I think this book will be overlooked when it's first released, and that will be a shame because it was a fabulous read. The plot is relevant to today's political climate, and the dual timeline was well done. I became obsessed with both women's storylines. I will recommend this to many readers who love historical fiction and moving stories. Readers who love strong female leads and a close exploration of history (especially forgotten history) should be reading this one.

Jessa's a lawyer, seemingly happily married, and also trying to get pregnant. Her work life is challenging, but she takes on a pro bono immigration case and it proves to be life changing. We also meet Carrie, living a sad life 100 years earlier as an unpaid laborer under the supposed protection of a foster family.
Counting Backwards tackles the very timely subjects of immigration detention and deportation, along with womens' rights, fertility and motherhood. It's based on the real life case of Carrie Buck and also, shockingly, on a similar situation that occurred more recently in Georgia.
At times, important content made the book very difficult to read. Jessa wasn't always the most likable character, and I seemed to have a personal dislike of her husband's name. The book reflects Ms. Friendland's law background and is well researched. Overall, Counting Backwards was a compelling and interesting book, and make sure to read the authors note at the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Muse for the opportunity to read Counting Backwards. I received a complimentary copy of the book and opinions expressed are completely my own.

The stories told in this book are absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating. This book is about injustice and forgiveness; regret and vindication. And I found myself unable to put it down until the very last page.

THOUGHTS 💭
⚖️ This book switches between present day (Jessa’s story) and the past (Carrie’s story). There’s a bit of mystery to this book as we try to sort out how these stories connect.
⚖️ The author does an amazing job with these characters’ backstories. Every chapter, whether focusing on the present or the past, presents characters with real-life issues (marriage in crisis, assault, midlife crisis, fertility issues, etc). I HAD to know what happened next for them.
⚖️ This book took a subject in the news and humanized it. I learned so much about forced sterilization that I didn’t know much before this read; thanks to the author for this book and the additional resources listed at the end!
⚖️ I loved watching our FMC Jessa come into her own and figure out what she needed to live a happy, fulfilling life.
⚖️ I finished this book feeling horrified, yet empowered. When will we stop allowing men to make laws governing a woman’s body? What a perfect read for women’s history month!

I’m so grateful to Jackie Friedland, Harper Muse Books, and Austenprose PR for the ARC of this book!

I liked the first half way more than the second half, I felt that the latter really dragged on. I enjoyed the connection between a historical case and a present day storyline. Thank you, NetGalley.

Thanks to Uplit Reads, NetGalley, and Harper Muse for access to digital ebook and audio versions of Counting Backwards. This book was a fantastic surprise. I truly enjoyed it, and I had trouble setting it down. I started reading it while doing a mini-brewery crawl in Providence, RI, last weekend. I switched and finished via audiobook while cooking dinner after I got home, and the narration was very well done. I wholeheartedly recommend both versions, as this is a top read so far in 2025! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This cover is stunning! Considering a lush pomegranate like this represents fertility, it’s extremely apropos for this book.
I didn’t anticipate my reaction to finishing Counting Backwards - I sat and cried for a solid 5 minutes thinking about what I had just read. The facts on which this novel was based truly upset me, as they had when the author learned them as a teenager. And that something similar could still be happening in the 21st century is just horrifying! I’m being purposefully vague, because I really want you to read this book. And if you have read it, let me know if you had a similar reaction!

Until reading this book, I had never heard of Carrie Buck or her case in the 1920s. I’m very well aware of the history of Eugenics and the practice of force sterilizing female populations in an attempt to weed out “bad genetics”. It’s been going on a long time and still prevails today. But I was unfamiliar with this specific case.

Counting Backwards is based on this story and juxta supposes this 1920s case with a 2022 case of investigating similar treatment of women in immigration detention centers. This was an emotional book for me and left me with more questions about these situations than I realized. The main character in the 2022 perspective is a lawyer who is early in her marriage and trying to have kids, but they’re having a hard time getting pregnant and it’s something she’s always stressing about.

