Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 3/11
•
I went into this one pretty blind and I was immediately pulled into the story by the end of it all, I was left totally speechless. This story is told in the form of a dual timeline between 1927 and 2022. How Friedland managed to connect a situation that happened in 1927 to an immigration case in 2022 was pure genius. It brought such a sense of mystery throughout the story, making you not want to put the story down but then when the revelation occurs it brings the entire story full circle.
•
I enjoyed most of the characters... Most being the key word. Vance could go kick rocks for all I care, he was just a terrible human being... And, Jessa, while I really loved her independence and her strive to do what was best for these women, her obsession with pregnancy became a little too much for me. But I do understand that infertility is a very real struggle, I just didn't like her attitude and responses to resolutions to the situation.
•
There is a lot that happens in this story and there are many themes / obstacles that the characters are faced with. Eugenics, Immigration and Deportation, Fraud and Abuse, Infertility and Family Secrets that would/could be detrimental. I think that Friedland did a phenomenal job at touching each of these subjects with grace. I also had no idea going into this one that this is based on true events, which makes this story pretty horrendous. I know that this one will be sticking with me for quite a while.
•
I listened to this one via audiobook and one i started it, i was hooked. I needed to know what was happening with both timelines and I needed to know how they were connected. Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania played the parts of Jessa and Carrie perfectly and I couldn't see anyone else in these roles. The audio is fantastic I highly recommend them!
•
Overall, this is a very powerful but also difficult and thought provoking read. If you are looking for something that has a basis of truth to it - be sure to check this one out. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Jacqueline Friedland and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

As Jessa begins working a pro-bono immigration case in New York in 2022 she is looking for an opportunity to boost her case roster. In the resulting weeks she is forced to confront her professional priorities, her personal dreams, and her family's complicated past.

The story is then told in dual timelines. Of Jessa and her immigration clients in 2022 and of Carrie Buck in 1927. Separated by over 100 years and yet the parallels begin to stack up. The stories are bold and pulled from real life events.

Counting Backwards is a book that has been sitting heavily with me ever since I finished reading it. It's a book that feels so "of this moment" as I read about practices happening in the early 1900s and then repeated in the 2000s. It covers themes of eugenics, forced sterilization, immigration, and fertility. It's also being released into the world in a moment in which, in the US, women's bodies feel less and less like ours to make decisions over than ever before.

One of my main critiques about this book is that there is such strong emphasis on Jessa's desire to have a child naturally. Though I know this can be a complex and heart wrenching process for women to go through, it felt in moments like tone-death cries for privilege amidst the suffering of others. Though, it's also fair to say that she was suffering in her own (relative) way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse Audio for an advance listener copy of this novel.

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.

STRAP IN

Mild spoilers below but nothing crazy

Counting Backwards tells the story of two women living in America 100 years apart. In 2022, Jessa is a corporate lawyer who puts her hand up for a pro-bono case helping a incarcerated woman facing deportation. In 1927, Carrie's young life is turned upside down when she is stolen from her family and placed in foster care for unpaid labour. I am a huge fan dual timeline novels that keep you guessing how the two will intersect and this book is an excellent example of that, the plot from both perspectives was equally strong too which isn't always achieved.

I'm going to start with the positives because the bones of this novel are really solid (and honestly idk how long I'm gonna waffle on about all the things I hated).

As someone not from the US, I had no idea Carrie's story was based on a real woman and legal case (Buck v. Bell) which is explained in the author's note at the end. I personally felt this was adapted really respectfully and responsibly. The author also comes from a legal background so I love how this has inspired her new career and I have confidence she completed her due diligence when writing this book. The Carrie of Counting Backwards is incredibly fleshed out and the author brings so much life to her. Carrie experiences multiple hardships in her early years from being displaced from her family, suffering an assault resulting in pregnancy, before having her baby taken and being claimed as a ward of the state. I was incredibly moved by her plight and it's an incredible story for the author to bring into the spotlight.

Jessa (more on her momentarily) has endured her own loss, including both her parents and a recent miscarriage, and is licking her wounds after being overlooked for a promotion of her firm and struggling with the stress of trying to conceive again. Despite her husband's (dick) pleas to take a step back from work to avoid stress, Jessa's work with immigration detainees quickly reveals a sinister conspiracy of mass forced sterilisation of women in detention that she can't let go of. Jessa has moments (few and far between) where she demonstrates tenacity, dedication and empathy* and you're tempted to admire her. Jessa's husband is unsupportive of her work and aspirations and their relationship spirals throughout the book. I really liked the way their dynamic was explored and it is an authentic representation of emotional abuse.
*before quickly making everything about her

This book definitely provided an opportunity for classic white saviour-ism, and I personally didn't get that vibe, so kudos for that I guess???

