Looking For Jane by Heather Marshall.
Synopsis
For readers of Joanna Goodman and Genevieve Graham comes a masterful debut novel about three women whose lives are bound together by a long-lost letter, a mother’s love, and a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose—inspired by true stories.
Tell them you’re looking for Jane.
2017
When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a life-shattering confession in a stack of forgotten mail, she is determined to find the intended recipient. Her search takes her back to the 1970s when a group of daring women operated an illegal underground abortion network in Toronto known only by its whispered code name: Jane...
1971
As a teenager, Dr. Evelyn Taylor was sent to a home for “fallen” women where she was forced to give up her baby for adoption—a trauma she has never recovered from. Despite harrowing police raids and the constant threat of arrest, she joins the Jane Network as an abortion provider, determined to give other women the choice she never had.
1980
After discovering a shocking secret about her family history, twenty-year-old Nancy Mitchell begins to question everything she has ever known. When she unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she feels like she has no one to turn to for help. Grappling with her decision, she locates “Jane” and finds a place of her own alongside Dr. Taylor within the network’s ranks, but she can never escape the lies that haunt her.
Weaving together the lives of three women, Looking for Jane is an unforgettable debut about the devastating consequences that come from a lack of choice—and the enduring power of a mother’s love.
My Review
Looking For Jane is a historical fiction novel with themes of motherhood, women's reproductive rights, women's right and freedom to makes choices about their own bodies, the relationship between mothers and daughters, friendships, and what makes a family.
This author handles some difficult subject matter appropriately. The story is told with three alternating protagonists and moves from the early 1980's to 2017 set in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
This debut Canadian author skillfully weaves an intricate storyline and plot and though this novel is primarily of the historical fiction genre, there is also a bit of a mystery and a romance in this novel as well.
Looking For Jane is a novel I will not stop thinking about for some time and is one of my favorite reads of 2022.
I definitely look forward to reading more books by this author in the future!
My Rating: 5/5
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