Then this pro bono case comes to light and she takes it as an attempt to do more good with her work. But as she engages the client, which is a woman being held in an immigration detention center, the woman mentions that they did a semi-forced procedure on her where her uterus needed to be removed. After some more prodding, she quickly finds out that many of the women, past and present, at this facility have undergone similar circumstances.

Comparing the present timeline with looks back at 1922 and 1924 where Carrie Buck was a poor, uneducated young woman, forced to provide physical labor as a “foster child” in someone’s home, she is taken advantage of and finds herself pregnant. Not sure what to do, she hides it as long as she can and when her “guardians” realize it, they send her off to a colony for dim-witted and feeble minded individuals. This is where the atrocities take place and a new eugenics law in Virginia provides the backdrop for mass sterilizing young woman in the poorer communities who they deem as unfit to pass on their genetics.

It’s a tumultuous and emotional journey through both of these cases. I really appreciated the care and love that Friedland poured into this story to bring this one to fruition because it’s worth the time to read and understand these dynamics. Every character is complex with their own set of challenges, but they are all respectfully presented as individuals. Carrie’s perspective was heart breaking as all of these things continue to happen to her and she’s really unaware of her abilities to push back and not let them do this to her. Even if it would have been futile at that time, every woman should understand that they cannot be taken advantage of like this.

An information and evocative read, it’s one to educate the masses and foster a reminder of that flame in all of us. We are not without our voices.

What's a book that you think has a stunning cover design? I love the pomegranate on the cover of this novel, and it works so well with the theme of the novel.

Jessa Gidney is a Manhattan lawyer and has recently been passed over for partner. She miscarried a year before and has been having problems getting pregnant again which has been causing friction with her husband, Vance. When she meets Isobel Perez as part of her firm’s pro bono work, she realizes that there is much more to the case than just a deportation order. Why are the women at the deportation center being sterilized?

In 1920s Virginia, Carrie Buch has lived a hard life. She was separated from her mother and raised by a foster family who just wanted free labor. After she is raped, the system continues to let her down. What is her connection to Jessa?

My thoughts on this novel:

• This novel had a rough start with a couple arguing about fertility as they try to get pregnant, Luckily, the story picked up after that and became a compelling story that I couldn’t put down.

• The look into our countries history with eugenics was both horrifying and thought provoking. It’s important and timely now as unfortunately these types of cases persist. Who gets to decide whether a woman is allowed to bear children?

• This is a dual timeline novel which spends equal time with Jessa and Carrie. They are both interesting characters.

• The author is a lawyer which gives the novel an authentic feel.

• There is a great list of additional reading at the end of the novel.

• There is also a fascinating author’s note on how the author first read about the real-life Carrie Buck and her case while she was a high school senior. I am horrified on how Carrie Buck was treated.

Overall, Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is a compelling dual narrative novel that examines a dark time in our country’s history that also is seeping into current events surrounding women’s rights and immigration.

Jackie Friedland was inspired to write 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 by the 1927 Supreme Court case of Buck vs. Bell, a landmark decision that upheld a Virginia statute permitting the compulsory and involuntary sterilization of people deemed mentally defective or otherwise unfit to have children. Through dual POVs and timelines, she tells the stories of Carrie Buck, the petitioner in the case in the 1920s, and Jessa Gidney, a lawyer in New York whose client is a victim of similar medical malpractice at a women's ICE facility in the 2020s.

I had never heard of Carrie Buck or her case before but it's impossible to not be moved by her experience and those of the women Jessa meets who've suffer the same abuse nearly a century later. This excerpt from Friedland's author's note summed up my feelings about reading their stories in light of current events: "𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬."

It's more important than ever to understand our history, and this book shined a light on a dark chapter I can only hope we don't repeat.

Thanks to Harper Muse Books & Get Red PR for the copy to review.

*Counting Backwards* is a powerful dual-timeline novel that intertwines the present-day struggles of an ambitious lawyer with the harrowing true story of Carrie Buck in the 1920s. With seamless storytelling and deeply emotional themes, Friedland delivers an unforgettable and timely narrative about justice, resilience, and the lasting impact of history.