Jessa, Jessa, Jessa....
literally a villain in sheep's clothing
possibly the most infuriating mc I've ever read
had me grinding my teeth at one point

Jessa is just an awful person, and as the narrator, frames the very important ethical issues at the centre of this novel in a awful light. First of all, we find out very early that Jessa and her husband are trying to conceive and they have so far been unsuccessful since her previous miscarriage. This strikes a cord with a lot people who have firsthand experience with infertility, myself included. The rage started to set in when it's revealed they've only been trying for a few months which is completely normal but Jessa carries on like she is several years deep and all hope is lost. Aside from one throwaway 'I know people have it worse!!!' all we get is CONSTANT 'sigh, I guess I'll never have a baby' and it is infuriating. Paired with this is a WEIRD fixation on biological children being the only real children which is just wild, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING JESSA WAS RAISED BY HER GRANDMOTHER when her parents died??? I know that's still a blood relation but Jessa is offended and disturbed by the suggestion that they could adopt in the future. You want weirder? Jessa's main motivator behind only becoming a mother through pregnancy and birth is basically to replace her dead parents. The whole TTC and fake turmoil was incredibly distasteful and I would imagine also hurtful to adoptees (which I am not). I understand the reason for this focus in Jessa's life was at least partially to relate back to Carrie's chapters and to invest her character more into the issues facing her clients (because she couldn't possibly care otherwise???) and I hated every second. Her struggles would've actually been really relatable (feeling jealous and thus guilty of being jealous finding out someone else is pregnant, struggling with anxiety during pregnancy following a loss) if she had not been TTC for five business days.

When Jessa realises detained women are being illegally and unethically given hysterectomies in an act of eugenics, she pours every fibre of her being into supporting the effected women and doing everything she can to encourage them to come forward anonymously for a class action. OBVIOUSLY, goodie! You should definitely care about crimes against humanity! You know what you shouldn't do? Care about crimes against humanity, not because of the violence and harm that is being done to innocent people, but because, GASP, those women now can't have children! Won't you think of the non-existent children who have been so adversely effected (Jessa would probs argue more so than the actual people) and how the value of these womens' experiences are WHOLLY tied to their ability for child bearing. It is NOT ONCE expressed that regardless whether or not the violated women wanted children/more children, their harm and experience is just a valid as their counterparts. I literally can't tell you how disgusted I was every time Jessa thought or spoke about the hysterectomies as tragedies BECAUSE THOSE WOMEN COULD NOT GET PREGNANT. I wish I was exaggerating but it was just a truly disgusting angle. There's a particular scene where Jessa meets with a woman who was wrongfully detained for 30 days and was subjected to a hysterectomy without her consent, and after Jessa asks the woman if she has any children and she says no, Jessa has a complete meltdown ONLY AFTER discovering this woman will never have children, not to mention the woman didn't say she wanted them, this is 100% Jessa projecting her own life desires onto literally every other woman because what alternative is there??? The act of violence women endure in this book is not treated as an act of violence, but simply a loss of child bearing ability. Again, I see that Jessa's perspective was impacted by her own "infertility" struggles (please) but there were multiple times when I thought 'is this pro-life propaganda?'*
THANKS DON'T DO IT AGAIN
*the author's note definitely makes it clear that she supports women being in control of their bodies and reproduction, but the main character whole-heartedly values women as potential mothers above all else and that's problematic at best.

My other huge issue with the way Jessa was written is just down carelessness imo. This is a highly educated and life-experienced woman, yet she is also INCREDIBLY naive. Starting with her being snubbed at work, she simply cannot believe that this is due to being a woman in a male-dominated field, it doesn't even cross her mind. I think this alone could be interpreted as commentary on societal gaslighting and how women are conditioned to to find fault in their actions when things don't go as they expected, and I'm all here for that, but the fact that this is the tip of the naivety iceberg tells me that was not the intention. also!!!!! guess what!!!!! you find out in the second half of the book that she, in fact, was not overlooked for being a woman, but because she previously made a MASSIVE error when dealing with a client's contract that caused the firm to take a huge hit. But this is totally irrelevant right?? That pissed me off so much and defo harshed the 'alexa play the man by taylor swift' vibe. This trend continues when Jessa when she spends PAGES AND PAGES AND PAGES AND PAGES AND PAGES singing to the tune of 'what??? the government are treating immigrants inhumanely??? women of colour are being targeted??? this can't be!!! there's simply no way' IN 2022!!!!! Just kill me. This is where this book passed the point of no return for me. This isn't even a matter of privilege being demonstrated, this is a stupid person. The icing on the cake is later Jessa tells her husband about what she's discovered and working on, and he has the exact same reaction she did (albeit more misogynistic and gaslight-y) and she gets SO MAD that he doesn't believe it.

