Historical fiction isn’t usually a genre I gravitate toward, but somehow Counting Backwards pulled me in. The topics of immigration, motherhood, and reproductive rights are ones I'm incredibly passionate about, so this book really resonated with me. Listening to the audiobook, which alternates between two points of view, was an immersive experience. The use of two different narrators made it easy to differentiate between the past and present, allowing me to deeply engage with both the storyline and the contrasting struggles of the characters. Carrie Buck's story and the other in 2022 with Jessa Gidney's, felt like a powerful reflection of how much (and how little) has changed when it comes to issues of reproductive rights, immigration, and women’s autonomy.

This book truly opened my eyes to the connections between the past and present, and it raised important questions about where we are headed as a society. It was an eye-opening read that I didn't expect to have such a lasting emotional impact. Even though I’m not typically drawn to historical fiction, Counting Backwards changed that, and I’d highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about these ongoing conversations.

Thank you Harper Muse Audiobooks & Netgalley.

BOOK REVIEW

COUNTING BACKWARDS by Jacqueline Friedland
5 stars

Thank you @getredpr and AUTHOR for the free copy of this book! And to Harper Muse Audiobooks for the audio!

SYNOPSIS: “Inspired by true events revealing America's troubling past involving Pre-War eugenics practices, this emotionally riveting dual timeline novel brings together the lives of two inspiring women while exploring the timely and important themes of immigration, fertility, and motherhood. A revelatory tale of heartbreak and hope, it is an unputdownable story that will stay with readers long after the final page.”

REVIEW: Counting Backwards follows Jessa, a driven corporate lawyer who’s got her whole life planned out—make partner at her firm and finally get pregnant. But when she volunteers to take on a pro bono case at an immigrant detention center, everything she thought she knew about motherhood and control starts to shift. What starts as another box to tick off her life plan quickly turns into a personal awakening, especially as she uncovers disturbing truths about what’s happening inside those walls.

The story flips back and forth between Jessa’s present-day experience and the fictionalized real life of Carrie Buck, a young woman in the 1920s who’s forced into a foster home and later becomes the face of a horrifying real-life eugenics case. Carrie’s heartbreaking journey shows how people in power used junk science and prejudice to justify taking away women’s rights. The connection between her story and Jessa’s case is chilling, especially when you realize how some of these same issues are still happening today.

I was lucky enough to get a complimentary audiobook of this one as well, and it was so well done. Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania did a beautiful job with this dual POV narration.

This book doesn't shy away from tough topics, and it is so very timely. It dives deep into women’s reproductive rights, classism, racism, and how those things have been tangled up for way too long. I didn’t always feel totally connected to Jessa, but the story as a whole really pulled me in. It's one of those books that stays with you after you turn the last page, and the author’s note at the end adds even more depth to everything you’ve just read.

A MUST READ.

Publisher: Harper Muse
Pub date: OUT NOW!

First of all, I'm obsessed with this book's cover. And I really enjoyed the story and feel like it's SO important for the current time period we're in. I do think the book was a tad overhyped for me and it didn't totally live up to all the raves, but I still enjoyed it, am very happy I read it, and will definitely encourage everyone to pick it up!

Counting Backwards features a 32-year-old female protagonist whose parents died when she was a child. Now married, Jessa is desperate to get pregnant with her husband Vance, so she can finally feel secure in having a family of her own. She feels it's taking her too long to get pregnant (despite the fact that it's only been a few months and she has had one miscarriage, which while terrible, is quite common and doesn't generally mean anything in regards to a woman's fertility) and though Vance really wants a baby, too, he doesn't understand why Jessa is so desperate for one. He thinks she should stop working her high-powered lawyer job and relax. But when Jessa starts working on a pro bono case regarding an imprisoned immigrant and she learns about medical malpractice happening to many immigrant women, stopping her work is the last thing she wants to do.

Interspersed with Jessa's narrative, we get the real life (though fictionalized) story of Carrie Buck who was the first person involuntarily sterilized under Virginia's eugenics laws in the 1920s. At first, I was confused as to how the two stories would come together, but as the book went on, it started to make more sense. And then when I read the author's note is was all super clear. Carrie's story is so sad and I had no idea about her until Counting Backwards.

I think Jessa annoyed me a bit in how focused she was on having a baby and I definitely understand why Vance felt like she wanted a baby more than she wanted him. But I also hated the way Vance treated Jessa for much of the book. They just didn't seem like an actual real couple and this is the main thing that took away from my enjoyment of the book.

