Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada, March 1 2022

Format: Paperback

Pages: 384

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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:

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for the copy of this book!
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Read if you like: Canadian and Women’s history.
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A fictionalized account of women’s struggle to make abortion legal in Canada.
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This book follows three main perspectives: Evelyn is a young woman forced into a home for unwed pregnant women in the 1960s and is forced to give her baby up for adoption. She goes on to become a doctor and joins the Jane Network, a group of people trying to provide safe abortions. Then we have Nancy, who’s choices lead her to volunteer with the Jane Network. Finally we have Angela, who works in an antique store and finds a shocking, life changing letter connecting her to Evelyn and Nancy.
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Really loved how the author wove these three perspectives together to show the complexity of the access to choice. Evelyn’s experiences were horrific in the home and I appreciate the author shedding light on this piece of history.
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CW: death, suicide, forced adoption, abortion, miscarriage, abuse.