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Book Reviewed by:A dramatic and inspiring novel based on the true story of the Jane Collective and the brave women who fought for our right to choose, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Paris Bookseller.
Chicago, early 1970s: Who does a woman call when she needs help? Jane.
The best-known secret in the city, Jane is an underground women's health organization composed entirely of women helping women, empowering them to live lives free from the expectations of society by offering reproductive counseling and safe, illegal abortions. Veronica, Jane's founder, prides herself on the services she has provided to thousands of women, yet the price of others' freedom is that she leads a double life. When she's not at Jane, Veronica plays the role of a conventional housewife—which becomes even more difficult during her own high-risk pregnancy.
Two more women in Veronica's neighborhood are grappling with similar disconnects. Margaret, a young professor at the University of Chicago, secretly volunteers at Jane as she falls in love with a man whose attitude toward his ex-wife increasingly disturbs her. Patty, who's long been content as a devoted wife and mother, has begun to sense that something essential is missing from her life. When her runaway younger sister Eliza shows up unexpectedly, Patty is forced to come to terms with what it really means to love and support a sister.
In this historic moment when the personal was nothing if not political, when television, movies, and commercials told women they'd "come a long way, baby," Veronica, Margaret, and Patty must make choices that will change the course of their lives forever.
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Patty
"This looks delicious!" Patty exclaimed as she took the fragrant Bundt cake from Veronica, who was wearing one of her hippie skirts, which swayed in time with her cascade of honey-hued hair and the musical stack of bangles on her arm. For years, her dearest, oldest friend had smelled like lavender and sounded like a wind chime, while Patty herself favored tailored yet flippy and flirty skirts and dresses, outfits she admired from the windows of Marshall Field's or the pages of Cosmopolitan, a magazine she tried to hide from her nine-going-
on-thirteen-year-old daughter, Karen.
"It felt like a gingerbread kind of day," said Veronica, and her friend's familiar smile was such a relief after the day she'd had.
It had started well enough. The morning had been cold and blue-sky crisp, and she and the kids had sung along to "I'll Be There" when it played on the radio as they drove to St. Thomas the Apostle. Then the four of them-Patty, Karen, Junie, and Tad-had crunched over the last of ...
The book shows how dangerous, demeaning and expensive an experience abortions were, and how these people made it a safe, supportive, informed process (Ruthie A). The reader has a clear sense of how intricate the secret network was, of the pressures on it and of the need for it (Judith G). The impact of the lack of resources for people of color and other marginalized people before Roe is overwhelming. Although we still have a very long way to go and are unfortunately backtracking, we have come a long way. The description of women's roles during that time period is spot on. It's important information for all of us and a well-written book (Jane M)...continued
Full Review
(648 words)
(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
Aimie K. Runyan, bestselling author of The School for German Brides and A Bakery in Paris
A timely and poignant depiction of the precarious position of women in pre-Roe America. Maher delivers a compelling insight of the dangers women of all walks of lives had to face to gain access reproductive health care. The characters are rich and keenly developed; the pacing flawless. A worthy reminder of the progress we've made and the progress we stand to lose. A stunning tribute to the strength of women. Alix Rickloff, author of The Girls in Navy Blue
A compelling page-turner. Dolen Perkins-Valdez, New York Times bestselling author of Take My Hand
A captivating tale of women sacrificing everything in order to support other women. Everyone should read and discuss this book. Everyone. Elise Hooper, author of Angels of the Pacific
An important, illuminating story about the dreams, fears, and needs of a group of women grappling with what choice really means in the pre-Roe v. Wade era. Maher provides an intimate view into the complexity of female relationships with each other, with their partners, and with their own bodies. Eliza Knight, USA Today bestselling author of Starring Adele Astaire
Brilliantly woven together, All You Have to Do to Call is an inspiring opus of courage, sisterhood, friendship and the incredible things women can do when they work together to make change. Kerri Maher has penned a masterpiece that women of all ages should read! Greer Macallister, author of The Arctic Fury
