Based on a true story set in the 70s in Alabama, nurse Civil Townsend has just started working at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic. Civil hopes to help women make better-informed choices about their reproduction, especially the often neglected or exploited African American community. But when asked to put her first patients on birth control, two girls just 11 and 13 years old, Civil wonders if she is really doing what benefits those in need. Ultimately, Civil has to confront the system that has robbed Black Americans, especially black women, of their rights, safety, and finally, their choices.

Take My Hand is one of those books that is so bleak I had to take breaks while reading it. I remember still feeling optimistic about the current political climate in the US because "at least this didn't happen in the real world" until I found out the events that transpired in the book actually occurred in real life. For those interested in the history of reproductive rights in the US, Take My Hand tells a tragic story that will have the readers reflecting on our past actions and our future options.