If you're thinking 'this is pretty rough for a 2 star rating, and I agree! Maybe this should be 1 star but I genuinely admire the way Carrie Buck's story has been used (but not exploited) in tandem with contemporary human rights issues, and how US law allows them to take place. I was gifted an ARC and an ALC so I alternated between reading and listening and the narration/casting is excellent.

Okay from here is major spoilers so probs don't continue if you plan to read
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Jessa finds out great grand pop was a eugenicist who had a huge hand in practices put in place during the Holocaust which causes a lot of extra tension in her marriage as her husband is Jewish and very active in supporting his community and Holocaust survivors. I am not in a position to comment on the representation of Jewish people, Israeli people (both of which are included as characters) or the Holocaust in general as depicted in this book. I am very interested to hear from other readers how they felt about this aspect.
What I will say is the main character sees a blonde woman and thinks to herself 'she looks like the kind of person my grandfather would have liked to clone' and my jaw DROPPED. This is well after the last discussion of her family's history and there is absolutely nothing happening in that scene to prompt that thought and it just feels heinous.

I loved this audiobook! The narrators did a great job embodying the characters are really drawing me into the plot feeling the emotions and the tenseness of the situation many of these marginalized women were feeling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advanced audio book.

The opening of COUNTING BACKWARDS was compelling--sitting with Jessa as she checks for the umpteenth time to see if she's pregnant--you can feel her desperation for wanting to be a mother and the stress her anxiety is having on her marriage. I found myself most interested in Jessa's story, so when the story flipped to Carrie Buck, in the 1920s, I was less engaged with what was going on. While I knew that the two storylines would converge in some way later in the story, I couldn't hang in there long enough to see how. This was well written and for the right reader, is probably a great read.

First of all these were well picked narrators and the audiobook is an excellent way to experience this story.

A few years ago I read Take My Hand and I thought we don’t have enough books about women’s reproductive rights, we still don’t, but it is so refreshing and important to have books like these. Counting backwards was inspired by real people and real cases, it’s a hard truth to swallow and one that is not unfortunately ancient history. By tying the story up in a parallel story set in the past it shows how far we have yet to go and how small the strides for women’s rights are.

Read this if you want to feel enraged but empowered and want to discover the resiliency of women. A great story wrapped up in a legal drama wrapped up in a story of strength and personal growth.

What an amazing story inspired by true events. Jessa Gidney, a lawyer at a high-profile firm, falls upon a pro bono case regarding fighting against a deportation order. While talking to this woman, she finds out that without her permission, she was sterilized. Digging deeper into the facts, Jessa finds out the unimaginable and that her family was involved in the past. Dealing with her own struggles of getting pregnant, Jessa works to bring a class action suite regarding medical malpractice and the practice of eugenics. The story is told in two timelines and two POV tying together nicely throughout. The writing was easy to follow, and the storyline kept me from putting this down. Many important issues were discussed such as the practice of eugenics, fertility, deportation and family secrets. The author’s note at the end showed the amount of research that went into creating this novel and summed everything up. This is an important read that would make great discussion for a book club!

Wow, what a difficult, yet incredibly well written story. Two timelines, two characters, centered on the horrific eugenics and forced sterilization programs. The timelines are woven together smoothly- connecting in ways the reader doesn’t see coming. The characters are well developed and real - the emotions are felt through the pages. A complex story, based on truth, that is so important to share. I thought that the author did an incredible job of creating an emotional story that is impossible to turn away from.

Thank you NetGalley for my advanced reader copy.

Counting Backwards by Friedland is a seriously relevant read right now. While some parts dragged a little and others made Jessa (a 30-something lawyer) feel more like a coming-of-age protagonist, I still really enjoyed it. At one point, she says, "I had put myself in a place full of criminals," referring to the detention center, and I couldn't help but pause—because, really? That’s a pretty odd thing for a lawyer to say.

