100 Best Abortion Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Steven D. Levitt

5.0

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? Freakonomics will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven

Recommended by Malcolm Gladwell, Daymond John, Ev Williams, and 12 others.

Malcolm Gladwell

Writer & Journalist

I don’t need to say much here. This book invented an entire genre. Economics was never supposed to be this entertaining. [source]

Daymond John

Founder/FUBU

I love newer books like this book. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

James Altucher recommended this book on the podcast "The Tim Ferriss Show". [source]

2

Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line

Abby Johnson and Cindy Lambert

4.9

Retailers Choice Award winner, 2012Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in an actual abortion procedure for the first time, walked down the street to join the Coalition for Life."Unplanned" is a heart-stopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters,

3

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Stephen Chbosky

4.9

Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic.

The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” C

Recommended by Emma Watson, Jamie Grayson, Rae Earl, and 1 others.

Jamie Grayson

Holy shit there’s no way this book is that old because that really ages me but I COMPLETELY agree. This book is a masterpiece and a must-read. Lessons about being human are in there and those are important right now. https://t.co/fF1spEFrUH [source]

Rae Earl

It is a tremendously powerful study of PTSD, a mental health issue that isn’t talked about enough [source]

Richard Speight Jr.

A pal for 30 years, @StephenChbosky ‘s first book #ThePerksofBeingaWallflower had a MASSIVE impact on me & countless others. Then came his great movies. Now..THE NEXT BOOK! Be like me & buy it THE DAY it comes out. (Then harass him until he agrees to put me in the movie! 🎥 🤠) https://t.co/02bMKPgF9A [source]

4

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

4.8

Before The Testaments, there was The Handmaid’s Tale: an instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from “the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction” (New York Times).

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the

Recommended by Daniel Pink, Emma Watson, Catherine Mayer, and 3 others.

Catherine Mayer

Atwood takes all the hard information about gender inequality that she sees around her and then turns it up a few notches. [source]

Cliff Bleszinski

@HandmaidsOnHulu Done. Love the show, book is a classic, can't wait for season 2. [source]

Grady Booch

I read this several years ago but — much like Orwell’s 1984 — it seems particularly relevant given our current political morass. [source]

5

Little Fires Everywhere

Celeste Ng

4.7

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this id

Recommended by Reese Witherspoon.

Reese Witherspoon

Actress, Author, Founder/Hello Sunshine

Y’all! I’m so excited to tell you that @kerrywashington and I will be bringing #LittleFiresEverywhere to the screen together ! I love this beautiful book about motherhood and I can’t wait to finally collaborate with one of my favorite actresses. https://t.co/98pq64llMU [source]

6

The Cider House Rules

John Irving

4.7

"AN OLD-FASHIONED, BIG-HEARTED NOVEL . . . with its epic yearning caught in the 19th century, somewhere between Trollope and Twain . . . The rich detail makes for vintage Irving."
--The Boston Sunday Globe
"The Cider House Rules is filled with people to love and to feel for. . . . The characters in John Irving's novel break all the rules, and yet they remain noble and free-spirited. Victims of trage

7

Unwind (Unwind, #1)

Neal Shusterman

4.6

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end.

8

The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture

Scott Klusendorf

4.6

Pro-life Christians, take heart: the pro-life message can compete in the marketplace of ideas-provided Christians properly understand and articulate that message. Too many Christians do not understand the essential truths of the pro-life position, making it difficult for them to articulate a biblical worldview on issues like abortion, cloning, and embryo research.

The Case for Life provides intelle

9

Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights

Katha Pollitt

4.5

A POWERFUL ARGUMENT FOR ABORTION AS A MORAL RIGHT AND SOCIAL GOOD BY A NOTED FEMINIST AND LONGTIME COLUMNIST FOR THE NATION

Forty years after the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, "abortion" is still a word that is said with outright hostility by many, despite the fact that one in three American women will have terminated at least one pregnancy by menopause. Even those who support a woman's right to an

10

Life's Work: A Moral Argument for Choice

Dr. Willie Parker

4.5

In Life’s Work, an outspoken, Christian reproductive justice advocate and abortion provider (one of the few doctors to provide such services to women in Mississippi and Alabama) pulls from his personal and professional journeys as well as the scientific training he received as a doctor to reveal how he came to believe, unequivocally, that helping women in need, without judgment, is precisely the C

Recommended by Angela Yee.

