Pushback

A Daily Telegraph Best Book of the Year

"Eye-opening." —The New York Review of Books

"Mary Fissell is a gifted writer whose keen historical imagination animates her stories of women's struggle for reproductive control." —The Times Literary Supplement

“Insightful." —The Economist

"The human stories make this history a compelling read, and it means that even as Fissell covers over 2,000 years of human history she can remain rooted in the concrete, the personal, the everyday complexity and messiness of individual lives." —The New Statesman

“Vital reading in the aftermath of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, this is a clear and engaging account of the long history of abortion. Mary Fissell tells the story through vivid, engaging, and often alarming accounts of real women who tried to end their pregnancies. Abortion has always been an important aspect of women’s healthcare; and, its history shows, it has largely been tolerated. The range of experiences documented by Fissell will inform and educate the wide audience this book deserves to find.” —Helen King, author of Immaculate Forms

“An important book that tells the history of abortion—and its frequent repression—from antiquity to the modern day.” —Leslie Reagan, author of When Abortion Was a Crime

“Pushback offers a surprising and ultimately optimistic history of how women have managed their reproductive lives for thousands of years in the face of legal and mortal danger. Expertly researched and deeply empathetic, Pushback centers the lives and stories of women and provides a crucial and fascinating context for understanding abortion politics today.” —Leah DeVun, author of The Shape of Sex

“A compelling, compulsively readable, and timely account of the very long history of abortion and abortion restrictions. Fissell’s prose sparkles, and the stories of women—married and single, rich and poor, enslaved and free—leap off the pages. Fissell shows us that the need and desire to control one’s reproductive life is not a modern phenomenon; women have been controlling their fertility by seeking abortions for thousands of years. Recurrent attempts to ban abortion have never been successful and have always had devastating consequences for women and families. This is essential reading for health-care providers, policy makers, and all who care about the lives and well-being of pregnant and potentially pregnant people.” —Kathleen Crowther, author of Policing Pregnant Bodies

“In this innovative new history of abortion, Fissell eloquently, brilliantly, and poignantly relates the experiences of individual women to convey the long histories of the complexity, sadness, and determination of women’s efforts to control their fertility. Their stories provide a reality check about the universality and persistence of women’s needs to end pregnancy, no matter what level of repression or discipline, but it also offers an essential note of hope—waves of repression have always been followed by phases of toleration.” —Julie Hardwick, author of Sex in an Old Regime City

“Pushback is the definitive history of abortion in the West. Fissell centers the experience of women as seekers and providers of abortion, demonstrating that, for all of the recent controversy about the practice, abortion has also enjoyed centuries-long periods of acceptance by the powerful. Accessible and absorbing, Pushback gives us hope for the future!” —Nicholas L. Syrett, author of The Trials of Madame Restell

“Elegantly written and bursting with insight, this is a must-read.” —Publishers Weekly