Also, I have a soft spot for books that highlight just how useless a husband can be without being too on-the-nose about it, and let me tell you—Vance? That man belongs in a cage. No spoilers, but wow. And while I usually avoid books that bounce between time periods, especially when history and multiple characters are involved, this one did it so well that I didn’t mind at all.

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook via Netgalley.

This is a timely dual -timeline novel based on real events in the 1920s and early 2020s. Carrie Buck is the center of a heartbreaking legal battle over eugenics, and Jessa is a lawyer working a pro bono case helping an ICE detainee appeal her deportation when she uncovers a pattern of medical abuse at the detention facility. As we alternate between Carrie and Jessa, Friedland masterfully showcases the infuriating lack of bodily autonomy afforded to uterus owners in this country. Other themes covered in the novel include immigration, incarceration, reproductive justice, infertility, and medical malpractice. In other words, this book covers very heavy topics. It's illuminating and infuriating as well as hopeful. The novel also spends quite a bit of time on Jessa's personal life, which at times felt like a detour from the main story but ultimately her character growth did add to the story. There is a brief authors note at the end that gives information about the true events that inspired this story, which I appreciated.

This novel is just incredible. I was immediately drawn into the story and the way it's so beautifully written. I love the dual timelines and the way they emphasize how the past shapes the future even when all is not as it seems. There is a shocking twist that had me turning the pages rapidly to see how it was going end. The author's note provides information on the actual events that inspired the story. Loved the audiobook!

feels extremely relevant to the times we’re in right now. this dual timeline historical fiction/legal drama covers topics like reproductive injustice, immigration, and women’s rights. friedland’s writing is thought provoking and eye opening & i loved how detailed and fleshed out her characters were. this is the kind of book that just breaks your heart wide open & embrace woman power lol. the audiobook was also really great & i enjoyed the fact that there were two narrators for both jessa & carries povs. i’m normally not a fan of books like this but i really enjoyed this & am grateful to have received this arc! thank you netgalley & harper muse audiobooks.

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is a timely, dual timeline, heart-wrenching novel that I think you will find stays with you long after you've finished reading. This is the story of Jessa Gidney who is trying to have it all - a legal career, meaningful marriage, and a family. But when her professional goals keep eluding her she finds herself a turning point in her life and begins taking on pro-bono work. This work leads her to a nearby ICE detention center where she leans into her family history of activism. It's here that she meets Isobel Perez and discovers a pattern of medical malpractice that has affected Isobel and horrifyingly has ties to her own family.

Enter Carrie Buck, who in 1927 was in the center of an extraordinary legal battle over American eugenics. Carrie was a only six years old when she became a ward of the state - uneducated and with no family support, crippled with an exploitative foster family - unknowing that her name will one day help to educate the entire nation. When Jessa discovers Carrie's case, the threads and past connections will forever change Jessa's life and even her perspective on her past AND future.

Jacqueline Friedland does such a masterful job of alternating between Jessa and Carrie's worlds and tackles the very timely issues of reproductive rights and society's expectations of women's rights - both past and present. For me, this moving story will be one I will not forget anytime soon. What a wonderful story to read during Women's History Month! This was my 2nd Friedland novel and in both of her books I appreciate the fact that I walk away learning something I hadn't before.

I want to also shoutout the narration performed by Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania. Their narration truly brought the story to life for me and allowed the story to flow so well between timelines. Thank you to NetGalley, getredpr, Harper Muse, and the author for the chance to read this book before it's release on 3/11/25.

Run don’t walk to get your hands on this book! This might be the most important book for the times. Based on real case law and events in 1920s and 2020s America, this book covers women’s autonomy and reproductive rights and the ways that they have and continue to be stripped away. When Jessa, a young and ambitious young lawyer, takes on a pro bono case helping an ICE detainee appeal her deportation she uncovers a pattern of medical abuse at the detention facility that shocks her to her core. Determined to stop the barbaric practices at the detention center, Jessa uncovers a familial connection to a poor young woman from the 1920s who tried to fight a forced sterilization at a facility that deemed her mentally unfit to procreate. At the same time that Jessa is working to gather all the information she can about past and present eugenics practices that took women’s ability to have children away, she struggles with her own fertility challenges and the effects they have on her marriage. This book doesn’t just explore reproductive rights but all the ways women’s rights can and have been controlled both in the past and in the present. The storytelling is layered, nuanced, sensitive, and sheer perfection. This is a novel I will recommend over and over again. The audiobook was fantastic and the narrator gave an emotional and stellar performance. All the stars for this one.