Angela Yee

As we discuss a woman's right to choose, this book by @DrWillieParker is a great read for more understanding of compassion, morals and ethics https://t.co/kIvwt7WSK3 [source]

11

This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor

Susan Wicklund, Sue Wicklund, Alan Kesselheim

4.5

In This Common Secret Dr. Susan Wicklund chronicles her emotional and dramatic twenty-year career on the front lines of the abortion war. Growing up in working class, rural Wisconsin, Wicklund had her own painful abortion at a young age. It was not until she became a doctor that she realized how many women shared her ordeal of an unwanted pregnancy—and how hidden this common experience remains. Th

12

The Walls Are Talking: Former Abortion Clinic Workers Tell Their Stories

Abby Johnson and Kristin Detrow

4.5

This book narrates the harrowing and life-changing experiences of former abortion clinic workers, including those of the author, who once directed abortion services at a large Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas. These individuals, whose names have been changed to protect their identities, left their jobs in the abortion industry after experiencing a change of heart. They have come forward with the

13

The Atonement Child

Francine Rivers

4.4

A beautiful repackaged edition of Francine Rivers's classic novel that breaks through the many taboos surrounding abortion. In one terrifying moment, Dynah Carey's perfect life is shattered by rape, her future irrevocably altered by an unwanted pregnancy, and her doting family torn apart. Her seemingly rock-solid faith is pushed to the limits as she faces the most momentous choice of her life—to e

Cover unavailable

14

A Spark of Light

Jodi Picoult

4.4

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

After rushing to the scene, Hugh McElroy, a police hostage negotiator, sets up a perimeter and begins making a plan to communic

15

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman

Lindy West

4.4

Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible--like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you--writer and humorist Lindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but.

From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; t

Recommended by Jessica Hische, Matt Mcgorry, and Shannon Coulter.

Matt Mcgorry

"Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman" by Lindy West @TheLindyWest # Lovvvvveeedddd, loved, loved, loved this book!!! West is a truly remarkable writer and her stories are beautifully poignant while dosed with her… https://t.co/nzJtXtOGTn [source]

Shannon Coulter

@JennLHaglund @tomi_adeyemi I love that feeling! Just finished the audiobook version of Shrill by Lindy West after _years_ of meaning to read it and that's the exact feeling it gave me. Give me your book recommendations! [source]

16

Gosnell: The Untold Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer

Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer

4.4

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OPENING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE

“This book is a public service.” — MICHELLE MALKIN, founder of Twitchy and author of Culture of Corruption

“Every American needs to read Gosnell.” — DAVID DALEIDEN, the Center for American Progress reporter behind the undercover investigation of Planned Parenthood

"Ann and Phelim courageously tell the heart wrenching, shocking story previously

17

Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments Expanded & Updated

Randy Alcorn

4.4

As politicians, citizens, and families continue the raging national debate on whether it's proper to end human life in the womb, resources like Randy Alcorn's Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments

Cover unavailable

18

The Story of Jane: The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service

Laura Kaplan

4.4

"In the four years before the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, most women determined to get abortions had to subject themselves to the power of illegal, unregulated abortionists...But a Chicago woman who happened to stumble across a secret organization code-named 'Jane' had an alternative. Laura Kaplan, who joined Jane in 1971, has pieced together the histories of the anonymous (here id

19

Whatever Happened to the Human Race?

C. Everett Koop, Francis A. Schaeffer

4.3

"If a mother can kill her own children, then what can be next?" Mother Teresa once asked.

What indeed?

Once the value of human life has been depreciated, as in Roe v. Wade and the Baby Doe Case, no one is safe. Once "quality of life" is substituted for the absolute value of human life itself, we all are endangered. Already respected scientists are calling for a time period following birth (a week or

Recommended by Mike Huckabee.

Mike Huckabee

I saw the film series that was the genesis of the book in Dallas, Texas. It made clear to me that the notion that a life was expendable – the Nazis had a phrase for a life that was not worthy of life, but I can’t remember the German – is dangerous. Once any culture decides that there are any lives not worth living or not worth saving, the threat to society is profound. [source]

20

Shades of Blue

Karen Kingsbury

4.3

Brad Cutler, twenty-eight, is a rising star at his New York ad agency, about to marry the girl of his dreams. Anyone would agree he has it all - a great career, a beautiful and loving fiance, and a fairy tale life ahead of him when memories of a high school girlfriend begin to torment him. Lost innocence and one very difficult choice flood his conscience, and he is no longer sure what the future w

21

Abortion: A Rational Look At An Emotional Issue

R. C. Sproul

4.3

In this book, Dr. R.C. Sproul employs his unique perspective as a highly experienced pastor-theologian and a trained philosopher to provide well-considered and compassionate answers to the difficult questions that attend termination of pregnancy. Dr. Sproul strives for a factual, well-reasoned approach informed by careful biblical scholarship. He considers both sides of this issue in terms of bibl

22

An American Marriage

Tayari Jones

4.3

Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Thoug

Recommended by Barack Obama and Bill Gates.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

A moving look at how incarceration changes relationships. [source]

23

Unbeautifully (Undeniable, #2)

Madeline Sheeha

4.3

Warning: This is not a story about fate or destiny. This is a story about pain, sorrow, and suffering. This is an impulsive whirlwind romance between two lovers that are not meant to be together. Theirs is not a world with sunshine and roses. Instead, their love blossoms in a secret world full of crime, violence, and death. Their story is about what can be born from nightmares.

Danielle “Danny” We

24

Why Pro-Life?: Caring for the Unborn and Their Mothers

Randy Alcorn

4.3

This completely revised and updated edition of "Why Pro-Life?" offers factual answers to the central issues of the abortion debate in a concise, non-abrasive way. Infused with grace and compassion, and grounded in medical science and psychological studies, Randy Alcorn presents a solid case for defending both unborn children and their mothers.

Chapters such as, "What Makes a Human Life 'Meaningful,

25

Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty

Dorothy Roberts

4.3

This is a no-holds-barred response to the liberal and conservative retreat from an assertive, activist, and socially transformative civil rights agenda of recent years--using a black feminist lens and the issue of the impact of recent legislation, social policy, and welfare "reform" on black women's--especially poor black women's--control over their bodies' autonomy and their freedom to bear and r

26

When She Woke

Hillary Jordan

4.3

When She Woke is a fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of a not-too-distant future, who embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.

Bellwether Prize Winner Hillary Jordan's provocative new novel is the fiercely imagined story of a woman struggling to navigate an

27

The Mothers

Brit Bennett

4.3

Set within a contemporary black community in Southern California, Brit Bennett's mesmerizing first novel is an emotionally perceptive story about community, love, and ambition. It begins with a secret.

"All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we'd taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen a

28

Handle with Care

Jodi Picoult

4.3

When Willow is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, her parents are devastated--she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleeples

29

Play It As It Lays

Joan Didion, David Thomson

4.3

A ruthless dissection of American life in the late 1960s, Play It as It Lays captures the mood of an entire generation, the ennui of contemporary society reflected in spare prose that blisters and haunts the reader. Set in a place beyond good and evil - literally in Hollywood, Las Vegas, and the barren wastes of the Mojave Desert, but figuratively in the landscape of an arid soul - it remains more

Recommended by David Maraniss.

David Maraniss

The book has a bleak aspect to it, in terms of marital relations. [source]

30

The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind

Bernard N. Nathanson

4.3

Dr. Nathanson's deeply personal memoir of what led a lifelong atheist and abortion crusader first to the pro-life cause, and finally to Christianity.

31

Stand for Life: Answering the Call, Making the Case, Saving Lives

John Ensor, Scott Klusendorf

4.2

32

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade

Ann Fessler

4.2

In this deeply moving and myth-shattering work, Ann Fessler brings out into the open for the first time the astonishing untold history of the million and a half women who surrendered children for adoption due to enormous family and social pressure in the decades before Roe v. Wade. An adoptee who was herself surrendered during those years and recently made contact with her mother, Ann Fessler bril

33

The Alice Network

Kate Quinn

4.2

An alternate cover for this ASIN can be found here.

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.

1947. In the chaotic afterm

34

Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case against Abortion Choice

Francis J. Beckwith

4.2

Defending Life is the most comprehensive defense of the prolife position on abortion ever published. It is sophisticated, but still accessible to the ordinary citizen. Without high-pitched rhetoric or appeals to religion, the author offers a careful and respectful case for why the prolife view of human life is correct. He responds to the strongest prochoice arguments found in law, science, philoso

35

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me

Mariko Tamaki

4.2

Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy's best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps comin

Recommended by John Shannon and Rainbow Rowell.

John Shannon

Just finished @RobertIger book “The Ride of a Lifetime”. If you like broadcasting, media and vision for the future. It’s a great read. Tons of leadership lessons, as well. [source]

Rainbow Rowell

Congratulations, @marikotamaki and @hirosemaryhello! LAURA DEAN KEEPS BREAKING UP WITH ME is a great and beautiful book! https://t.co/xSUfXFPHQM [source]

36

When Abortion Was a Crime: Women, Medicine, and Law in the United States, 1867-1973

Leslie J. Reagan

4.2

As we approach the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it's crucial to look back to the time when abortion was illegal. Leslie Reagan traces the practice and policing of abortion, which although illegal was nonetheless widely available, but always with threats for both doctor and patient. In a time when many young women don't even know that there was a period when abortion was a crime, this work offe

37

Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality

Nancy R Pearcey and Ann Richardson

4.2

Are transgender people discovering their authentic self? Is the hookup culture really liberating? Does abortion lead to equality for women? Does homosexuality contradict our biological sex?

