This week’s reading comes to us from Dolen Perkins-Valdez, the New York Times bestselling author of Wench. Her timely new novel, Take My Hand, will get under your skin and stay with you long after the last page.  

Montgomery, Alabama. 1973. Civil Townsend works at the Family Planning Clinic and has big plans to make a difference in her community, helping Black women make their own choices for their lives and bodies. But when she discovers the injections they’re giving young women are still experimental, she questions the motives of the clinic. Inspired by true events and a shocking chapter of American history, Take My Hand is a novel that will open your eyes and break your heart. 

Published by Phoenix (an imprint of Orion) and available now. Grab a copy from your local indie bookshop or you can get it from our shop at Bookshop.org

Podcast produced and edited by Megan Bay Dorman

Programmed by Matt Casbourne

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices