Book Excerpt

Book excerpts from the works of prominent feminist authors.

Imagining Revolution and Hope in 2033 America: An Excerpt from ‘Solis’

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An excerpt from Solis:

In 2033, life in the New American Republic is bleak. A xenophobic and racist government has imprisoned thousands of undocumented people in a giant labor camp in the Arizona desert. Black people, Brown people, Asian people and Indigenous people are dumped on the cage floors, their bodies almost broken and their hearts filled with fear. The prisoners are forced to scavenge for a precious and newly discovered chemical in the surrounding mines. This chemical is being used by the president to control the weather. The climate crisis and global drought has pushed the country to the forefront of the water wars that are ravaging the world. The work is grueling, the torture inhumane. This world seems hopeless.

And yet, in the darkest of places is where the fierce light of revolution ignites.

‘The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam’: Larry Nassar and the National Nightmare

An excerpt from Exposed: The Hidden History of the Pelvic Exam:

“Tasha Schwikert unwittingly entered the ranch at one of its most intense times. ‘We were all so broken down and injured,’ remembered Jeannette Antolin, who was a member of the U.S. national team from 1995 to 2000. ‘No one was taking care of their bodies. We were all malnutritioned. Most of us had eating disorders at the time. Most of us were being abused by Larry and not knowing it.'”

The Witch Hunts of the 1600s Never Really Ended

An excerpt from Mary Anne Franks’ new book, Fearless Speech: Breaking Free From the First Amendment:

“Amber Heard was professionally blacklisted, constantly surveilled by the press and the public, and subjected to death threats and harassment. All of this happened because Heard wrote something that people did not like—the kind of speech that, according to American free speech orthodoxy, should be most robustly protected by the First Amendment. But in a decision that chilled the speech of sexual abuse and domestic violence victims everywhere, Heard was found liable for defamation and ordered to pay Depp $15 million. … As the Heard case revealed in excruciating detail, when it comes to women’s speech, the protection of the First Amendment is little more than hollow rhetoric.”

Abortions, Astrologers and Alleged Deep-State Assassinations: An Excerpt From ‘Reproductive Rites’

What do Ronald Reagan, Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, and the occult have in common? In this excerpt from her forthcoming book, Reproductive Rites: The Real-Life Witches and Witch Hunts in the Centuries-Long Fight for Abortion, author Sophia Saint Thomas explores the unconventional and contradictory beliefs of prominent anti-choice politicians from the Reagan administration.

In the U.S., Marriage Functions More Like a Privilege—Not an Equal Basic Right

An excerpt from Allison Raskin’s new book, I Do (I Think): Conversations About Marriage.

“This elevation of marriage is a problem for multiple reasons, because as we know well by this point in the chapter, not everyone has the same level of access to it—legally or financially. The fight for true marriage equality didn’t end with the federal legalization of same-sex marriage, and it is impossible to ignore the classist, ableist and patriarchal forces at play when it comes to who can get married easily and what those marriages end up looking like. “

Could You Be ‘Framed’? New Book Exposes How Domestic Abuse Victims Are Set Up in Family Court

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In their groundbreaking new book, Framed: Women in the Family Court Underworld, Dr. Christine M. Cocchiola and Amy Polacko expose the gender biased injustice in family courts. Through the stories of 22 real women from the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia the authors shine a light on how women are accused, arrested, abused and can even lose custody of their children—to their abusers. 

“Most people have no idea what really happens when you get divorced—until they find themselves entering the world of family court. It is an abuser’s playground,” said Polacko.

1969, a Pre-Roe Experience: An Excerpt From New Memoir, ‘A Termination’

In her new memoir, A Termination, writer and actor Honor Moore recounts her decision to have an abortion in 1969: “I didn’t think about I’m having an abortion, I just did it. Blasted through fear; I want this life, not that life. … I made the decision by myself. But also with the remote-control help of my mother: ‘Don’t come home pregnant.'”

Abortions are sought by a wide range of people for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls. (Share your abortion story by emailing myabortionstory@msmagazine.com.)

Gun Violence—A Black Feminist Issue: An Excerpt From Roxane Gay’s New Essay, ‘Stand Your Ground’

Bold and personal, Roxane Gay unpacks gun culture and gun ownership in America from a Black feminist perspective in her latest work, “Sand Your Ground.”

“It is appalling that women and people with uteruses have lost such a fundamental right to bodily autonomy. And it is not lost on me that women in many states have more rights as gun owners than they do as women. The power to take a life is more constitutionally and culturally valuable than a woman’s right to live freely. I do not know how to reconcile this reality with my feminism.”

What Do Tradwives Have to Do With Democracy?

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The tradwife movement is more than just eye-catching images of open land, barefoot kids, chickens and sourdough perfectly cultivated for an Instagram grid. It’s a cultural movement to influence young women to willingly check out of the workforce and give up their rights and agency.

And if progressives are too “burnt out” to check back in, these forces will win the culture war and the political movements to take away birth control, end no-fault divorce and take away a woman’s choice whether to go through with an unwanted pregnancy.

Stories From Appalachia: ‘I Was Born in Mexico, but I’m From McDowell. We Grew Up Here, and We’ll Stay Here.’

An oral history project five years in the making, Beginning Again: Stories of Movement and Migration in Appalachia brings together narratives of refugees, migrants and generations-long residents that explore complex journeys of resettlement.

Meet Cindy Sierra Morales: When she was 6 years old, Sierra Morales’ family migrated from Durango, Mexico, to Los Angeles, fleeing gang violence. After a short stay with family friends, Cindy’s family drove to Marion, N.C., where her aunt, uncle, cousins and older siblings already lived. Her parents held a variety of factory jobs, and Cindy started second grade just a few weeks after arriving. After living in the United States for 15 years, Cindy and her siblings were able to secure legal documentation through DACA.