In Love Thy Body, bestselling and award-winning author Nancy Pearcey takes on the hard questions about life and sexuality. A two-time winner of the ECPA Gold Medallion Award, Pearcey has been hailed by The Econo

Recommended by C S Lewis Quotes Et Al.

C S Lewis Quotes Et Al

I think I will read @NancyRPearcey book Love Thy Body again. One of the most important books I have read this year. [source]

38

Not Funny Ha-Ha: A Handbook for Something Hard

Leah Hayes

4.2

Not Funny Ha-Ha is a bold, slightly wry graphic novel illustrating the lives of two young women from different cultural, family, and financial backgrounds who go through two different abortions (medical and surgical). It follows them through the process of choosing a clinic, reaching out to friends, partners, and/or family, and eventually the procedure(s) itself. It simply shows what happens when

39

The Healing Choice: Your Guide to Emotional Recovery After an Abortion

Candace De puy and Dana Dovitch

4.2

Two psychotherapists present a supportive guide to coping with the emotional and psychological aftermath of abortion, offering a step-by-step program that combines information, reassurance, and guidance to help women begin the process of recovery.

“This is a book for any women who feels psychological pain from her abortion…this is not a book about judgment, politics, or religion.” –from the authors

40

She's Come Undone

Wally Lamb

4.2

In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.

Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Stranded in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato

41

Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead

Cecile Richards, Lauren Peterson

4.2

From Cecile Richards—the president of Planned Parenthood, daughter of the late Governor Ann Richards, featured speaker at the Women’s March on Washington, and “the heroine of the resistance” (Vogue)—comes a story about learning to lead and make change, based on a lifetime of fighting for women’s rights and social justice.

Cecile Richards has been an activist since she was taken to the principal’s o

42

UnWholly (Unwind, #2)

Neal Shusterma

4.2

It’s finally here. The long-awaited sequel to the bestselling Unwind, which Publishers Weekly called a “gripping, brilliantly imagined futuristic thriller.”

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant m

43

UnDivided (Unwind, #4)

Neal Shusterman

4.2

Teens control the fate of America in the fourth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.

Proactive Citizenry, the company that created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, has a plan: to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies another shocking level of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been sup

44

Revolutionary Road

Richard Yates

4.2

In the hopeful 1950s, Frank and April Wheeler appear to be a model American couple: bright, beautiful, talented, with two young children and a starter home in the suburbs. Perhaps they married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank's job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. Bu

45

You Carried Me: A Daughter's Memoir

Melissa Ohden

4.2

What happens when an abortion survivor finds her birth mother, who never knew her daughter was alive? Now in paperback with a new epilogue by Melissa Ohden and her birth mother.

Winner, 2018 Christianity Today Book Award, CT Women
Silver Medal Winner, 2018 Illumination Book Awards, Biography & Memoir

Melissa Ohden is fourteen when she learns she is the survivor of a botched abortion. In this intima

46

The Christian and Abortion: A Nonnegotiable Stance

Steve Hammond MD and Emily LaBonte FNP-BC

4.2

47

The Unaborted Socrates

Peter Kreeft

4.2

Is abortion a woman's right? When does human life begin? Should we legislate morality? What would happen if the Socrates of old suddenly appeared in modern Athens? Peter Kreeft imagines the dialog that might ensue with three worthy opponents--a doctor, a philosopher and a psychologist--about the arguments surrounding abortion. Kreeft uses Socratic technique to strip away the emotional issues and g

48

Broken

Don Winslow

4.2

In six intense short novels connected by the themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption, Broken is #1 international bestseller Don Winslow at his nerve-shattering, heart-stopping, heartbreaking best. In Broken, he creates a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope deal

Recommended by Brian Koppelman.

Brian Koppelman

A steamroller. Each story will run you over. For real. Read it. [source]

49

Compelling Interest: The Real Story behind Roe v. Wade

Roger Resler

4.2

Is a fetus a person?
Is “pro-choice” a neutral position?For 40 years since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, the abortion debate has been highly charged and politicized. Questions like these—and passionate but widely varying answers—have become the common language of the public dialogue on this issue. Yet behind the scenes of this historic case are other intriguing questions:
· How di

50

Love Unleashes Life: Abortion and the Art of Communicating Truth

Stephanie Gray

4.2

Love Unleashes Life offers a fresh approach to pro-life apologetics. It is designed to equip people of good will to reach peoples' minds and, especially, their hearts on the controversial topic of abortion.