This was a tough book to listen to, but it was so well done. This is a book that will stick with me for years to come. I love when authors can teach readers about historical and not-so-historical (unfortunately) moments through fictional stories. I appreciated how this book combined fiction with an actual historical Supreme Court case to weave together a compelling narrative. I found myself internally screaming at this book, knowing that there are women who have experienced some of the horrific things described in it.

The dual perspective and dual timeline were expertly executed, and the narrators did an excellent job. Highly recommended.

Jessa has been working nonstop trying to make partner at her firm and have a baby; neither are working out particularly well. After being passed over for partner she decides to take on an immigration pro bono case but discovers that the women in the facility are being sterilized without their permission. Her grandmother encourages her to work for the women and get justice and has her learn about the Buck vs Bell Supreme Court case from the 1920s. It turns out her family is connected with the Buck case and that knowledge spurs Jessa to fight for the women.

I didn’t know if I would enjoy reading about a lawyer (even one who went to my law school) because I am a bit persnickety about fictional lawyers. However it totally worked and there was only one nit pick in it for me. Besides that I did find the dual timelines worked and even though Carrie’s story is painful to read, I liked how the author intertwined the two characters, their history and the issues. The novel dealt with immigration, reproduction rights and incarceration and did it in a way that did not feel preachy. I half and halved this one between the audio and the book and really thought the narrators did a great job because I was never confused as to which timeline/POV I was listening to. I haven’t read anything else by Friedland but I look forward to adding her backlist to my TBR.

Thank you to Harper Muse Audiobooks and NetGalley for the ALC to review

This novel delves into profound themes of motherhood, immigration, and medical malpractice. Through a dual-timeline narrative, we follow Jessa and Carrie—two women with distinct yet interconnected stories. The novel explores the emotional depth of longing for motherhood and the fear of losing that possibility.

The audiobook narrators did an excellent job bringing the characters to life, making the story feel even more authentic. The fact that this book is inspired by a real case makes it all the more unsettling. While I found it deeply engaging and impactful, I couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by the ending—it felt somewhat flat and could have been executed with more complexity. Nonetheless, the book’s depiction of medical malpractice, particularly within immigration detention centers, is haunting and thought-provoking.

I was fortunate to receive an ALC of Counting Backwards from NetGalley via Harper Muse Audiobooks, and I am truly grateful for this opportunity, as this is one of my most anticipated reads of March 2025.

3.75 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

WOW! this was… incredible & unexpected. i went into this arc without knowing a ton about it, and i would honestly suggest that to anyone who feels compelled to do so— while noting that there are some TRIGGERING topics that come up: SA, reproductive rights, infertility, consistent mentions of the holocaust, nazis, and eugenics… if any of these things has the potential to REALLY upset you, i’d suggest being extremely cautious.

that being said— the themes that this book focuses on are so relevant. our main character is a lawyer that takes on a pro bono immigration case— not something she normally does. while working that case she discovers a pattern of abuse against immigrant women being held at a particular detention center. the story then follows what she does with this information and how she can help these women.

we also follow her on her own journey struggling to conceive a baby and the repercussions that has on her marriage. we see her discover parts of her family history that are incredibly difficult to grapple with. we see her internal debate as to how to progress her career. there were so many facets to this book that really made it special.

interestingly enough, one of my favorite parts of this book was a part a normal don’t read— the authors note. the author actually has experience in law and the cases in this book are based off of real cases that occurred in the united states. it is actually SHOCKING that this is real life.

my only complaint about this book is that the ending felt a bit abrupt. there could have been a few more chapters at the end, but the authors note made that quick conclusion much more satisfying.

the audiobook itself was great— i loved the narrator and the way she conveyed the emotions being felt throughout the book with her voice!! definitely recommend listening to this one if you’re an audiobook person!!

This one was hard to read but not in a bad way. It’s one of those book club type books that rips your heard out when you think about the connections to reality. Because while this was a work of fiction, it was based in reality as it explored eugenics in society.

I listened to the audio ALC of this title narrated by Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania. I appreciated having both narrators. Overall it was a good job with the speed on point. The only thing I didn’t love was when the men’s voices were done it sounded bizarre.

This is a book that if you have triggers you want to check them. The description is pretty clear on where someone would get hung up but women who struggle with fertility may have a harder time with the information in the book.

The prose was written beautifully and i recommend it 100%
I am thankful to have gotten the audio ALC for free from Harper Muse through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars
⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again