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Reviews tagging 'Abortion'
You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Shah
33 reviews
thursdd4y's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I really appreciated hearing all of these stories, and for the bravery of those who shared them. I think everyone should read this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
kailaelders's review
medium-paced
3.0
I liked it but found parts of the writing were quite repetitive, just re-phrasing the same thought every few paragraphs with slightly different language, which started to feel like an essay trying to reach word count. I enjoyed hearing different stories of real women but the writing could have been a bit more focused I think.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
eburc's review against another edition
emotional
informative
fast-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed the personal stories and how they represent different reasons women get abortions. Was super emotional and informative.
Loses points for me personally because the intro was really long and as someone who has a high understanding of USA policies it just was a bit too repetitive. Also the audiobook narrators voice kind of annoyed me
Loses points for me personally because the intro was really long and as someone who has a high understanding of USA policies it just was a bit too repetitive. Also the audiobook narrators voice kind of annoyed me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
stirlingluci's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
no matter your views, this is a must read. it has an incredible amount of information, stories, and compassion
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Abortion, Grief, Medical trauma, and Infertility
kamrynkoble's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Women’s reproductive rights and care has always been something extremely important to me. I came to this book with the lens of a woman raised in a highly conservative, Christian environment who is pro-choice despite never needing abortion care myself. Because of my background, I do not think this book would be very effective to “sway” any conservative Christians.
It often seeks to identify abortion as something commonplace and completely devoid of shame. It included the stories of several women who had to have abortion for medical reasons, even though they wanted the pregnancy. In these situations, the grief and decision-making is difficult. But in the author, a physician’s, own narration, it comes across as “not that big of a deal.” There really isn’t any education on avoiding abortion in the first place as it’s apparent that the author sees no issue with women having as many abortions as they want, for whatever reason. I could see this almost irreverent tone as being off putting to those who are on the fence in any way, shape, or form.
The other factor is high attention to gender. This book focuses on inclusive language (pregnant person instead of pregnant woman, people with uteruses, etc), provides pronouns for every person mentioned at the beginning of their chapters, and often offers caveats that include nonbinary people and trans men. While I know these caveats are important, it can detract from this seeming like a woman’s issue, and turns the conversation to broader topics of gender and sexuality. For that reason I would also be extremely hesitant to recommend this book to a conservative Christian.
The author is obviously a physician, and I think this book could’ve benefitted from a ghost writer who could help organize the thoughts here in a more cohesive, easy-to-read way. It was often repetitive and ricocheted between people’s personal stories and then paragraphs of laws and court cases.
What was strong? I learned SO much. I feel like I have a much more comprehensive look at reproductive healthcare in the US. The most recent developments have terrified me, and I hope the author expands upon them in a second edition at some point.
I appreciated the wide breadth of the different stories offered here. It was obvious that all the interviewees had great rapport with the author.
As a decidedly pro-choice person, I found this educational, fascinating, and clarifying. With a different author tone, I could see these stories being helpful for those who’ve never been in these people’s shoes, and struggle to imagine what it would be like. I’ll gladly recommend this to my pro-choice friends, but if you’re looking for something to sway others, I don’t think this is the pick.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Medical trauma
hetzjani's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
gabbadabbadoo's review against another edition
5.0
got 93% through and had to return
first nonfiction i (sort of) got through and i liked it! the author does a fantastic job of telling the stories about the various people abortion affects - doctors, patients, partners, and the lives they touch. these don't feel like semi-anonymous descriptions of recipients of abortions, but being introduced to real, complex people in real complex situations spread across decades. i felt connected to each experience and never like i was just listening to words. amazing storytelling while weaving in the authors own experiences, perspectives, and facts about abortion in america.
first nonfiction i (sort of) got through and i liked it! the author does a fantastic job of telling the stories about the various people abortion affects - doctors, patients, partners, and the lives they touch. these don't feel like semi-anonymous descriptions of recipients of abortions, but being introduced to real, complex people in real complex situations spread across decades. i felt connected to each experience and never like i was just listening to words. amazing storytelling while weaving in the authors own experiences, perspectives, and facts about abortion in america.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Grief, Child death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Sexism, and Rape
Minor: Medical content and Child abuse
melishajo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I cannot recommend this book enough. The stories from the people in this book were heartbreaking but I think abortion is a conversation more people need to have. The courage and strength these people had to tell their stories and the way that the author put them all together to continue the conversation was just breathtaking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Abortion
applesodaperson's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Wow. Just wow. This book is so incredibly powerful and so important. This book made me feel such a range of emotions, but also I learned so much about abortion from it. This is obviously a very controversial topic, but Shah gives it the maximum amount of nuance and respect possible.
This book very much made me focus on some really hard feelings, specifically, when hearing the stories that comprise most of the book. Many of them made me feel very bad for all the women who have had to go through birth complications, or who have trouble accessing abortion care.
I also absolutely loved how inclusive this book was, like I genuinely cannot think of a way it could have been more inclusive. It talked extensively about how race factors into abortion care and also used incredibly inclusive language surrounding gender, which I really appreciated.
I think this book is just so important, because it highlighted so many different experiences and like Shah says, the best way to get people who are opposed to abortion to better understand it is by sharing stories. There are so many myths around why people get abortions, and this book does such a good job at confronting those myths head on and disproving them. I just really think a lot of people need to take a more medical view of abortion, and realize that it is unethical of them to force their religious values onto someone else. It was also so gut wrenching to to know that Roe v. Wade has been overturned since this book came out, which has ruined so many lives and made things so much harder for so many people.
Overall, I loved this book and I genuinely think everyone should read it.
The one reason I did not give it a full 5 stars is because I think one or two of the stories felt a bit repetitive and could have been cut out.
But besides that, this book is pretty much perfect.
Listened to on Libby.
This book very much made me focus on some really hard feelings, specifically, when hearing the stories that comprise most of the book. Many of them made me feel very bad for all the women who have had to go through birth complications, or who have trouble accessing abortion care.
I also absolutely loved how inclusive this book was, like I genuinely cannot think of a way it could have been more inclusive. It talked extensively about how race factors into abortion care and also used incredibly inclusive language surrounding gender, which I really appreciated.
I think this book is just so important, because it highlighted so many different experiences and like Shah says, the best way to get people who are opposed to abortion to better understand it is by sharing stories. There are so many myths around why people get abortions, and this book does such a good job at confronting those myths head on and disproving them. I just really think a lot of people need to take a more medical view of abortion, and realize that it is unethical of them to force their religious values onto someone else. It was also so gut wrenching to to know that Roe v. Wade has been overturned since this book came out, which has ruined so many lives and made things so much harder for so many people.
Overall, I loved this book and I genuinely think everyone should read it.
The one reason I did not give it a full 5 stars is because I think one or two of the stories felt a bit repetitive and could have been cut out.
But besides that, this book is pretty much perfect.
Listened to on Libby.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Child death
Minor: Racism, Misogyny, and Child abuse
blissofalife's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to understand the nuances of abortion and see how it affects everybody.
Very informative, very well written. I didn’t love switching narrators on the audiobook, one was clear and loud the other was soft and fuzzy.
Very informative, very well written. I didn’t love switching narrators on the audiobook, one was clear and loud the other was soft and fuzzy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Grief, Child death, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Classism, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Infertility, Physical abuse, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Rape, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship