Take My Hand
By Dolen Perkins-Valdez
352 pages
What’s it about?
This book of historical fiction is based loosely on the legal case of Relf v. Weinberger. In 1973 Minnie Lee and Alice Relf, aged twelve and fourteen, were sterilized without their consent in Montgomery, Alabama. Ms. Perkins-Valdez takes the basics of this case and imagines another set of siblings, Erica and India, that are also sterilized without consent in Montgomery, Alabama. Like all the best historical fiction Ms. Perkins-Valdez imagines the rest of the story and makes us feel something for these characters.What did it make me think about?
The things that are done when people imagine themselves “better than”.Should I read it?
This was a really good story about racism, poverty, and power. I learned a lot. I definitely recommend this book to those historical fiction lovers out there!Quote–
“I wanted to interject, tell the senator that the family didn’t speak out of turn to the government workers. They depended on us too much. They did what we told them or they didn’t get their benefits that month. They let the girls go with Mrs. Seager because they were told to. They signed those papers because they were told to.”What’s it about?
This book of historical fiction is based loosely on the legal case of Relf v. Weinberger. In 1973 Minnie Lee and Alice Relf, aged twelve and fourteen, were sterilized without their consent in Montgomery, Alabama. Ms. Perkins-Valdez takes the basics of this case and imagines another set of siblings, Erica and India, that are also sterilized without consent in Montgomery, Alabama. Like all the best historical fiction Ms. Perkins-Valdez imagines the rest of the story and makes us feel something for these characters.
What did it make me think about?
The things that are done when people imagine themselves “better than”.
Should I read it?
This was a really good story about racism, poverty, and power. I learned a lot. I definitely recommend this book to those historical fiction lovers out there!
Quote–
“I wanted to interject, tell the senator that the family didn’t speak out of turn to the government workers. They depended on us too much. They did what we told them or they didn’t get their benefits that month. They let the girls go with Mrs. Seager because they were told to. They signed those papers because they were told to.”
