Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is an emotionally gripping book. I was invested in Jessa's story, but not as much as I was with Carrie's. Towards the mid-end of the book, I started to not like it. Jessa's gran was out of touch, I still didn't have a single reason to like Vance, and Jessa was too woe is me, making her about face a couple chapters later too abrupt. This is why I deducted a star.

I was shocked and heartbroken by the author's note at the end of the book.

Amanda Stribling as Carrie and Carolyn Jania as Jessa were both good narrators.

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks for providing me with an ALC.

This is a great read for Women’s History Month. There are two timelines: 1920s Virginia and 2022 New York. This is fiction, but both timelines have elements of factual events which is quite unsettling.

The subject is forced sterilization in BOTH timelines.

Each timeline has its own point of view and let me tell you these women will leave a lasting impression.

The 1920s timeline has Carrie Buck who is in a prison of sorts for the mentally inferior.

The 2022 timeline has Jessa Gidney, a lawyer who is representing a woman being detained in an ICE facility.

Jessa finds more than she bargained for during her routine meeting. She also learns that she has family connection to what happened to Carrie Buck.

This book has both legal issues and family drama in the timelines. It would make an excellent book club read.

Inspired by the real-life case of Buck vs. Bell, this historical fiction novel explores eugenics and its devastating effects on reproductive rights. The story is heartbreaking, rage-inducing, and empowering. Did I cry? Yes, but I also felt proud of our (women’s) resilience!

The dual timeline structure is brilliantly executed. The historical timeline—focusing on Carrie Buck and the infamous Buck vs. Bell case—provides essential context for understanding the roots of eugenics in America. Meanwhile, the contemporary storyline offers disturbing yet timely insights into the harsh realities of ICE detention centers and the challenges faced by immigrants in today's system. I enjoyed both timelines equally, as each added depth to the book, making it a page-turner!

Counting Backwards is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the intersection of history, reproductive rights, and social justice. As the book blurb states, “Counting Backwards is a compelling reminder that progress is rarely a straight line and always hard-won.” It’s a deeply moving read that will stay with me for a long time, and it is my favorite book for March!

Other highlights: motherhood, infertility, powerful and emotional character arcs, and well-researched narrative

Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for this ALC!
Wow, wow, wow. I don't even know if I have the words, vernacular, etc. to convey how I felt about this story. There is something truly captivating, saddening and maddening about the plot of the story... May it be that I'm a woman, or that I'm empathetic and angry for what women have gone through? I'm not sure but Ms. Jacqueline Friedland really hit the nail on the head in regards to the palpable feeling of being a woman - it is truly unfortunate that the same base narrative regarding autonomy is still prevalent today.

VIBE: Erin Brockovich but for eugenics, immigration and a woman's fight for autonomy in dual/paralleled timelines over 100 years; and attacks on marginalized communities. Very fitting for our current timeline.

"Years later, when I learned the word 'obliterated', I thought back to that moment with Clarence. That's what he had done to me then, I had felt obliterated... I wish I had fought harder, but I can't go back."

Setting: Parallel timelines over nearly a century; Jessa in current times New York and Carrie in 1927 Virginia. While Jessa is struggling to get pregnant and investigating and fighting a coerced sterilization case in an immigrant detention facility; Carrie is forcefully sterilized against her will after being designated as "feebleminded" and left in a home. (If you're unaware, this was a legitimate law passed and is still 'there' to this day.) The two timelines explore how both of these women navigate their turmoil, and how their stories ultimately intertwine.

"But I knew, too well, that life was a finite gift, I didn't have patience for people who don't try to make the most out of the time they are given."

The gist?
Here we were in 2022, and women were being sterilized against their will.
IMMIGRANTS! BEING STERILIZED! AGAINST THEIR WILL! IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS!??
Does this sound familiar?
I mean... flowers are due to Jacqueline Friedland for this one. Like I stated before, not only is this on par for current events, but the amount of research and empathy to the story done at the end of the day is shown throughout this whole story. The creation of fictional storyline or Carrie Buck, alone, is a feat in itself. It may not be true to Carrie's real life story--but many of us readers may find resonation in her story. Every emotion is palpable throughout the course, and you'll find yourself both angry and sad for her.

"I try not to let my mind wander away with all the what-ifs. Even so, one thought keeps creeping back up on me. If only I'd been born some years later, surely what happened to me would never happen to a young woman today."

Speaking of Jessa's story--the growth, lessons, and realizations this character goes through to become who she needs to be at the end of this story? It is beautiful. It takes a bit to get there, but every single part of this story is worth it, my god. I hate to say 'everything is a lesson...' but sometimes, there is a lesson in everything. Jessa grows through every. single. aspect. of her storyline, and leaves with a new perspective on herself, her job and her relationship thanks, in part, to Carrie Buck and the women she helps as a result.

