Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Summary

Take My Hand is a historical fiction novel set in 1973 Montgomery, Alabama, following Civil Townsend, a young Black nurse who discovers that two of her patients—sisters India and Erica Williams, aged 11 and 13—have been forcibly sterilized. The book is inspired by true events and explores institutional racism, medical exploitation, and one woman's fight for justice across a dual timeline spanning from the 1970s to 2016.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a New York Times bestselling author and Associate Professor at American University, known for chronicling American historical life through fiction. She earned her BA from Harvard and PhD from George Washington University. Beyond Take My Hand, Perkins-Valdez has written Wench (2010), Balm (2015), and Happy Land (2025), establishing herself as a preeminent voice in historical fiction exploring Black American experiences.

Take My Hand is ideal for readers interested in historical fiction that addresses social justice, medical ethics, and civil rights history. It appeals to fans of character-driven narratives about institutional racism, those seeking lesser-known stories from the 1970s, and readers who appreciate dual-timeline storytelling. The book resonates particularly with those interested in women's reproductive rights, nursing ethics, and the lasting impacts of systemic oppression on Black communities.

Yes, Take My Hand is inspired by actual events from June 1973 when two Black sisters were sterilized without consent in Montgomery, Alabama. While the characters are fictionalized, the novel draws from the real-life forced sterilization programs that targeted poor Black women throughout the 1960s and 1970s. These coerced sterilizations were part of broader eugenics practices affecting welfare recipients, making the book's historical foundation devastatingly authentic.

Take My Hand received the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Fiction, the American Bar Association's prestigious Silver Gavel Award recognizing works that foster understanding of law and legal systems, and the 2023 BCALA Award for Fiction. The novel was also a Goodreads Choice Award finalist, named a Top 20 Book of 2022 by Amazon editors, and the audiobook version was designated a Best of 2022 by Audible.

Take My Hand explores institutional racism and medical exploitation, examining how classism and systemic oppression inflict lasting harm on vulnerable communities. The novel addresses reproductive justice, the ethics of "good intentions," personal responsibility versus systemic failure, and intergenerational trauma. Perkins-Valdez weaves themes of redemption, the dangers of paternalism in healthcare, and the importance of preserving overlooked histories, particularly regarding forced sterilization programs targeting Black women.

India and Erica Williams are two young Black sisters, aged 11 and 13, living in poverty with their widowed father Mace in rural Alabama. They become Civil Townsend's patients at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic and form a deep bond with the nurse. Despite never having kissed boys, the girls are placed on birth control due to their family's welfare status, ultimately suffering forced sterilization—an injustice that drives the novel's central conflict.

Take My Hand alternates between 1973, when Civil Townsend works as a young nurse and witnesses the Williams sisters' forced sterilization, and 2016, when Dr. Civil Townsend attempts to explain these events to her adult daughter while confronting her past. This structure allows Perkins-Valdez to explore both the immediate trauma and the decades-long aftermath, emphasizing themes of memory, accountability, and the necessity of passing difficult histories to future generations.

Take My Hand illuminates the largely forgotten forced sterilization programs that targeted poor Black women receiving welfare benefits during the 1960s and 1970s. The novel fictionalizes actual practices where medical professionals sterilized minors without informed consent, justified by poverty and race. By centering Civil Townsend's perspective, Perkins-Valdez shows how these human rights violations were enabled by systemic racism within healthcare institutions and government welfare programs, connecting to broader eugenics movements.

Civil Townsend begins as an idealistic young nurse from a middle-class Black family, believing she can help women control their reproductive choices. After witnessing the Williams sisters' forced sterilization, she transforms from passive participant to advocate, grappling with her complicity and class privilege. Decades later, as Dr. Townsend, she confronts unresolved guilt and seeks redemption by ensuring these stories are remembered, learning that acknowledging past failures is essential to healing.

While widely praised, some readers note that Take My Hand occasionally feels like Civil overcompensates in helping the Williams family, raising questions about paternalism and savior narratives. The novel's focus on Civil's perspective rather than centering India and Erica's voices has been discussed, though Perkins-Valdez intentionally explores complicity and responsibility. Critics acknowledge the book's unflinching approach can be emotionally challenging, making it a difficult but necessary read about painful historical truths.

Take My Hand remains critically relevant as debates over reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and medical ethics continue intensifying. The novel's exploration of forced sterilization connects to contemporary discussions about reproductive justice, healthcare inequities affecting marginalized communities, and how institutions weaponize power against vulnerable populations. Perkins-Valdez's emphasis on preserving overlooked histories resonates as society grapples with which stories get remembered and how past injustices inform current systemic issues.