51

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Chris Crutcher

4.2

Sarah Byrnes and Eric Calhoune have been friends for years. When they were children, his weight and her scars made them both outcasts. Now Sarah Byrnes—the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known—sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she’s hiding before its dark current pulls them both under. Will appeal to fans of Marieke Nijkamp, Andrew Smith, and John Corey Whal

52

My Notorious Life

Kate Manning

4.1

A brilliant rendering of a scandalous historical figure, Kate Manning's My Notorious Life is an ambitious, thrilling novel introducing Axie Muldoon, a fiery heroine for the ages. Axie's story begins on the streets of 1860s New York. The impoverished child of Irish immigrants, she grows up to become one of the wealthiest and most controversial women of her day.

In vivid prose, Axie recounts how she

53

How to Be a Woman

Caitlin Moran

4.1

Though they have the vote and the Pill and haven't been burned as witches since 1727, life isn't exactly a stroll down the catwalk for modern women. They are beset by uncertainties and questions: Why are they supposed to get Brazilians? Why do bras hurt? Why the incessant talk about babies? And do men secretly hate them? Caitlin Moran interweaves provocative observations on women's lives with laug

Recommended by Emma Watson and Amanda Palmer.

Amanda Palmer

The new feminist manifesto. [source]

54

Choice: True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood, and Abortion

Karen E. Bender, Nina De Gramont

4.1

A moving collection of personal essays about the real, human experiences behind the highly politicized issue of reproductive choice.

At a time when a woman’s most complex decisions have been reduced to political rhetoric and impersonal theory, and political debate has been hijacked by pundits and name-callers, Choice joins the discourse with an assortment of candid voices in an effort to humanize t

55

Girls on the Verge

Sharon Biggs Waller

4.1

A powerful, timely coming-of-age story about a young woman from Texas who goes on a road trip with two friends to get an abortion, from award-winning author Sharon Biggs Waller.

Camille couldn't be having a better summer. But on the very night she learns she got into a prestigious theater program, she also finds out she’s pregnant. She definitely can’t tell her parents. And her best friend, Bea, do

56

Farewell to the East End: The Last Days of the East End Midwives

Jennifer Worth

4.1

This final book in Jennifer Worth's memories of her time as a midwife in London's East end brings her story full circle. As always there are heartbreaking stories such as the family devastated by tuberculosis and a ship's woman who 'serviced' the entire crew, as well as plenty of humour and warmth such as the tale of two women who shared the same husband! Other stories cover backstreet abortions,

57

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Irin Carmon

4.1

You can't spell truth without Ruth.
Only Ruth Bader Ginsburg can judge me.
The Ruth will set you free.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg never asked for fame—she was just trying to make the world a little better and a little freer. But along the way, the feminist pioneer's searing dissents and steely strength have inspired millions. Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, cr

58

UnSouled (Unwind, #3)

Neal Shusterman

4.1

The story that began with Unwind continues.

Connor and Lev are on the run after the destruction of the Graveyard, the last safe haven for AWOL Unwinds. But for the first time, they’re not just running away from something. This time, they’re running toward answers, in the form of a woman Proactive Citizenry has tried to erase from history itself. If they can find her, and learn why the shadowy figur

59

Worthy of Love: A Journey of Hope and Healing After Abortion

Shadia Hrichi and Brian E. Fisher

4.1

Theresa Ingram, Mentor/Speaker and wife of Pastor and Author Chip Ingram writes, "I know from personal experience that abortion leaves an open wound on a mother's heart...Worthy of Love gives us a clear pathway to complete healing and restoration as we offer up our wounds to the healing power of God's Word."

Worthy of Love combines the power of storytelling with inspirational bible study. Each chap

60

The Choice

Robert Whitlow

4.1

One young woman. Two very different roads. The choice will change everything.

Even as a pregnant, unwed teen in 1974, Sandy Lincoln wanted to do the right thing. But when an ageless woman approached her in a convenience store with a mysterious prophecy and a warning, doing the right thing became even more unclear. She made the best choice she could . . . and has lived with the consequences.

