Take My Hand

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a powerful work of historical fiction rooted in real-life events. The novel is inspired by the harrowing true story of two young Black girls in 1970s Montgomery, Alabama, who were forcibly sterilized without their knowledge or consent.

What makes this novel exceptional is both its literary strength and moral urgency. Perkins-Valdez’s writing is elegant, compelling, and accessible. The emotional impact of the story lingers long after the last page. Though the book uses fictional characters and court proceedings, it’s grounded in real events, including a 1973 class-action lawsuit that exposed unethical sterilization practices affecting Black, Indigenous, and Latina women for decades—the last known event being in 2016. This is a necessary read—timely, urgent, and deeply human.

I cried through this whole book and kept crying through my review. This is one of the most important books I’ve ever read.