This is narrated in dual timelines, Jessa in present day and Carrie 1927 Virginia. Jessa is an attorney and she has taken on an immigration case. She soon discovers quite a bit of horrifying medical malpractice at the detainee center. And her grandmother leads her to a Supreme Court case about Carrie Buck. Carrie was sterilized as a young woman because she was poor and uneducated.

I loved the way the author wove these two stories together. Jessa is struggling to get pregnant. So when she discovers the medical malpractice issues at the detainee center, she takes it to heart and she tackles it head on. But when she finds out about what her grandfather did in the Carrie case (you need to read this to find out!) it becomes very personal.

This is an emotional tale everyone needs to read! It is tragic and compelling. And the issues are ever present today!

The narrators, Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania are fantastic. They handled this with great poise and ease!

Need a moving story of strong women…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel for a honest review.

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is a compelling and thought-provoking novel that tackles a very real and urgent issue—forced sterilization in ICE detention centers. The story expertly blends a present-day investigation into medical abuse at one of these facilities, an historic eugenics case and the personal struggles of the protagonist who is desperate to become a mother. Friedland masterfully weaves these plotlines, creating an emotionally charged narrative that highlights the atrocities of systemic violence while exploring the deeply personal journey of motherhood.

The novel is a valuable learning tool, shedding light on the history and ongoing impact of forced sterilization, but at times it feels a little too on the nose. Some moments, particularly in the portrayal of characters' motivations, could have benefitted from more subtlety. And while the story is rich in emotion and social commentary, one character may just earn a spot as the "worst literary husband" of the year! Despite this, Counting Backwards remains a powerful and impactful read, making it an important contribution to literature on social justice and the rights of women.

🚼 🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 🚼

|| 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 by Jacqueline Friedland ||
Pub Day: March 11, 2025

It's no coincidence that I read this book during Women's History Month, as it heightened my awareness of how patriarchy and white supremacy disenfranchise minorities, women of color, and immigrants. 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 provides a stark view of the consequences when women are ensnared by these oppressive systems. This novel is not merely about two women across dual timelines; it powerfully illustrates how both protagonists, Jessa and Carrie, are connected to similar horrors of medical malpractice, unethical sterilizations, and profound loss, whether in 1927 or 2022. If you can read either character's story and remain unmoved, then your sensitivity meter is malfunctioning. Friedland's narrative compels you to finish quickly, research the real Supreme Court plaintiff, and find ways to protect women. You cannot read these stories without feeling deep pain, rage, and sadness for the victims.

Friedland exposes the grim legacy of eugenics and demonstrates how these oppressive principles persist in modern society, where immigrant women are deprived of their rights and their paths to motherhood in ICE detention centers. These women are denied dignity and respect due to their lack of citizenship, their status as women of color, and their absence of insurance. They are subjected to the whims of a flawed government and the pervasive influence of white supremacy, leaving them vulnerable and marginalized. This stark reality underscores the urgent need for systemic change to protect and uphold the rights of all women, regardless of their background.

In the context of anesthesia, counting backwards is meant to ease patients' anxiety. However, in this novel, it symbolizes the denial of women's rights to bodily autonomy. Moving forward, we must strive for a society where all women, regardless of their circumstances, can count on medical professionals and the government to protect them fully.

𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 is a novel that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the last page. I rely on these stories and experiences to inspire change in our world. These narratives, no matter how triggering or traumatic, must be shared to ensure that no other woman suffers the same fate. Together, we can move forward and make a difference.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks @getredprbooks, author @jackiefriedland, and publisher @harpermusebooks for the gifted copy.

🏷 #CountingBackwards #JacquelineFriedland #historicalfiction #LegalThriller #WomensRights #WomensHistoryMonth #bookreview #Bookish #Bookstagrammer #BookLover #wellreadblackgirl

This is a timely, difficult, and fascinating read. We have two timelines here, both exploring horrifying abuses by the U.S. In 2019, we follow Jessa, a corporate lawyer who takes on a pro bono immigration case and subsequently discovers that doctors in an ICE facility are performing nonconsensual sterilizing surgeries on female detainees, including hysterectomies and removals of ovaries. In the 1920s, we follow Carrie Buck, the subject of a truly heinous Supreme Court case condoning the sterilization of "feeble-minded" people in the name of eugenics.
 
