You're the Only one I've Told : : the Stories Behind Abortion

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	362.198 Sh	4-week checkout	Due 05-08-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Gender Studies / Shah, Meera	4-week checkout	Due 04-29-2024

For a long time, when people asked Dr. Meera Shah what she did, she would tell them she was a doctor and leave it at that. But over the last few years, Shah decided it was time to be direct. I'm an abortion provider, she will now say. And an interesting thing started to happen each time she met someone new. One by one, people would confide at barbecues, at jury duty, in the middle of the greeting card aisle at Target that in fact they'd had an abortion themselves. And the refrain was often the same: You're the only one I've told. This book collects those stories as they've been told to Shah to humanize abortion and to combat myths that persist in the discourse that surrounds it. An intentionally wide range of ages, races, socioeconomic factors, and experiences shows that abortion always occurs in a unique context. Today, a healthcare issue that's so precious and foundational to reproductive, social, and economic freedom for millions of people is exploited by politicians who lack understanding or compassion about the context in which abortion occurs. Stories have power to break down stigmas and help us to empathize with those whose experiences are unlike our own. They can also help us find community and a shared sense of camaraderie over experiences just like ours. You're the Only One I've Told will do both.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A difficult topic, but a good read about it submitted by bahr on July 22, 2022, 8:33am This book tells many stories of people who have had abortions, showing that there is far more complexity around abortion than I think most people know.

It may not change your opinion, but maybe one can gain more understanding about the pain others carry and how we could help them.