Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

My hopes were sky high for this one, and the summary sounds like it would be right up my alley. It just didn’t work for me.

I think stories like this are really important, and just for the fact that this story is out there and could speak to people makes it worth considering. Eugenics and how things like this happened and still happen today is important to address and I liked how it was set up as a pseudo fictional story (based on true events) for us to get more involved in the story.

However. While I understand the importance and totally support this story being expanded for another audience, it was so boring. The characters fell flat, I never wanted to pick it up and continue reading. It just wasn’t for me.

Counting Backwards is the Erin Brockovich of our time.

'Counting Backwards' is a story is based on the real life eugenics atrocity of Carrie Buck in the 1920s. It is brought into glaring, contemporary relevance, with disturbing forced sterilisation cases in an immigrant detention centre. The horror of what has passed, and what has only more recently happened, is connected by a disturbing tether.

This is a confronting tale. One that not only delves into a past, murky history regarding women's rights but sadly the continued saga around women's reproductive choices. Telling this type of story was always going to be difficult to tell. To that end, I did find it hard to connect with the contemporary character, Jessa, at times. However, it is another story that needs to be told and the author's notes are a must read to really appreciate the complexity of this topic.

Five stars just aren’t enough for this brilliant historical fiction story! Told in dual timelines, the connection that weaves the two protagonists together is heartbreaking and timely. In present day NYC, Jessa Gidney is a married 30-something, smart and hardworking corporate attorney who has been passed over to become partner. When the opportunity to work on a pro bono case involving detained immigrant women is offered, Jessa jumps on the case. But what she discovers is a horrifying medical practice occurring within the prison walls to the detainees. In 1920’s Virginia, 6-year old Carrie Buck is put into foster care by the children’s state agency. As she matures, she is sent to The Colony, a facility for “feebleminded” women, though she is far from feebleminded. Carrie finds herself the subject of a court case to give the facility permission to provide medical procedures resulting in her inability to have children. This is a story that explores eugenics, a practice that began pre WW2 and continues to this day in the United States. But it is so much more. It is the story of the mistreatment of immigrants, the injustices surrounding women’s reproductive rights and the resilience, strength and fortitude of women across all ages and status in our society. Carrie Buck was a real woman. The trial she was involved in was a real trial. This story will remain with you long after you’ve turned the last page as the issues are still very relevant to today’s world. Be sure to read the Authors Notes.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Muse and Jacqueline Friedland for allowing me the opportunity to read this very important story in exchange for my honest opinion. Publication: March 11

Fantastic read about a very important topic that was handled beautifully. I liked the movement between the two timelines and how the stories were inter-related. I definitely needed to read something lighter afterward but this was so so good!

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is a gripping, dual-timeline novel that seamlessly connects past and present injustices. Jessa, a lawyer uncovering forced sterilizations at an ICE detention center in 2022, finds herself linked to Carrie Buck, a woman fighting for autonomy in the 1920s eugenics era. This emotional, thought-provoking read exposes the horrifying reality of reproductive control and legal failures that persist today. With compelling characters and meticulous research, Friedland delivers a powerful story that lingers long after the final page. A must-read for historical fiction lovers and advocates for women's rights. Highly recommended!

Told in two timelines, this story explores a range of powerful themes:

• Eugenics and Bodily Autonomy

• Immigrant Detention and Legal Representation

• Inherited Secrets and Family Legacy

• Fertility Challenges and Marriage Dynamics

"I knew it was hard to believe. Here we were in 2022, and women were being sterilized against their will. I still couldn’t parse out what would be motivating the doctor, the guards, the government, to let this happen. Was it because the women were foreigners? People of color? Less educated? Or was it a scam involving money from insurance payments? Maybe all of the above."

2022: Jessa, a lawyer working on a pro bono immigration case at a local detention center, discovers that her client underwent an invasive medical procedure without consent. As she digs deeper into her client’s case, Jessa uncovers a disturbing pattern of abuse and retaliation within the facility.

1924: Carrie, sent to the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded after enduring a grim childhood, sexual assault, and resulting pregnancy, learns she has been wrongly labeled an 'imbecile'. The facility brings a case to court under a new law that would permit her forced sterilization.

I couldn't put this book down! The Author's Note was fascinating and made me want to learn more. I've already downloaded two books from her Additional Reading recommendations:

📖 No Justice in the Shadows: How America Criminalizes Immigrants by Alina Das

📖 Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics , and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck by Adam Cohen

Working tirelessly as a young attorney at a prestigious New York law firm, Jessa has one goal: to make partner. But as it becomes increasingly clear that this dream is slipping away, she is drawn into an unexpected case—one that won’t bring the billable hours her firm so highly values. Instead, it’s a pro bono case for Isobel, a woman detained at a nearby ICE facility. As Jessa delves deeper, Isobel confides in her about troubling medical issues she and other detainees have experienced at the women’s clinic. As the pieces of a disturbing puzzle fall into place, Jessa’s world is further shaken by a long-held family secret revealed by her beloved grandmother. Suddenly, turning her back on these women is no longer an option. For the first time, Jessa also finds herself at odds with her husband, Vance—once her steadfast supporter—who now prioritizes money and reputation over doing what’s right. Caught between career, family, and conscience, Jessa is determined to help these vulnerable women expose the shocking eugenics practices being forced upon them under the guise of medical care. With everything at stake, Jessa must summon the courage to stand up and speak out for those who have been silenced. Would be a great book club discussion!