That said, I really did enjoy the novel and it truly opened my eyes and encouraged me to do more research into many of the topics, especially eugenics. Given that the topic of immigration is very much in the news right now, Counting Backwards feels really relevant. I think the content of the book is so important- even though the book is fiction and historical fiction, these things are really happening as we speak. And I think most people have no clue. Fiction can often be one of the best ways to educated people and I highly recommend that everyone read this book!

4 stars

Counting backwards is a dual timeline story of Jessa, a lawyer in 2022 and Carrie Buck, a woman who lived in the 1920s and ended up being the test plaintiff in a lawsuit about involuntarily sterilizing women who the state decides should not reproduce.

Jessa is at a crossroads in her life, she's trying to get pregnant and it's time for her to make partner, when she takes on a pro-bono client who is an immigrant detained illegally. She learns that her client has received a hysterectomy without her consent and starts researching the practice more broadly. Over the course of the novel we see the impact that this case has on her life and watch her priorities change and develop.

Carrie's story in the novel begins with her being taken from her mother as a 5-year-old and placed with a foster family who forces her to be a kind of indentured servant. Her story continues and we see her become the test case for the trial.

Their stories intersect in an interesting way and leave room for reflection on what is and isn't different today. I did find the plot to be quite predictable, which is why I'm not rating it higher, but the book was engaging and makes an important point.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was very effective. The voices and accents for the two characters were very distinct so I always was very clear who was talking.

TW: Fertility, racism, pregnancy loss, holocaust references

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks for an advance listening copy.

Incredible listen! This fiction story about two women both with their own struggles with having children has you feeling like it could be non-fiction. The events that occur in history are starting to happen again especially with women’s rights. We seem to be going backwards and this novel captures it so well and pulls on your heart strings. I love how the author focuses more on the women in this story than love lives. Making them the main focus and really getting their stories across. Absolutely love this book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. Between the writing style & the storyline I just didn’t vibe with the book.

A powerful story told through dual timelines — compelling, intense, and emotionally gripping.
Inspired by true events, it’s even more shocking and thought-provoking.
An unforgettable, heartbreaking rollercoaster that keeps you hooked from the first page.
This is exactly the kind of book I love — one that lingers long after the final chapter.

This might be one of my favorite historical fiction reads this year. What makes this story even more chilling is that Carrie Buck—the woman whose story is interwoven into the novel—is based on a real person at the center of a Supreme Court case that still stands.

Counting Backwards follows Jessa, a lawyer grappling with her fertility struggles while juggling a high-stakes pro bono immigration case. When she uncovers medical abuse at a detention facility, her journey takes an even more personal turn as she confronts a buried family secret that ties her to America’s dark history with eugenics.

I enjoyed Jessa’s evolution. Watching her confront hard truths—about the broken systems her great-grandfather had a hand in creating, but about her marriage, career, and identity—and having to redefine what those things mean for her felt so authentic.

This book also further proves that men with podcasts = red flag

Thanks to Harper Muse Audio for the advance listen!

Counting Backwards is a gripping, emotional novel that links a present-day legal battle at an ICE detention center to the true story of Carrie Buck, a young woman at the heart of a historic eugenics case. Through dual timelines, it explores reproductive rights, justice, and the lasting impact of systemic abuse. Powerful and thought-provoking, it’s a story that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you Harper Muse and NetGalley for the ALC. Rating 4.5

Wow. This book hit me hard. As someone who has struggled with pregnancy loss 7 times in the past 5 years, I was apprehensive when I got through the first few chapters. Now, wow. I do wish there was more of Carrie’s story and maybe a final report on the case but overall I really felt connected and it forced me to really educate myself

