All You Have to Do Is Call

Kerri Maher’s latest novel, All You Have to Do Is Call, is perfectly timed for this political moment as it takes on the start of underground health clinics of the 1970s that paved the way for the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade in 1973 that made abortion access legal across the country. When the court, in 2022, reversed that decision, there was much discussion and controversial opinion around the country about the impact of that reversal. Maher’s novel capitalizes on that discussion and controversy.

At the heart of the book, Veronica, Margaret, and Patty are grappling with what it means to be independent women who think and act for themselves in the early 1970s in Chicago. Veronica is the mother of Jane, an underground health clinic that provides resources and safe abortions to women in need. Margaret and Patty, longtime friends, are touched by this clinic and it shapes the way they move through the world.

While the novel has brilliant moments, there have been there works that tell this story better, most notably the 2022 film Call Jane. Still, if this time period and subject matter is of interest to you, and especially if you aren’t familiar with this story, All You Have to Do Is Call is a solid read.