This dual timeline story was way more than I expected. We follow Jessa through her fertility struggles and marriage issues while she is trying to help the women in the ICE facility. Her fertility struggles got more of the focus than the issues the women in the facility which showed her connection to wanting to help them when their ability to have children was taken away. We also follow Carrie Buck and get a first hand view at how the state failed her in so many ways. How their lives connected was crazy and part of the driving force for Jessa trying to help the women and try to make up for what her family had done years prior. The emotion in this story is remarkable and I cried for these women that this actually happened to. The past and present timeline was executed beautifully and will definitely stay with me for a while.
4.5/5

This novel was so gut-wrenching but also a super necessary read that left me both heartbroken and enraged.

The dual timeline connected Jessa's modern-day legal battle with Isobel's harrowing fight against medical injustice to the true story of Carrie Buck, a young woman caught in America's dark history of eugenics. The way the author ties these stories together - unearthing the horrors of forced sterilization, reproductive control, and the dehumanization of vulnerable women - makes this such an emotional and thought-provoking read.

Jessa's character is especially powerful as she transitions from a corporate lawyer to a woman willing to risk everything to stand up for those who have been silenced. Meanwhile, Carrie's storyline is devastating, as her real-life Supreme Court case (Buck vs. Bell) cemented a horrifying legal precedent that still echoes today.

What makes this book so hard to read - and so necessary - is how relevant it still feels. The discussion around reproductive autonomy, the treatment of immigrants, and the systemic control of women's bodies are terrifying in the context of current events. It's infuriating to realize that the same systems of power and oppression that shaped Carrie's fate continue to dictate the lives of marginalized women today.

This book is not just a novel - it's a call to awareness and action! I've been processing this book for weeks and it's still unsettling to me. While it was an emotional and exhausting read, it's one I would recommend to anyone that's willing to confront the uncomfortable truths of our past and present.

An absolutely unforgettable read! Please check it out!

This was a really unique story (compared to any other books I’ve read), and it was so heartbreaking but amazing. The dual timeline/POV between Carrie’s heartbreaking story about forced sterilization, and Jessa fighting for the women that this is still happening to was so interesting and while the topic is so sad, I loved this book. Fantasticly written, and a relevant topic.

I binge-read this in 24 hours and it was such a compelling read. Based on actual events, it is chilling reminder that exploitation of women can take many forms.

I've read powerful stories about motherhood and loss, but none like this. The grief that the characters suffered from forced sterilization just made me feel sad and distressed. While I don't have or intend to have children, at least I know that I made that choice myself. And it was only made worse with the dual timeline, knowing that it didn't happen just in the past but continued even less than a decade ago.

No less interesting was Jessa's personal situation, her trauma and insecurities about getting pregnant and needing that last link to biological family to feel complete.

Highly recommend this one!

COUNTING BACKWARDS - JACQUELINE FRIEDLAND

I cannot tell you how absorbed I was by this book and the topics it covers. And in a world where laws are currently being made about women's rights and their access to important medical services, Counting Backwards feels like an essential and relevant read for our times.

Flipping between Jessa in 2022 and Carrie in 1927, these two storylines are connected in a number of different ways. Jessa, through her pro bono legal work at an immigration detention centre, encounters women who have received gynaecological healthcare through the centre - but have found themselves sterilised, which they didn't consent to.

Carrie, my favourite character in the book, is based on a real person. Carrie was used as an example to pass a law that forced women who were deemed undesirable and undeserving of reproduction to be sterilised. And this actually happened, with thousands of women being sterilised in multiple states.

Back to Jessa, who discovers that someone in her family is connected to Carrie's case while also dealing with her own infertility issues and journey to becoming pregnant. There's a lot going on in this book, but Jacqueline Friedland writes in a way that's clear and that highlights the emotional states of the characters beautifully.

If you get all the way to the author's note at the end, you'll find out that everything in the book is drawn from actual historical events and more recent incidents. That's what makes Counting Backwards a truly harrowing read, and one that sparks rage for the characters and, of course, the reader. I completely recommend it.

My only note is that I wish we could hear more from Jessa's clients as they experience the legal case and the effects on their lives, given that they are the ones who underwent truly horrific experiences.

Thank you to Jacqueline Friedland, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Release date: 11 March 2025

Review score: 4/5

Trigger warnings: r*pe, infertility, miscarriage, uninformed medical procedures (off-page), eugenics

The story is set in two timelines: 1927 where we hear the story of Carrie and 2022 where we meet Jessa.

