Reflections from an Abortion Doula
March 27, 2023
Abortion doula Matthews normalizes abortion experiences in her compassionate, affirming debut. She opens by describing her own abortion, including her decision process leading up to it, the medical care she received, and the complex knot of emotions she experienced (of the procedure itself, with her partner and clinic colleagues beside her: “I feel so many frightening, ugly, sharp-edged, hollow things, in these last moments of my pregnancy. But I don’t feel alone”). The author assesses abortion from various perspectives, with mixed results: a strong section positions abortion as a form of “reproductive justice” and highlights the need for readily available “tools of reproductive power,” such as sex education and birth control; elsewhere, a discussion of abortion and sex suggests that “unintended pregnancy is not a weakness or a moral failing” but only superficially asks readers to consider how their sex lives might change if pregnancy choices were met with acceptance. Matthews is at her best when assessing ways to support those considering or recovering from an abortion (food, flowers, or a letter, “even if you’re afraid of being cheesy”) and when she leans into the messy, sometimes-contradictory emotions that often get left out of the abortion discussion. Readers looking to support loved ones or offer themselves grace will find Matthews a wise guide.
December 1, 2022
One in four women, trans men, and nonbinary indivivduals in the United States has at least one abortion by the age of 45, but in the post-Roe v. Wade United States, stigma and criminalization make the physical and emotional support of these people precarious at best. An abortion care worker, doula, journalist, and reproductive rights advocate, Matthews aims across gender, race, and class lines in this guide to abortion care.
Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 15, 2023
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, the realities of reproductive health care in the U.S. have been turned upside down as well. In an attempt to shout human truths above the abstract din, abortion doula Hannah Matthews offers this fierce, beautiful, compassionate book, equal parts memoir and informative nonfiction. Matthews, a reproductive health-care worker, writer, wife, and mother, also works as an abortion doula for people looking to become un-pregnant. Many people are familiar with birth and death doulas, who guide patients through the emotional and physical processes involved with childbirth and the end of life. Abortion doulas perform similar tasks for people undergoing the stress of a surgical or medical abortion. Matthews starts by sharing her own abortion experience, comforting readers and building trust with her brave, heartfelt, and gorgeous prose. The details of her procedure also form the framework for the rest of the book, wherein she outlines the real truths of abortion in general: deeply complex emotional experiences, logistical difficulties, social inequities, political and legal repercussions, and the heroes sacrificing everything for the reproductive freedom movement. Readers will leave with much knowledge--and a new role model and friend in Matthews.
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