Historical fiction at its finest: a riveting story from the past with all the immediacy and urgency of today. Kerri Maher delivers a layered, emotionally resonant novel…. a powerful reminder that in challenging times, the most ordinary among us can step up to do the extraordinary. Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of Strangers in the Night
Gripping and heart-rending...With beautiful writing and a brisk pace, this is Maher's best book to date! Jane Healey, bestselling Author of Goodnight From Paris
Powerful and timely… Maher weaves an absorbing tale of friendship, sisterhood and courage, and illuminates the incredible things that women can accomplish when they band together for a greater good. Jane Healey, bestselling Author of Goodnight From Paris
Powerful and timely… Maher weaves an absorbing tale of friendship, sisterhood and courage, and illuminates the incredible things that women can accomplish when they band together for a greater good. Janie Chang, bestselling author of Dragon Springs Road, The Library of Legends, and The Porcelain Moon
This tautly-written novel will keep you turning the pages with its deeply satisfying portrayal of women negotiating the shoals of friendship and family in 1970s Chicago – and then goes further to show them risking all in extraordinary acts of social justice. A timely, thoughtful exploration of liberation and resistance. Kaia Alderson, author of Sisters in Arms
A gripping novel that illustrates how ordinary people like mothers, housewives, and students can – and have – put their necks on the line for the greater good. This novel comes at the right time to remind us of the power we have on the individual level to make change, sometimes with our own bare hands. Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye
All You Have to Do Is Call honors the heroines of the Jane collective who provided safe, clandestine health services in the pre-Roe v. Wade era. Maher sketches all three women with compassion and sensitivity as they come to rely on each other in the absence of the law, and their journey is profoundly moving. A novel both powerful and timely! Laurie Lico Albanese, author of Hester
A stunning, propulsive novel of friendship and courage... Kerri Maher shows us that love and friendship are complex, and that no woman takes the decision to end a pregnancy lightly. Told with compassion and a chorus of compelling voices, this novel will keep you turning the pages late into the night. Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Woman on Fire
With unflinching courage and fierce characters, Maher not only packs a punch, but also gives us all the feels in this inspiring, powerhouse novel – exposing the profound choices and risks women took to help other women. Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Librarian Spy
Sheds light on the intrepid women who put everything on the line... Inspiring and timely, and an absolute must-read. Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan
All You Have to Do Is Call is about the power of women working together, their friendships, their loves, their lives and how, when united, they really can change the world even in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers. Inspiring, important but also page-turning, Kerri Maher pulls off a remarkable feat in this novel. Rachel Barenbaum, author of Atomic Anna
A brave tour de force that captures the tension and drama of a pivotal moment in women's history. Maher's novel is a powerful and inspiring tribute, a story of sisterhood, resilience, and courage that will stay with readers long after they finish the book. I loved it. Renée Rosen, USA Today bestselling author of Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl
Such a courageous undertaking, Maher handles this delicate subject matter with great wisdom and a self-assured hand. Her meticulous research brings 1970s Chicago to life and reminds us of how far we've come and what's at stake for us now. Weina Dai Randel, author of The Last Rose of Shanghai and Night Angels
Brings to life these courageous women, their complicated relationships, and their efforts with seamless grace, realism, and humor. A bold celebration of female friendship and resilience, All You Have to Do Is Call is immersive, irresistible, and captivating from page one!Kerri Maher's novel All You Have to Do Is Call fictionalizes the story of the real-life Jane Collective, an underground abortion network that operated in Chicago during the late 1960s and early '70s before abortion was legalized with the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973. The organization was founded by Heather Booth, who as a college student in 1965 arranged a connection between a friend's sister who needed an abortion and the physician (and civil rights leader) T.R.M. Howard, who was able to perform the service. Booth and Howard continued working together to provide women with abortions, and this arrangement expanded into a larger system that became the Jane Collective.
The collective was run by volunteer activists, called Janes. As ...
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