From the author of I Hate Men, a personal and political reflection on abortion rights.
Discussion about abortion and associated rights are often limited to either ‘anti-abortion’ or ‘pro-choice’, the latter of which focuses on the importance of having the right to choose, rather than on what that right means for real people.
In this timely essay, Pauline Harmange provides an intimate, detailed account of her abortion. Reminiscent of Annie Ernaux’s Happening, Abortion is nuanced, complex, honest, and precise. Harmange gives voice to the emotions, reflections, and contradictions that someone could experience when they choose to terminate a pregnancy.
At a time in which women’s reproductive rights are being called into question around the world, Abortion is a clarion call, a powerful personal testimony, and a resolutely political vision: to restore power to our experiences, all our experiences, by sharing them, and to transform society for the better.
“In this nuanced account, Harmange (I Hate Men) reflects on her decision to have an abortion … She uses her story as a launching pad to explore the politics of abortion and laments that taboo inhibits frank discussion of the “feelings of ambiguity, negativity, sadness, and insecurity” that can accompany the procedure … Harmange excels at illuminating intersections between the personal and the political, and her willingness to probe her own pain makes for powerful reading. Timely and affecting, this packs a punch.”
Publishers Weekly
“Harmange’s essay so perfectly marries the personal and political, illustrating why we need to keep the conversation going around abortion and the nuances of experience.”
Ramona Magazine
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“In this personal essay, [Harmane] explores the need for a space in which women are free to talk about the feelings of ambivalence, negativity, sadness and insecurity that can follow an abortion. When she decided to undergo this procedure because of her economic circumstances, she thought it would be “quick and easy, over and done”. But it wasn’t that simple. While she didn’t regret it, she still had to live with the legacy of society’s attitudes toward the termination of pregnancy and her own body’s visceral response. Her candid ruminations add valuable nuance to this fraught debate.”
Fiona Capp, The Sydney Morning Herald
“The vulnerability and openness with which Harmange shares her emotions reveal that for many women who find themselves pregnant — often despite contraception, the decision to abort is not an easy one…In many ways, Abortion is a bookend to Nobel Laureate Annie Ernaux’s book Happening.”
The Arts Fuse
Praise for I Hate Men:
“A delightful book.”
Roxane Gay
Praise for I Hate Men:
“Written in wise prose, devoid of excess or rage, I Hate Men explores the terrain of contemporary feminism, its arguments in keeping with those of writers like Rebecca Solnit, as well as the movement‘s key ideas: patriarchy, the mental load, #MeToo and solidarity.”
L’Obs
Praise for I Hate Men:
“An exhilarating essay to be read in one sitting.”
Libération
