This fast-paced his­tor­i­cal fic­tion nov­el explores themes of wom­an­hood and moth­er­hood through­out dif­fer­ent eras. Vivian Kol­son Jacob­son is a home­mak­er in the Chica­go sub­urbs in 1956. She is a wife to Mel, an army vet­er­an ten years her senior, and moth­er to four young chil­dren, two of which are still in diapers. 

The sto­ry alter­nates between 1923 and 1956, with the ear­li­er por­tions focus­ing on Vivian’s moth­er, Han­nah. After her hus­band left them, Han­nah rais­es her kids with the help of eldest daugh­ter Ethel. Due to the family’s eco­nom­ic hard­ships, Ethel becomes an invalu­able helper and sec­ond moth­er to Vivian and her brother.

Han­nah is deter­mined that her daugh­ters receive an edu­ca­tion and have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to pur­sue a bet­ter life. Ethel grows up to be an eccen­tric artist who nev­er mar­ries, while Vivian lives a more pro­tect­ed tra­di­tion­al life work­ing for the Jacob­son fam­i­ly busi­ness. The nov­el demon­strates the influ­ence of wom­en’s roles dur­ing these post­war times, along with the bur­den the char­ac­ters feel with the typ­i­cal social pres­sures to mar­ry and start a family.

Mel, a nephew of Vivian’s boss, has just been dis­charged from the army and is suf­fer­ing from PTSD. He is con­sid­ered a war hero and is gen­tly encour­aged to get back to his nor­mal life, which includes return­ing to work and meet­ing­Vi­vian. Though both come from immi­grant fam­i­lies, Mel’s family’s suc­cess­ful busi­ness affords him a high­er socioe­co­nom­ic sta­tus. The two fall in love and quick­ly embark on their new lives. How­ev­er, Vivian is over­whelmed by the expec­ta­tions soci­ety has placed upon her: she ques­tions her abil­i­ty to keep up with moth­er­ing and house­work with­out los­ing her mind. She once yearned for a col­lege edu­ca­tion and self-ful­fill­ment, but is forced to put these dreams aside when she is sud­den­ly bur­dened with an unex­pect­ed pregnancy. 

Abor­tion was bare­ly whis­pered about dur­ing these times, and it was ille­gal, dan­ger­ous, and against social mores. Vivian spi­rals into pan­ic and guilt at this crit­i­cal deci­sion for her future and the future of her fam­i­ly unit. She relies on her sis­ter Ethel, her mother’s fierce best friend Ruth, and her neigh­bor Jack­ie for sup­port and advice. 

The dia­logue describes the anguish expe­ri­enced by women who must make the life-chang­ing deci­sion of whether or not to ter­mi­nate a preg­nan­cy. This nudges the read­er into exam­in­ing your own views. The author touch­es upon the dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions and chal­lenges faced by these women who must make a deci­sion with­in a very short win­dow of time, while also tak­ing into account their own health, their part­ner’s wish­es, reli­gious con­vic­tions, fam­i­ly struc­ture, eco­nom­ics, and social pres­sure. The author ends the sto­ry by ref­er­enc­ing the pass­ing of Roe v. Wade on Jan­u­ary 22, 1973 — this land­mark deci­sion was cel­e­brat­ed with relief and joy for so many peo­ple. In the wake of the rever­sal of this deci­sion in 2022, the author explains her opin­ions about the crit­i­cal need for free­dom of choice.