More tha

61

A Perfect Ten (Forbidden Men, #5)

Linda Kag

4.1

Let your hair down, Caroline, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

I know I've closed myself off in a major way over the past year, ever since “the incident” where I messed up my life completely. It's past time I try to live again or just give up altogether. But this is quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever done. In a last ditch effort to invigorate myself, I'm standing outside Oren Tenning's

62

Aftercare Instructions

Bonnie Pipkin

4.1

In the tradition of Jandy Nelson and Rainbow Rowell, a big-hearted journey of furious friendship, crazy love, and unexpected hope after a teen's decision to end an unwanted pregnancy

“Troubled.” That’s seventeen-year-old Genesis according to her small New Jersey town. She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter—until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic du

63

The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having—or Being Denied—an Abortion

Diana Greene Foster Ph.D

4.1

“If you read only one book about democracy, The Turnaway Study should be it. Why? Because without the power to make decisions about our own bodies, there is no democracy." —Gloria Steinem

“Dr. Diana Greene Foster brings what is too often missing from the public debate around abortion: science, data, and the real-life experiences of people from diverse backgrounds…This should be required reading for

64

Saga, Vol. 8

Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staple

4.1

After the traumatic events of the War for Phang, Hazel, her parents, and their surviving companions embark on a life-changing adventure at the westernmost edge of the universe.

Collecting: Saga 43-48.

65

A Case of Need

Michael Crichton

4.1

Written as Jeffery Hudson in 1968.
A Case of Need is Michael Crichton's award-winning debut novel, written shortly after he completed his medical internship. Set against the ever-building pressure and pace of a large Boston medical center, the tensions flare-and explode-when a surgical operation tragically ends in death, raising countless questions. Was it accidental malpractice? A violation of the

Cover unavailable

66

How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics, and the War on Sex

Cristina Page

4.1

With a new preface by the author. In the tradition of Backlash and The Morning After, and in a political climate where Roe v. Wade is in serious jeopardy, a young activist reveals that the Pro-Life Movement's real agenda is a war on contraception, family planning, and sexual freedom.

Recommended by Cecile Richards.

Cecile Richards

I obviously wanted to pick a book that was about the work I do now, and I just think Cristina Page did a great job in this book. It’s a very accessible book and so I’d like to put it in for folks who think this may not be the topic that they know a whole lot about. [source]

67

Persuasive Pro-Life: How to Talk about Our Culture's Toughest Issue

Trent Horn and Foreword by Fr Frank Pavone

4.1

Are you scared to talk about abortion? Don't worry almost everyone is. Either we think the subject is too impolite, or we don't want to be branded an intolerant fanatic, or we're afraid we won't represent the pro-life side well enough. With a little knowledge and a few practical and proven techniques, you can become a bold and effective advocate for life.

Drawing on over a decade as a pro-life orga

68

Reproductive Justice: An Introduction

Loretta Ross

4.1

Reproductive Justice is a first-of-its-kind primer that provides a comprehensive yet succinct description of the field. Written by two legendary scholar-activists, Reproductive Justice introduces students to an intersectional analysis of race, class, and gender politics. Loretta J. Ross and Rickie Solinger put the lives and lived experience of women of color at the center of the book and use a hum

69

Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice

Jael Silliman

4.1

Undivided Rights captures the evolving and largely unknown activist history of women of color organizing for reproductive justice—on their own behalf.

Undivided Rights presents a textured understanding of the reproductive rights movement by placing the experiences, priorities, and activism of women of color in the foreground. Using historical research, original organizational case studies, and pers

70

Without Apology: The Abortion Struggle Now

Jenny Brown

4.1

An indispensable guide to abortion access in America, and a necessary argument for building a fighting feminist movement to protect women's rights

Anti-abortion justice Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court. A misogynist in the White House. Abortion inaccessible to women in 85% of American counties. The stakes for women's ability to control our own bodies are high.

In this spirited book, Jenny Brown descri

71

Embryo: A Defense of Human Life

Robert P. George

4.1

72

Won by Love

Norma McCorvey, Gary Thomas

4.0

As the plaintiff behind the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case, Norma McCorvey became known as the poster child for the pro-choice movement. But underneath she led a life of drug and alcohol addiction as she increasingly felt alienated by the wealthy and famous elements of the pro-choice crowd. Then to make matters worse, her worst enemy, the pro-life group Operation Rescue, moved in next door to her

73

Shout Your Abortion

Amelia Bonow, Emily Nokes, et al.

4.0

Following the U.S. Congress's attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion became a viral conduit for abortion storytelling, receiving extensive media coverage and positioning real human experiences at the center of America’s abortion debate for the first time. This online momentum quickly launched a grassroots movement, inspiring countless individuals to share their stori

74

When the Words Suddenly Stopped: Finding My Voice Again After a Massive Stroke

Vivian L. King

4.0

What would you do if a stroke stole your voice?

Former television broadcast journalist Vivian King was taking a seemingly harmless prescription pill and suddenly suffered a stroke that robbed her of her voice. She battled through neurological intensive care and hours of therapy, leading to a miraculous recovery which astounded even her doctors. King admits the medical care she received was unparall

75

A Different Life: A True Fiction About the Power of Jesus to Save and Redeem

Lorie Evers

4.0

Cover unavailable

76

Doctors of Conscience: The Struggle to Provide Abortion Before and After Roe V. Wade

Carole E. Joffe

4.0

The real story of the medical campaign against abortion through the eyes of pro-choice physicians.

