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A review by heather_freshparchment
Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York's Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is truly incredible. It's a hard read, but it's such a necessary read, especially now. Wright not only tells the story of an incredible woman, but also pulls in a lot of the history that influenced Madame Restell's career over the years. The parallels in the swings from liberal to conservative morality over the nineteenth-century are scarily in-line with our current swings. The Know-Nothing party is frighteningly similar to current alt-right politicians and groups. The epilogue is a gut-punch of a plea for level-headedness and consideration in the aftermath of the overturn of Roe v Wade. Wright gets deeply personal in that epilogue to prove her point, which is both great support for her argument and incredibly brave of her. I had to put this down at times because it made me so angry that not a lot seems to have changed for women, but that's why this book is such a necessary read.
This book is truly incredible. It's a hard read, but it's such a necessary read, especially now. Wright not only tells the story of an incredible woman, but also pulls in a lot of the history that influenced Madame Restell's career over the years. The parallels in the swings from liberal to conservative morality over the nineteenth-century are scarily in-line with our current swings. The Know-Nothing party is frighteningly similar to current alt-right politicians and groups. The epilogue is a gut-punch of a plea for level-headedness and consideration in the aftermath of the overturn of Roe v Wade. Wright gets deeply personal in that epilogue to prove her point, which is both great support for her argument and incredibly brave of her. I had to put this down at times because it made me so angry that not a lot seems to have changed for women, but that's why this book is such a necessary read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Racism, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Rape, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Suicide
Minor: Pedophilia, Infertility, War, Incest, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization