Overview
Jacqueline Friedland’s ripped-from-the-headlines story is an Erin Brockovich for our times.” –Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost
“. . . a riveting, compelling story–but it’s also an important one, reminding us that history’s darkest aspects can echo forward into our present day and that there is so much work left to do in the fight for freedom and equality.” –Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The German Wife
A routine immigration case, a shocking legacy. Jessa Gidney’s quest for justice draws her into the heart of an abhorrent conspiracy. As she uncovers her personal ties to a heartbreaking past, her life takes a dramatic turn, in this emotionally riveting novel inspired by true events.
New York, 2022. Jessa Gidney is trying to have it all—a high-powered legal career, a meaningful marriage, and hopefully, one day, a child. But when her professional ambitions come up short and Jessa finds herself at a turning point, she leans into her family’s history of activism by taking on pro bono work at a nearby ICE detention center. There she meets Isobel Pérez—a young mother fighting to stay with her daughter—but as she gets to know Isobel, an unsettling revelation about Isobel’s health leads Jessa to uncover a horrifying pattern of medical malpractice within the detention facility. One that shockingly has ties to her own family.
Virginia, 1927. Carrie Buck is an ordinary young woman in the center of an extraordinary legal battle at the forefront of the American eugenics conversation. From a poor family, she was only six years old when she first became a ward of the state. Uneducated and without any support, she spends her youth dreaming about a different future—one separate from her exploitative foster family—unknowing of the ripples her small, country life will have on an entire nation.
As Jessa works to assemble a case against the prison and the crimes she believes are being committed there, she discovers the landmark Supreme Court case involving Carrie Buck. Her connection to the case, however, is deeper and much more personal than she ever knew—sending her down new paths that will leave her forever changed and determined to fight for these women, no matter the cost.
Alternating between the past and present, and deftly tackling timely-yet-timeless issues such as reproductive rights, incarceration, and society’s expectations of women and mothers, Counting Backwards is a compelling reminder that progress is rarely a straight line and always hard-won. A moving story of two remarkable women that you’ll remember for years to come.
Review
This is narrated in dual timelines, Jessa in present day and Carrie 1927 Virginia. Jessa is an attorney and she has taken on an immigration case. She soon discovers quite a bit of horrifying medical malpractice at the detainee center. And her grandmother leads her to a Supreme Court case about Carrie Buck. Carrie was sterilized as a young woman because she was poor and uneducated.
I loved the way the author wove these two stories together. Jessa is struggling to get pregnant. So when she discovers the medical malpractice issues at the detainee center, she takes it to heart and she tackles it head on. But when she finds out about what her grandfather did in the Carrie case (you need to read this to find out!) it becomes very personal.
This is an emotional tale everyone needs to read! It is tragic and compelling. And the issues are ever present today!
The narrators, Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania are fantastic. They handled this with great poise and ease!
Need a moving story of strong women…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel for a honest review.
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