“Counting Backwards” by Jacqueline Friedman is a powerful novel centered around the dark history of eugenics in the United States, specifically the landmark Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell. I went into this book unaware that it was based on a real case, which made the story all the more impactful.
The narrative explores the brutal reality of compulsory sterilization of women, touching on other weighty themes like immigration and the flaws within the U.S. criminal justice system. The story unfolds in a dual timeline: one following Carrie Buck in 1927, based on true events, and the other set in present day with a fictional character.
While both timelines aim to complement one another, I found the historical storyline far more compelling. Carrie’s story carries immense emotional and historical weight, and I often found myself deeply invested in her chapters. When the modern-day perspective took over, the story partially lost me. The present-day storyline, in comparison, didn’t resonate as strongly and occasionally disrupted the momentum.
In my opinion, the book would have been more powerful if it had focused solely on Carrie’s narrative. I would’ve loved to see the author develop that thread further, as it holds so much significance and deserves a deeper exploration.
Lastly, a quick note on the cover: the pomegranate is a striking symbol, most notably associated with fertility. It’s a subtle but meaningful touch that ties into the book’s core themes beautifully. Brilliant touch.
Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks and NetGalley for a copy of this ALC in exchange for an honest review.
“Counting Backwards” published on March 11/ 25

3.75-4?

TLDR: it’s good, I enjoyed it; it covers important and pertinent stories. I would recommend but there’s plenty of areas that need improvement.

I’m having a little bit of trouble rating this because I did enjoy the storyline and I think it discussed some very important information about our troubled history and our present in this country, but it does have plenty of room for growth.

1. This didn’t necessarily feel like a white savior narrative, but because so much of this was about immigrant women, brown bodies who were being subjugated and abused by our country, I think there needed to be more brown characters at the center of this. Friedland did make it known that these women were being taken advantage of and a lot of it was because they were BIPOC but I think a better way to go about this would have been to have more brown characters at the center of this. Maybe the FMC would have sought out help from other Latine women, maybe brought on another Latine lawyer and they could have teamed up and girl-bossed it together. This is a brown issue and I think a better way to go about it would have been to give a brown person or more brown people power to save themselves.

2. I did not care for the FMC. She was very whiny and she felt too sorry for herself. She was freaking out about fertility and not being able to conceive when she was only trying for a handful of months. (I think like four?) She was so obsessive about bearing children and being a mother, I could not stand her. Her husband was an absolute prick, but I couldn’t even be mad at him sometimes because she was so annoying.

3. The whole emphasis on motherhood, conception, and biological children was a little too heavy. As someone who is adopted, this was weird for me to read. She was so obsessed with having her <b>own biological</b> children, it was offensive when her husband would bring up adoption as an alternative. Simply because she wanted to have a part of her parents who passed away? I don’t know, but it was weird and I didn’t appreciate it.

4. Going off the motherhood thing, it seemed that the main reason she was appalled by the medical mistreatment and abuse that these women were facing was because they couldn’t bear children. While, yes, this is a big deal, I think she should be more concerned with the fact that people are abusing women’s bodies, more importantly, they are abusing women who cannot defend themselves. Instead of simply being upset about the human rights violations, she was upset about these women not being mommies. That felt so yucky, also one of the reasons she was annoying me so much and I couldn’t stand her.

Powerful, emotional, and timely, this dual-timeline story takes on important women’s social issues.

Jacqueline Friedland is a writer that I can depend on to write about tough topics with grace and compassion, yet not back down from the facts. Once again, she seamlessly wove the past and the present together over the disturbing issue of forced sterilization of women.

It explores the dark history of eugenics, which involved sterilization aimed at eliminating certain individuals from the population. This concept is connected to the present as a young lawyer uncovers the cruel medical treatments to which some women detained in immigration centers are subjected, either forcibly or unknowingly.

Friedland conveys a sense of immediacy and intimacy. This transcends politics; it concerns right versus wrong, touching on our very humanity. These are individuals, treated like experiments and made disposable - you can’t help but feel angry, sad, and heartbroken.


🎧 I was grateful to have the audiobook, narrated by Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania when I didn’t want to set the book down but needed to get to my chores.

Thank you @harpermusebooks for the gifted book and the audiobook via #NetGalley.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper for this ARC!

I was interested in this story due to a review I read that referenced similarities to Take My Hand. Unfortunately this story missed the mark for me.

I imagine the author decided to include Jessa’s desperation for a child to make her more likely to sympathize with the ICE detainees. However, clearly Jessa needed therapy to address her trauma surrounding her parents’ deaths, which having a child certainly would not solve.

Being an attorney myself it felt unlikely that Jessa would not previously have learned about the Buck v. Bell case, so that did not ring true to me.

Finally, the familial connections explored in the book between the protagonists and historical figures felt somewhat farcical and took away from the story.

I really enjoyed the book and the audio. The characters, especially Carrie, were great to listen to. I read at 1. 5/1.75 speed. I listened to this as I read the book and the audio book helped the character feel more realistic as if I was listening to their story coming from them. Especially Carrie's pov.