"And you, my dear, need to work on remembering that loss is a part of life. And we can't live our entire existences focused so intently on everything that has been stolen from us. Sometimes, you need to concentrate less on what has been taken, and more on what you have to give instead."

I'm sure my words don't even do the story justice, to be quite honest. All I can say is read it, listen to it... Whatever you can do to experience this story. You won't regret it.

In this timely book, Jacqueline Friedland interweaves the stories of a contemporary lawyer, who in her private life is desperate to have a baby while professionally becoming engaged in a fight to protect undocumented immigrants who, while being held in detention, had been sterilized against their will, with that of a poor indentured child who, while still in her teens, also is sterilized against her will. The stories progress in fits and start and not all characters are well developed. At the end, one of the immigrants writes that she hopes that by the time her daughter reaches her age things will have changed. Regrettably, she will be disappointed. Jacqueline Friedland's Counting Backwards will appeal to readers looking for books that tackle current women's issues.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the ARC!

This was a devastatingly timely book about ICE and how easily people who've spent their whole lives in the U.S. are being ripped away from their families and deported to countries that they don't even know. It's also about eugenics, and the atrocities of thinking that one group of people has the right to decide for another whether their bloodline deserves to continue. This happened much longer than you'd think.

While this is a work of fiction, it is based on facts. It might be difficult to read about the things we've done as a country, but I believe Americans need to take a hard look in the mirror and remember we haven't always been the hero of the story.

I'm giving 3.5 stars, mainly because I didn't love the narrator for Jessa, and I felt like the storyline between her and Vance and her and Gram were both a bit unrealistic.

Counting Backwards hooked me from the beginning and I had no idea what the book was about. It’s excellent writing, relevant, historically based storyline and likable characters keep you engaged and processing what is happening around us that we may be unaware of. Loved this book. Thank you Harper Muse Audiobooks and NetGalley for the Audio ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

All I can say is just wow! 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 is one of those books that sinks its nails into your heart and just does not let go. From the very beginning, I could not help but find myself very attached to the main two characters and their at times heartbreaking journeys.

I was drawn into how the story has woven together the eugenics of the past and how it has continued until this day in the United States. But the story itself is so much more than that, since it takes on the truth behind the injustice surrounding women’s reproductive rights along with the strength and resiliency that women have had throughout history.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:

Dual POV
Reproductive Rights
Infertility
Immigration
Women’s Rights
A story that is so relevant in today’s world

I highly recommend this poignant story and it’s definitely going to be a favorite for this year!

Thank you Harper Muse for this gifted copy in exchange from my honest opinions.

Jessa was passed over for a promotion so she decided to take on a pro bono immigration case. While interviewing Isobel, she finds out that Isobel was given a hysterectomy without her consent. She discovers that this happens a lot in the facility. Nearly a century earlier Carrie Buck is in her foster home when she becomes pregnant, she is kicked out and sent to a State facility where doctors want to sterilize her in order to keep her from ever reproducing

This was a hard story to read, even more so once you get to the author’s note at the end and realize Carrie’s story was based on a true story. While Isobel was fictional, the author points out cases that were similar and not to long ago. I don’t think this book will be for everyone but I think it is an important book to read if you are able to read about heavy topics that are relevant to today.

4.5 stars*

This story may be triggering to women who have miscarried or cannot have children, but the commentary about how the USA continues to sterilize women of color against their will is necessary and timely. The book is well researched and I like Jess’ character development.
The plot twist in her family history was dramatic but in line with the story. I can tell the story was built around this twist rather than it being a simple afterthought.
Her relationship with her husband and their conflict was also realistic, though I did not like Vance, her husband, he was very believable. Just, very much a hypocrite at times. I was more invested in the story of the women in the prison than their relationship issues.

A “follow your heart” story that leads someone to help other women. We love to see it.

A compelling, powerful and emotionally-charged story that will leave you wanting more!

Why am I not seeing this book everywhere? Especially given how relevant it is to current times as we fight for women's reproductive rights.

Jessa is an attorney taking on a pro-bono client at an immigration detention center. She soon uncovers unlawful and barbaric medical practices against detainees at the facility. She is determined to seek justice for all the women who were mistreated and forced into sterilization without their consent. In an alternating timeline in the 1920's, Carrie Buck is a young girl forced into foster care. Subsequent horrifying events lead her to the forefront of a Eugenics case. Based on true events, COUNTING BACKWARDS tells the story of two women whose lives intersect almost a century apart, and the injustices that continue to place women's reproductive rights at risk.

This is one of those stories that will stay with you long after you've finished reading. With heavy topics such as infertility, eugenics, forced sterilization and deportation/immigration mistreatment, it's a heartbreaking yet eye-opening. The narrative weaves part fiction and part historical Supreme Court case into one cohesive and compelling plot. The audiobook dual narration is excellent; I finished in one day. I would've loved more from the viewpoint of the detainees and Carrie's life in the colony and after the ruling. I'll be recommending this book to anyone who will listen!