"Well-researched and clearly written. . . Provides a compelling narrative of the dedication of doctors who have braved society's continuing ambivalence toward women's right to choose."
—K. Kaufmann, San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

A fabulous read. . . intense and absorbing. —Marge Berer, Women's Review

77

The Last Black Unicorn

Tiffany Haddish

4.0

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.

Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she

Recommended by Charlamagne Tha God.

Charlamagne Tha God

Radio Presenter/The Breakfast Club

These are the books I recommend people to listen to on @applebooks. [source]

78

The Gilded Hour

Sara Donati

4.0

The year is 1883, and in New York City, it’s a time of dizzying splendor, crushing poverty, and tremendous change. With the gravity-defying Brooklyn Bridge nearly complete and New York in the grips of anti-vice crusader Anthony Comstock, Anna Savard and her cousin Sophie—both graduates of the Woman’s Medical School—treat the city’s most vulnerable, even if doing so may put everything they’ve striv

79

Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Ordinary Abortion

Katie Watson

4.0

Winner of the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language

Although Roe v. Wade identified abortion as a constitutional right in1973, it still bears stigma--a proverbial scarlet A. Millions of Americans have participated in or benefited from an abortion, but few want to reveal that they have done so. Approximately one in five pregnancies in the U

80

Tilt

Ellen Hopkins

4.0

Love—good and bad—forces three teens’ worlds to tilt in a riveting novel from New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins.

Three teens, three stories—all interconnected through their parents’ family relationships. As the adults pull away, caught up in their own dilemmas, the lives of the teens begin to tilt….

Mikayla, almost eighteen, is over-the-top in love with Dylan, who loves her back jealou

81

The Doctrine of Balaam

CR Cali

4.0

For decades the Church of Jesus Christ has been tossed to and fro during our abortion holocaust. For a variety of reasons her pulpits have largely been silent. The lack of biblical instruction, discipleship and discipline has weakened the understanding of professing Christian congregations with catastrophic effects. Nearly all of the education, training, and work done in this area has been outsour

82

Tilly

Frank E. Peretti, Michael W. Smith, Debbie Smith

4.0

Kathy looked at the little gravestone again. Now she could see it clearly. It bore just that one name: Tilly. . . . She couldn't take her eyes away. She didn't want to. She stooped down to look. Only one date. Only one. Nine years ago.

Kathy and Dan Ross are just like any other young couple. No one would ever imagine what secrets lie buried in their souls until Kathy is captivated by that simple na

83

And We Stay

Jenny Hubbard

4.0

Senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school with a stolen gun, he threatens his girlfriend, Emily Beam, and then takes his own life. Soon after, angry and guilt-ridden Emily is sent to a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where two quirky fellow students and the spirit of Emily Dickinson offer helping hands. But it is up to Emily Beam to heal her own damaged self, to find the good behind the

84

The Witches Are Coming

Lindy West

4.0

In this wickedly funny cultural critique, the author of the critically acclaimed memoir and Hulu series Shrill exposes misogyny in the #MeToo era.

THIS IS A WITCH HUNT.
WE’RE WITCHES,
AND WE’RE HUNTING YOU.

From the moment powerful men started falling to the #MeToo movement, the lamentations began: this is feminism gone too far, this is injustice, this is a witch hunt. In The Witches Are Coming, fireb

85

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Erika L. Sánchez

4.0

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family.

86

Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women

Brian E Fisher

4.0

After forty years of protest and debate, we all know one thing for certain about abortion: it’s a women’s issue, right?

Wrong, says Brian Fisher in his groundbreaking book Abortion: The Ultimate Exploitation of Women. In it he reveals long-forgotten or never-known facts to show that abortion is very much a man’s concern—and it’s part of a long and tragic pattern of men oppressing women. Which is w

87

Abortion without Apology: A Radical History for the 1990s

Ninia Baehr

4.0

Presents stories of the Society for Humane Abortion--otherwise known as the Jane Collective--and draws political lessons about their program, success, and cooptation that are relevant to the agendas of abortion-rights groups today. Records the experiences, successes and ideas of this early wave of activism, and provides astute analysis for building a broader reproductive freedom movement in the 19

88

Parenthood Unplanned: A Survival Guide for the Unexpected

Sarah Dunford

4.0

From a middle-school dropout and single-teen-mom-turned-educator, author, and pro-family advocate, comes a unique and candid memoir about a woman who was pregnant at sixteen and willingly chose to have her baby.

