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I love learning about women who stand up for themselves. Even better when it benefits all women. I wish would have went differently. I feel like our country would have been so much better off
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
It took me FOREVER to finish this because Life Stuff and Library Queue Shenanigans - not because it wasn’t fascinating and engaging!
I love this author’s writing. While, yes, there are some guesses made to move the details forward, Wright always does so in service of the facts - which were plentiful and illuminating! I always learn so much when reading her books, even about subject matter I’m already familiar with.
As someone whose motherhood also influenced her feelings on the right to bodily autonomy, the epilogue absolutely devastated me. Harsh but necessary reminders of how far we’ve come. I appreciated the author’s perspective in offering up the past as a damning reflection of the present while also tracing the roots of today’s violations to the that past.
The conversation between Wilson and Wright at the end of the audiobook was a nice bonus on top of this already great read! Definitely recommend!
I love this author’s writing. While, yes, there are some guesses made to move the details forward, Wright always does so in service of the facts - which were plentiful and illuminating! I always learn so much when reading her books, even about subject matter I’m already familiar with.
As someone whose motherhood also influenced her feelings on the right to bodily autonomy, the epilogue absolutely devastated me. Harsh but necessary reminders of how far we’ve come. I appreciated the author’s perspective in offering up the past as a damning reflection of the present while also tracing the roots of today’s violations to the that past.
The conversation between Wilson and Wright at the end of the audiobook was a nice bonus on top of this already great read! Definitely recommend!
I knew almost nothing about Madame Restell going into reading this, but left impressed both by her notable business acumen and her remarkable achievements as a mediecal provider in the 19th century. Jennifer Wright is a very funny and vivacious writer; under her care, the plight of women in a world before reliable contraceptive measures and the transformation of abortion care from a common practice to an illegal one would be fascinating regardless but it comes to life in her care. It reads quickly and never drags - if anything, I wish there had been more of it!
emotional
informative
medium-paced
The consequences of women not having bodily autonomy spreads beyond their individual lives into the very fabric of society — NOT in a good way. This book illustrates that so clearly.
A frustrating book. Not for the author’s choices, but the writing. The book is frustrating because it creates such a painful comparison between the reproductive rights issues that plagued women a hundred years ago and the ones that we deal with now. The issues of medical misogyny, moral crusades framed by religion and the treatment of women’s role in society seem to have moved very little since Madame Restell was a figure on the New York scene.
I liked that despite Madame Restell as our “protagonist” there was definitely balance to the way she was portrayed. While the book championed what she did for women, it also pointed out she could be cold, calculating, and overstep her bounds of what a healthcare provider would be.
I also loved the somewhat modern asides the author would include during some descriptions. I was particularly tickled by her calling Anthony Comstock a dork, which he undoubtedly was.
My biggest qualm is that in the last sections of the book she introduces Margaret Sanger. I felt like the treatment of her as a figure was sort of abrupt. I felt like it benefitted from either a much longer, more nuanced approach to her role. (For example, including the more unsavory opinions of hers.) Or she should not have even been brought up at all and let the focus rest solely on the Restell period. It was a length of discussion that seemed like a throwaway and didn’t add enough to the narrative at that point.
I liked that despite Madame Restell as our “protagonist” there was definitely balance to the way she was portrayed. While the book championed what she did for women, it also pointed out she could be cold, calculating, and overstep her bounds of what a healthcare provider would be.
I also loved the somewhat modern asides the author would include during some descriptions. I was particularly tickled by her calling Anthony Comstock a dork, which he undoubtedly was.
My biggest qualm is that in the last sections of the book she introduces Margaret Sanger. I felt like the treatment of her as a figure was sort of abrupt. I felt like it benefitted from either a much longer, more nuanced approach to her role. (For example, including the more unsavory opinions of hers.) Or she should not have even been brought up at all and let the focus rest solely on the Restell period. It was a length of discussion that seemed like a throwaway and didn’t add enough to the narrative at that point.
Ever since listening to a podcast about Madame Restell, i have been dying to read her autobiography. I finally got to read it since I'm writing a paper on her. Such a great autobiography!
I am both better educated and, if possible, even more enraged. A must read.
Absolutely LOVED the author’s style and sass. Would definitely read some of her other books.
“Restell was a businesswoman, a scofflaw, and immigrant, and an abortionist. She made men really, really mad. She deserves a place in the pantheon of women with no fucks left to give. But despite her impact, she has been largely lost to history. Most Americans don’t know her name at all, and those who do have less-thank-accurate impression of who she was. Every existing record of her life reduces her somehow: to only an activist, only a villain, only a campy show woman, only the tragic victim hounded to death by Anthony Comstock. Madame Restell was so much more than any one thing. She was unrestrainable. Unapologetic. A survivor. The kind of woman who has always existed in America, and always will.”