For fans of TAKE MY HAND, ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL and ERIN BROCKOVICH.

Trigger Warning: Miscarriage, Fertility issues, Women’s rights, immigration, deportation, forced sterilization, motherhood, eugenics

Counting backwards is written in dual POV and dual timeline. Present day timeline focuses on Jessa who is lawyer with relationship issues among issues with fertility after her miscarriage, she focuses a lot on trying to conceive and really becomes obsessive over trying to conceive. The other timeline focuses on Carrie Buck and the true events that happened to her.

I found this to be very well paced and really grabs your attention. Jessa as a lawyer took on an immigration case pro bono, where she stumbled upon a horrific pattern of medical malpractice inside the walls of a ICE detention center. Jessa’s investigation to the horrible things being done in this facility leads her to learning more about her family history involved with Carrie Buck.

I could not stop listening to this book. It was really horrifying what was happening to these women. It is a brilliant portrayal of the eugenics movement in the United States and how it really still remains relevant today.

This was released March 11, 2025

Thank you Harper Muse Audiobooks and Netgalley for the advance listening copy. This is my voluntary reviewed of this book and all words are my own.

COUNTING BACKWARDS is the first book that I’ve read by Jacqueline Friedland, and my gosh, was I ever impressed. I need to seek out her backlist ASAP. It was so well-written and researched, timely, eye-opening, and powerful. The blending of historical and current events was absolutely masterful. It’s based on the Buck v. Bell eugenics case from 1927 and a similar situation at a women’s detention center in Georgia from 2020. This novel broke my heart and made me want to scream in rage. It’s SO relevant to what is going on in the US today, so it quickly made my blood boil. I am so sick and tired of rich white men thinking that they can control women and their bodies. Grrrr! This particular quote from the novel really hit home:

“𝙒𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝘼𝙬𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙖𝙬𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨.”

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Politically-charged novels
- Women’s/reproductive rights
- Feminist undertones
- Immigration cases
- Legal dramas
- Historical fiction
- Dual POVs
- Alternating timelines
- Strong female characters
- Family drama and secrets
- Marriage issues

Two other books that I’ve read about the eugenics movement are TAKE MY HAND by Dolen Perkins-Valdez and NECESSARY LIES by Diane Chamberlain. I highly recommend both of them as well.

5/5 stars for COUNTING BACKWARDS! It’s out now!

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!

Title: Counting Backwards
Author: Jacqueline Friedland
Narrated by: Amanda Stribling, Carolyn Jania
Publisher: Harper Muse
Length: Approximately 10 hours and 45 minutes
Source: Audiobook review Copy from NetGalley and physical book review copy from @jackiefriedland @harpermusebooks @austenprose. Thank you!

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.

• I couldn’t stop listening to the audiobook. It was a fascinating story with great narrators.

• 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.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audio edition of Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland.

This is a story about two women, one from the early 1900's, and one from today, both facing the harrowing realities of our country's history with eugenics, which has left a long and ugly stain.

I appreciated the passion and pain that came from this novel. It's difficult to reconcile how recently this all took place, and the sickening possibility that it could still be happening for the sake of "cleansing" our population in any way. It's also a reminder not to let women's bodies be a catalyst for any agenda, and to allow them to freedom to govern themselves.

This book was not only a good story that was written well, but a cautionary tale of how easily we could slip into the practice of eugenics again. It would take only a light amount of rationalizing. This was well worth reading.

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.

This book is so powerful. It follows two story lines that end up merging. One, a modern woman in a traditional marriage where the husband wants her to reduce work, be a stay at home mom, let him lead and take charge. And secondly, a young woman from decades ago, and how she faced abuse, rape, having her child taken away, being forced legally to sterilization due to eugenics. Our modern woman uncovers how eugenics are still being used, and women in detention centers still having forced sterilization. Our modern woman finds her strength, as she pursues this pro-bono case, and finds the connection to her own dark family secret intersecting with this young woman from decades ago.

Our modern woman struggles through ethics, her own life purpose, how she lives her life, and the dark secrets of her past, and comes into her own. Reclaims her own life, while helping others fight for theirs.

With all the political unrest in the US, I especially appreciated the timing of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Legal drama, complicated family histories, fraught relationships, immigration detention, and reproductive justice come together in Jacqueline Friedland’s Counting Backwards.

I listened to this book on audio!

The things I liked: great narration with distinct character voices (this was important as there are two disparate timelines operating in the novel) and interesting case law surrounding reproductive rights in (carceral) immigration centers.

What I wasn’t so fond of: husband was SO annoying and SO man; there may have been too much going on with all the family history; overall pacing felt a tad slow and the read felt too long for what it was. Attention was definitely waning towards the end.

I think this was a good book. I do think it being an audio book made me more engaged because the pacing was slow at times. However I really liked the narrator and seeing the different layers of the characters.