I waffled between giving this book three and four stars, but landed on four stars in the end because I couldn't stop reading and found much of this compelling. There are definitely not enough accessible books about our country's long history of performing nonconsensual medical "experiments" on marginalized populations and surgeries in the name of "purifying" America's bloodlines, and in a time when reproductive justice issues are at the forefront, it's important to know the breadth of oppressions that exist. Friedland does a great job tracing how Carrie ended up being eugenicists' test case for sterilization in the courts, and I appreciated that Carrie wasn't pathologized or condescended to by the narrative. Jessa's storyline gives the reader insight into how draconian and confusing immigration law is, how government agencies operate with impunity in the name of "national security" and against marginalized populations, and how media makes all the difference when trying to make change. The story moves fast, and the writing for the most part is not too ham-handed.

Now for the parts of this book that for me skewed this book closer to three stars. The white saviorism definitely grated on me (a letter Jessa receives singing her praises feels especially icky), and it was frustrating that we got very little insight into the actual people affected by ICE's horrors. Why couldn't one of them have been a main character? Jessa's relationship with Vance is one of the weakest parts of the book - he is just not an interesting character, their marriage makes zero sense, and they both are selfish and bullheaded (although Vance at times is almost cartoonishly evil) - and Jessa having fertility issues was a bit on the nose. It was nice to have Carrie's perspective, but that often felt secondary, especially when the book shoehorns in Jessa's connection to Carrie. Ultimately, there are times where this book just really reads like it was written by a privileged white woman - which is not necessarily a criticism since I too am a privileged white woman lol - but given how the issues discussed in this book involve complex racial and class dynamics, sometimes things felt a bit too trite and self-aggrandizing. It's also wild how long it takes Jessa to enlist other lawyers to help her with the case, and her stubbornness about having to be involved in the case really shows her own self-centeredness and need to be a hero. But I'd still recommend this book because you really do learn a lot and it's fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"Counting Backwards" is a well-researched historical fiction novel with alternating POV. One is Jessa, an attorney in modern times. One is Carrie Buck, a historical figure who had her human rights stripped. This was a captivating story, though the fictional characters were not particularly likeable or relatable. The irony of the main character's absolute entitlement throughout her life and pregnancy was a strange characteristic given that she was to be the "hero" for the women whose reproductive rights were stripped.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Yesterday, Jacqueline Friedland released her new novel, Counting Backwards. Divided between the 1910s/1920s and today, it uncovers a horrific story about eugenics, forced sterilizations, and women who have little power over their reproductive health and personal lives. It’s inspired by the true cases of Carrie Buck in 1924 and what’s continued to go on even today in immigration detention centers. These very real issues are brought to the forefront in this powerful and timely novel.

Why I Chose This Book:
When I read the description of Counting Backwards, I knew I had to read this grim but vital novel. I first heard about forced sterilizations in a movie a few years ago and was curious to learn more about this awful practice. I also was drawn to the story of Jessa’s fertility and longing for a child, as well as a spotlight on immigrants.

What I Liked:
- Eye-opening account of forced sterilizations and eugenics. This book puts focus on the horrors of our past… but also of ongoing atrocities committed against woman, especially women of color and women who are immigrants. This will fuel your righteous outrage.
- Discussions around fertility and family. I went through a year-long fertility journey myself, and much of what Jessa is going through here rang true for me.
- Women’s career ambitions versus family goals. Why are women so often pushed to choose between the two, or seen as less than when they try to have both?
- Dual timeline between 1910s and 1920s Virginia versus 2022 New York.
- Inspiration from real life. I didn’t realize until after I’d finished the book that Carrie Buck was a real woman. I appreciated getting to see her story brought to life.

Final Thoughts
Counting Backwards is an excellent novel that shines a revealing light on the evils committed against women for the past century. It’s horrific to see eugenics in practice, harming tens of thousands of women. I loved following Carrie and Jessa’s stories, and despite how dark this goes, it offers some hope for change if more people stand up for each other. Jacqueline Friedland is an author I’m eager to read more from soon.

