The Abortion Caravan; When Women Shut Down Government in the Battle for the Right to Choose by Karin Wells is a must-read history that should not be overlooked. I was truly thankful to have gotten to read this before most people! I would like to purchase this one for my physical library!

The access to safe and healthy abortions is something that I am very passionate about. In the United States of America, women have consistently been denied this basic right to bodily autonomy and healthcare, at best and it’s a sad time to revert to misogynistic laws and rulings. It is very interesting to read about the first abortion clinics who were operating under the guise of other businesses to save the health of women and their bodies. T

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This book covers the fight led by women in Canada for the right to accessible abortions. The women in this book came together and traveled across Canada raising awareness, holding rallies, and giving speeches. They worked with the local women's groups at each stop. At their final stop, they held a large march and peacefully disrupted the government to bring awareness to their issues. All of this occurred in the background of the Vietnam war and violent protests in the United States.
This is a topic that I had not heard about before. It is an educational read and timely with the issues that are coming up about abortions now. This book is perfect for anyone interested in women's rights or the history of protests in the 70s.

3.5 stars

This book is exceptionally well-researched and detailed. I learned a great deal about the reproductive rights movement in Canada and the progress across North America this grassroots effort caused. The author did a great job incorporating global context into the chapters, adding a lot of valuable insights about healthcare and society around the 1970s.

I found the narrator to be personable and passionate. It was almost like listening to a professor tell you about one of their favorite topics, or their account of a famous point in history they lived through.

My only issue with the audio version was that there are many photographs included in the print and while the audio describes them well, I would have liked to be able to see them.

Favorite quote: "...when we asked 'when can we stop making the coffee?' They would say 'After the revolution!'"

Thank you to Net Galley for an audio version of this book.

This Audiobook gives a very detailed. description of the events that took place leading up to, during and shortly after the Abortion Caravan protests in Canada in the 1970s. Published at a time when our neighbours to the south are really struggling with abortion and women's reproductive rights, this book is an important part of our history as well as contemporary events.

The information was extremely thorough, and was heavily referenced, even though it was an audiobook. At times I felt like the content was dragged out a little too much. It was not excessive, but thorough descriptions did make some sections feel a little slow.

As far as audiobooks go, the narrator was clear and easy to listen to. I was able to follow the story and understand the content and historical information.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to learn about this important issue by listening to this audiobook.

A fascinating walk through the history that until recent roe v wade controversy and abortion being legalised in Ireland I believe (in my own circles) was an a basic human right. A female right. It’s something I feel strongly about, and believe that these amazing woman that came before us, and formed the abortion caravan paved the way for all of us. (Until recent events) these are woman who left me in complete awe of their courage, tenacity, determination and commitment to their cause. I was left filled with pride for people who I’ve never met, yet stood up and fought for all of our rights. This was a brilliant book, the narration was great, the only thing for me personally that let it down a little was I didn’t feel the whole book translated perfectly to audio purely because I didn’t have the capacity to reference all the footnotes. However that said, I was thoroughly transfixed and it’s the only reason I marked it down a little.

My message to woman of now would be to read this, find out for yourself how hard won the right for female healthcare as a whole was, let alone abortion rights.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I had never heard of this event, so when I came across this book I was intrigued. It did not disappoint. I really enjoyed learning more about these amazing women in Canada. It was fascinating to hear about all the different reasons each of these women joined the campaign and also drawing parallels with other things that were occurring at the same time, such as the growing outcry against the Vietnam War in the USA. I also thought it was interesting reading about this little known event so soon after the Canadian truckers made their own epic voyage across Canada in protest against Covid restrictions. I thought the book seemed well researched but there seems to be some confusion around some of the figures provided. I'm in the UK where there's no problem with our current abortion laws and access to the procedure, but it was really interesting to read this book considering the current status with access to abortion in some US states. Overall an enjoyable read and definitely an interesting learning curve with some incredible insights into the history of abortion, women's rights and misogyny in general. My sincere thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

This was really insightful about a cause I feel deeply passionate about and absolutely loved learning about the abortion caravan in Canada and what women did to help women’s rights to their own bodies.

My only complaint with this audiobook is that some of it didn’t transition well to audio form - there is no need to include all of the links when there is a section at the beginning covering off where you could access the references. To then also have an in-depth section with all the references didn’t translate well to audio form either.

However, this was an incredible listen, about some astounding strong-willed women and I loved the appendices section being included.

If you want to learn more about this cause and what women before us have done, give it a listen.

Hidden in the depths of history are pockets of information that, once learnt, feel unacceptable not to have known them sooner and must now be shared with anyone who stands still long enough.

Thus, The Abortion Caravan.

'Abortion was a medical matter and decisions should be left to doctors, not women.'

From a British perspective, it isn't too surprising that details of this event from 1970s Canada didn't commonly traverse the pond. Not to say this is right, just understandable; this is the tone this book takes. It explores why situations occurred- legislation, public opinion, government stances- then challenges them with simple arguments.

At times, the narrative becomes repetitive, reiterating similar viewpoints or identical facts with slightly altered wording. It's useful to be reminded of some events but not all of these felt necessary.

Wells narrates this audiobook herself and her respect and passion for this matter are clear. It is evident the extent of her research and the drive it must have taken for her to compile so many stories into one but the finished product is a testament to her and the women's stories it shares.

An obviously well researched historical account of a caravan of women travelling across Canada to protest anti-abortion laws in 1970. I found it a little hard to keep engaged to be honest.

I didn't like the narrator, I am aware that it's also the author, but the reading style just wasn't for me. I find this quite often with author read books tbh.

Listened to the audiobook.
I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

Not my jam. Dont get me wrong, this was definitely well written!