Parenthood Unplanned provides an in-depth perspective of both the raw and sobering truth—as well as the humor, joy, and adventure—of an unexpected pregnancy. Written through a Christian len

89

Defenders of the Unborn: The Pro-Life Movement Before Roe V. Wade

Daniel K. Williams

4.0

On April 16, 1972, ten thousand people gathered in Central Park to protest New York's liberal abortion law. Emotions ran high, reflecting the nation's extreme polarization over abortion. Yet the divisions did not fall neatly along partisan or religious lines-the assembled protesters were far from a bunch of fire-breathing culture warriors. In Defenders of the Unborn, Daniel K. Williams reveals the

90

The Boston Girl

Anita Diamant

4.0

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Red Tent and Day After Night, comes an unforgettable coming-of-age novel about family ties and values, friendship and feminism told through the eyes of a young Jewish woman growing up in Boston in the early twentieth century.

Addie Baum is The Boston Girl, born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its ef

91

Who Broke the Baby? What the Abortion Slogans Really Mean

Jean Staker Garton

4.0

92

Cocaine Blues (Phryne Fisher, #1)

Kerry Greenwood

4.0

The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honorable Phryne Fisher (she of the gray-green eyes and diamanté garters) is tiring of polite conversations with retired colonels and dances with weak-chinned men. When the opportunity presents itself, Phryne decides it might be amusing to try her hand at becoming a lady detective in Australia. Immediately upon settling into Melbo

93

Golden Boy

Abigail Tarttelin

4.0

The Walker family is good at keeping secrets from the world. They are even better at keeping them from each other. Max Walker is a golden boy, with a secret that the world may not be ready for. This novel is a riveting tale of a family in crisis, a fascinating exploration of identity, and a coming-of-age story like no other.

94

Obstacle Course: The Everyday Struggle to Get an Abortion in America

David S. Cohen

4.0

It seems unthinkable that citizens of one of the most powerful nations in the world must risk their lives and livelihoods in the search for access to necessary health care. And yet it is no surprise that in many places throughout the United States, getting an abortion can be a monumental challenge. Anti-choice politicians and activists have worked tirelessly to impose needless restrictions on this

95

Deliver Us From Abortion: Awakening the Church to End the Killing of America's Children

Brian Fisher

4.0

Consider that for the past 40 years, a staggering 56 million Americans have been killed by abortion. It claims the lives of over 1.2 million children every year, or roughly one child every 25 seconds. So why isn't the American church doing something to stop this atrocity, which is the greatest holocaust in American history?
The majority of American churches, God’s institutions for spreading the gos

96

Harvesting the Heart

Jodi Picoult

4.0

From the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of Leaving Time Paige has only a few vivid memories of her mother, who abandoned her at five years old. Now, having left her father behind in Chicago for dreams of art school and marriage to an ambitious young doctor, she finds herself with a child of her own. But her mother's absence and shameful memories of her past force her to doubt whether she cou

97

Revenge of the Lawn / The Abortion / So the Wind Won't Blow it All Away

Richard Brautigan

4.0

Three unforgettable Brautigan masterpieces reissued in a one-volume omnibus edition.

REVENGE OF THE LAWN: Originally published in 1971, these bizarre flashes of insight and humor cover everything from "A High Building in Singapore" to the "Perfect California Day." This is Brautigan's only collection of stories and includes "The Lost Chapters of TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA."

THE ABORTION: AN HISTORICAL

98

Forgiven and Set Free: A Post-Abortion Bible Study for Women

Linda Cochrane

4.0

Disheartening numbers of women have undergone an abortion--and they need help to heal emotionally and spiritually. This study was developed out of Linda Cochrane's own experience of being freed from the bondage of guilt and grief that followed her abortion. Forgiven and Set Free guides suffering and hurting women to bring their emotional scars from abortion "out of the dark past and into his holy

99

Bad Feminist

Roxane Gay

4.0

Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue.

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman of color while

Recommended by Irina Nica.

Irina Nica

It’s hard to pick an all-time favorite because, as time goes by and I grow older, my reading list becomes more “mature” and I find myself interested in new things. I probably have a personal favorite book for each stage of my life. Right now I’m absolutely blown away by everything Roxane Gay wrote, especially Bad Feminist. [source]

100

Gianna: Aborted...and Lived to Tell about It

Jessica Shaver Renshaw

4.0

At the tender age of 17, Tina was frightened and pregnant. Feeling abandoned and desperate, she stepped into the clinic to have an abortion. But in the midst of it, something unexpected happened . . . something wonderful. Instead of snuffing out the growing life within, the procedure failed. And with defiance and courage, a baby girl made her way into the world. "Gianna" is the incredible true sto