browse and Net Galley for an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

This absorbing novel is a reminder of what life was like for women needing abortions before Row v. Wade, and a warning about how the current anti-abortion movement will impact women today.

"Jane," the network of lay-women who provided safe abortions as well as reproductive health information, worked in Chicago in the early 1970's. This fictional account centers on five women involved, all in their late 20's and early 30's at the time.

Most of the women are white and middle class; all have choices to make in their work and relationships. There is suspense as they navigate these choices against the necessity but illegality of their efforts to help other women and grow in their own lives.

Unfortunately, the book is something of a morality play: the good women are very good; the bad men are very bad. While there is some complexity and growth, there is a fairy-tale quality to all the women finding satisfying futures that use their personal talents and further their commitment toward recognition of women's skills and rights.

However, this is an engaging and important book with its messages about limited choices for women not so long ago, and what work there still is left to do today.