An incredibly moving dual timeline story about infertility, forced sterilization and the continued fight for women's bodily autonomy that follows lawyer, Jessa Gidney as she takes on a pro bono immigration case only to find herself up against a conspiracy of forced eugenics for profit and also grapples with her crumbling marriage, attempts to get pregnant and learning about a dark family secret.

Based on real events, this book is shockingly relevant, highly emotional and a great example of women's courage to stand up against injustice. Perfect for fans of books like Only the beautiful by Susan Meissner and Take my hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez or the Erin Brockovich case. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy and Uplit Reads for a gifted physical copy. This will definitely be a favorite read of mine in 2025!

CW: miscarriage, infertility, forced sterilization

I just finished reading this powerful novel and I’m still processing its impact. The story follows Jessa, a dedicated lawyer who takes on a case involving a woman in ICE custody. What begins as a straightforward legal fight quickly transforms into a deeply personal journey. As Jessa digs into the case, she unearths a long-buried family secret that ties her own past to a darker chapter of American history. The story is inspired by the real-life tragedy of Carrie Buck, a woman forced into sterilization under cruel and outdated ideas. The chapters from Carrie's point of view reminded me so much of the character Sethe from Beloved by Toni Morrison. They were so painful to read.
The characters are real and relatable, and the tension steadily builds, keeping me hooked until the very end. It’s a book that challenges you to reflect on how history shapes our present and our future. If you’re into stories that challenge the past and make you question the present, this one’s definitely worth a read.



Thank you to @netgalley and @harpermusebooks for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Finished this one right before the publication date, and am reviewing voluntarily. I liked this book - Specifically, I liked the choice to draw from two time periods about 100 years apart with distinct and topical social justice focuses. What I feared when I read this back cover was that Counting Backwards was going to attempt to say too much about multiple different social issues at once not giving enough credence to any. However, Friedland is successful in driving a central point home about the universal right of medical autonomy through the plot of the book and its integration of timely related topics - women’s rights, racial discrimination and deportation. In doing my own research now on the real life stories that inspired this book, I have a greater appreciation for what Friedland has accomplished in the novel. The book is fast-paced and emotionally powerful. It reignited my dormant feelings of passionate frustration about oppressive systems and ideologies and their ever present echoes in today’s world. More than ever we need books that don’t shy away from addressing the elephant in the room, that make us feel angry to the point of action so that we continue to put up a fight for what’s right. Thankful for Friedland for that reminder.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the eARC.

This book deals with such heartbreak but I really struggled to fully immerse myself because our FMC drove me a bit bonkers. Really loved the dual timelines.

El libro se basa en la historia de la esterilización involuntaria de mujeres en Estados Unidos. En algunos estados, esto ocurrió tan recientemente como en los años 70, y solo plantea preguntas sobre si aún podría hacerse hoy en día en instalaciones que albergan a mujeres migrantes. Esta preocupante historia sale a la luz cuando una abogada, Jessa, toma un caso pro bono para ayudar a una mujer en un centro de detención de ICE. Durante el curso de su trabajo en el caso, se enfrenta a la historia de su propia familia relacionada con Carrie Buck, una mujer que fue esterilizada involuntariamente en los años 30.

La narrativa gira en torno a la eugenesia y su impacto en el campo médico, tanto en la investigación como en el tratamiento, la mujer frente al hombre y la agresión subyacente que enfrentan las mujeres marginadas al acceder a la atención médica. En una época en la que los derechos reproductivos vuelven a ser un tema central en las conversaciones, el mensaje de la novela y su motivo lo envuelven todo en una historia conmovedora.

Aunque la trama y la narración son excelentes, los personajes no tienen el impacto que me hubiera gustado que tuvieran. Quizás esa sea la razón por la cual mi impresión personal de la novela estuvo más centrada en la historia que en un impacto emocional debido al presente. Es una lástima, dado lo excelente que es la narración.