This was the May read for the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club.

Inspired by true events, this novel follows Civil Townsend, a black nurse in post-segregation Alabama. After graduating from nursing school, Civil takes a job at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic where she hopes to compassionately help women make informed choices about their bodies and healthcare. Civil soon learns that her first patients are sisters on birth control shots at just 11 and 13 years old. Civil is determined to help the sisters’ impoverished family but events soon transpire that will change all of their lives forever.

This is a great book club book! There is so much to talk about and I learned a lot. The novel touches on important and powerful themes of racism, bodily autonomy, consent, and medical ethics. I did find some of the time jumps in the narrative to be a bit abrupt and that happened more than once but overall I liked the structure and writing style. This is not a light read, but it is an important one.