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Start giftingThe Story of Jane
The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service
Narrator
Tavia Gilbert
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
10 hours 31 minutes
Language
English
First published in 1997, The Story of Jane recounts the evolution of Jane, the underground group in Chicago that performed abortion services before the procedure was legalized. An extraordinary history by one of its members, this is the first account of Jane's evolution, the conflicts within the group, and the impact its work had both on the women it helped and the members themselves.
This audiobook stands as a compelling testament to a woman's most essential freedom—control over her own body—and to the power of women helping women.
A movie based on the book, titled This Is Jane, has been produced by Amazon Studios, with Michelle Williams starring.
Laura Kaplan was a founding member of the Emma Goldman Women’s Health Center in Chicago. A lifelong activist, she was a lay midwife and an advocate for battered women and nursing home residents, and now works locally on immigrant rights and criminal justice inequities.
Tavia Gilbert, a six-time Audie Award nominee and multiple Earphones and Parents' Choice Award-winning producer, narrator, and writer, has appeared on stage and in film. Library Journal said of the highly acclaimed actress, "as close as you can get to a full cast narration with a solo voice." Tavia has narrated more than 250 multicast and single-voice audiobooks.
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Reviews
“Kaplan’s account of this remarkable story recaptures the political idealism of the early ’70s.”
“Kaplan’s The Story of Jane is the first book to chronicle this controversial sliver of history, and it is a fascinating, if partisan, close-up of the group.”
“Kaplan, who joined Jane in 1971, has pieced together the histories of the anonymous, average-sounding women who transformed themselves into outlaws.”
“Kaplan’s engrossing tales of the quiet courage of the women who risked their reputations and freedom to help others may remind many readers of other kinds of outlaws who have resisted tyranny throughout history.”
"The Story of Jane is a piece of women’s history in step with feminist theory demanding that women tell their own stories. It serves to remind people of an important and often overlooked moment in the women’s rights movement.”
“A dramatic and important piece of women’s history.”
“This is lively, nuanced history that brings to life the hopes, terrors, and disappointments of a movement committed to giving women control over their own bodies.”
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