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is a great novel that centers around some topics such as: reproductive rights, immigrants, and strong women. These are all things that I am passionate about, so this book was of great interest to me. I enjoyed the dual timelines and well developed characters. One of the timelines was based on a true part of history and that is always compelling.

Synopsis:
New York, 2022. Jessa Gidney is trying to have it all—a high-powered legal career, a meaningful marriage, and hopefully, one day, a child. But when her professional ambitions come up short and Jessa finds herself at a turning point, she leans into her family's history of activism by taking on pro bono work at a nearby ICE detention center. There she meets Isobel Pérez—a young mother fighting to stay with her daughter—but as she gets to know Isobel, an unsettling revelation about Isobel's health leads Jessa to uncover a horrifying pattern of medical malpractice within the detention facility. One that shockingly has ties to her own family.

Virginia, 1927. Carrie Buck is an ordinary young woman in the center of an extraordinary legal battle at the forefront of the American eugenics conversation. From a poor family, she was only six years old when she first became a ward of the state. Uneducated and without any support, she spends her youth dreaming about a different future—one separate from her exploitative foster family—unknowing of the ripples her small, country life will have on an entire nation.

As Jessa works to assemble a case against the prison and the crimes she believes are being committed there, she discovers the landmark Supreme Court case involving Carrie Buck. Her connection to the case, however, is deeper and much more personal than she ever knew—sending her down new paths that will leave her forever changed and determined to fight for these women, no matter the cost.

Alternating between the past and present, and deftly tackling timely-yet-timeless issues such as reproductive rights, incarceration, and society's expectations of women and mothers, Counting Backwards is a compelling reminder that progress is rarely a straight line and always hard-won. A moving story of two remarkable women that you'll remember for years to come.

The narrators of the audiobook were Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania. They both did a fabulous job of portraying the two main characters, Jessa and Carrie Buck. Good narrators always elevate a book for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced digital copy of the book.

(4.75 stars)
Counting Backwards was an excellent and gripping dual timeline book. Which is saying a lot since I didn’t really like the main female character, Jessa, at least not at first. She is a young NYC lawyer (31?) who is desperate to become pregnant. Although she had already gotten pregnant once and, unfortunately, miscarried, she somehow thinks that she and her husband have fertility problems, after trying again to get pregnant for only some months. That put me off right away. But throughout the book, her character grows and changes and I began to like and admire her by the end. On the other hand, I liked her husband, Vance, more at the beginning of the book but by the end, I could not stand him!

Jessa and Vance’s story alternates with a story from the 1920s, featuring Carrie Buck, who was one of many young women who were sterilized against their will, during that era’s obsession with eugenics. I don’t want to give away much, but do not miss the author’s note at the end of the book, for more information on this historic case, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The two stories intersect in some interesting ways. After being passed over for partner, Jessa is asked to take on a “pro bono” case of a woman in an ICE detention center in New Jersey who feels she has been wrongly detained. Jessa goes to the center and becomes involved with investigating medical wrongdoing against many of the women incarcerated there.

This book highlights the current issues surrounding women’s reproductive health and health care choices, and how classism, racism, and even xenophobia contribute to this issue. The discussions about eugenics highlight how the N*zis grabbed onto this concept. Jessa isn’t Jewish but her husband is, and is the descendent of Holocaust survivors, and this aspect becomes another sore subject between the two of them.

The audiobook was beautifully narrated by two different women narrators, Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania.

Thank you to HarperMuse and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this, and I think it has a really powerful and timely message, but I found it a little too predictable and was often very frustrated by some of the characters. I was happy many of them showed growth by the end of the book, but it happened more slowly than I’d have liked!

t is deeply troubling to know that the events in this story are inspired by true cases of gross abuse and injustice fueled by corporate and governmental corruption. Friedland does a beautiful job bringing to life the minds and hearts of the women in this story; their struggles and fears are unimaginable. This story, its characters, and its relevance to trending political hot topics, make for a truly engrossing read.

This audiobook was incredible, and the narrators fit each character well. The story itself hit so deep, and I feel absolutely enraged for the loss of power that so many women have and continue to experience. History finds a way to repeat itself in the worst ways, and a lot of the commentary on forced sterilization cases and the nature of their development is so relevant against today’s faulty healthcare and justice systems. Overall an excellent book and one I'll be thinking about for a long time.