Jessa takes a pro-bono case to defend a woman being held at ICE. Whilst there she uncovers some awful information about the women there being sterilised against their will. Given Jessa has been trying so hard for a child herself, this ignited a spark in her to fight.

She uncovers a similar story of Carrie who was sent to a Colony and used as a test subject at the time. More women were sterilised to rid the world of their ‘useless’ genes.

Linked to the real life Buck vs Bell Supreme Court case this book reveals the startling history of eugenics, human rights and female sterilisation.

Covering heavy, emotional topics and challenging the current justice system, this was an eye opening read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Harper Muse and Net Galley.

'...that high-spirited woman's body had been altered irrevocably, in a manner that would prevent her ever having another child'.

Jessa is a high-powered corporate lawyer who's become increasingly obsessed with getting pregnant - it's all a part of her life plan, together with making partner at her law firm. However, when she decides to take on a pro-bono legal case at an immigrant detention centre, the ability to have children takes on a whole new meaning.

Jessa's story alternates with Carrie Buck's story, a hundred years prior. It's the mid 1920s and after Carrie was taken from her mother and forced into a foster home. Sadly, this is just the beginning of her tough journey, when she's forced into a situation that ultimately sends her to court and puts her front and centre of a historic eugenics case, 'The girl before you is feeble-minded and must be sexually sterilized for both her own good and the good of society'.

'Counting Backwards' is a story is based on the real life eugenics atrocity of Carrie Buck in the 1920s. It is brought into glaring, contemporary relevance, with disturbing forced sterilisation cases in an immigrant detention centre. The horror of what has passed, and what has only more recently happened, is connected by a disturbing tether.

This is a confronting tale. One that not only delves into a past, murky history regarding women's rights but sadly the continued saga around women's reproductive choices. Telling this type of story was always going to be difficult to tell. To that end, I did find it hard to connect with the contemporary character, Jessa, at times. However, it is another story that needs to be told and the author's notes are a must read to really appreciate the complexity of this topic.

'You have to stop living your whole life based on the worst thing that's happened to you'.

Jessa spent the last several years trying to prove why she deserved partner at her Manhattan law firm but after continuing to be passed over she’s ready to live life on her own terms.

Her and her husband are trying for a baby and after being told she needs less stress in her life she’s ready to step back at work. This leads her to a pro bono case fighting against the deportation of Isobel Perez.

When Jessa goes to the detention facility to meet Isobel, she learns of gross medical malpractice against the women who are held there.

Then we meet Carrie Buck. Carrie grew up poor in the 1920s and wrongly ended up in a home for the “feeble minded.”

Jessa and Carrie’s stories end up connecting and the parallels between what Carrie went through in the 1920s and what women at detention centers in 2022 are disgustingly similar.

The author did a phenomenal job with research and making her facts feel attainable to the reader.

The way men continue to think they know what’s best for women’s bodies is enraging. The way that the poor are treated, taken advantage of and then threatened against taking retaliation is sick. The fact that this is still present day… sick.

Read this book!

But take mind for trigger warnings.

Thanks to @netgalley for this e-arc! Out 3/11!✨✨✨

Counting Backwards
Talk about hot button topics, WOW! The way the dual timeline novel played out and connected was unique and intriguing. I’m thankful for the author’s note at the end. I did not know.
Full video review on my social platform.

very unique and interesting novel about an absolutely awful situation. i found the plot very strong, but the characters were less so. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

I’m not even sure where to begin with this review…this book is absolutely one of the best I’ve read in a long time. The subject matter is so important- women’s reproductive rights, the idea that eugenics is still being carried out over a century later, and how immigrants in America are treated as 2nd class humans. Based on a real-life case from the 1920’s and bounces back and forth between then and 2022, the author does an incredible job combining facts with a fictional style to make the book flow smoothly. This is a MUST READ!!

“She could rarely be found without her e-reader, and its extra large font, somewhere close by.”

Jessa wants nothing more than to be a mother. When she gets passed over for partner at her law firm, she decides to take on a pro bono case and ends up working to help someone that is detained for deportation by ICE. Their first meeting however, lets her know more than she ever expected. Her client had a life changing surgery, without her knowledge, ending her ability to have children, and it seems to be a common trend for others as well. Her husband Vance just wants her to take a break and relax, not get so wrapped up in this case. However, around 100 years ago, Carrie was removed from her mother’s care and put into foster care. All she wants is to leave and make a life with a family of her own. When she gets pregnant in the worst way, they declare her feeble minded and decide to make her their test case. Carrie’s case opened up a new plan for those deemed “unfit” and left the door open for horrifying situations for women for over 100 years.

ALL FIVE BEAUTIFUL BRIGHT STARS! Ok so first of all….I started this book and was enjoying, and then I hit the quote above and lost it. All the tears. I was laying in bed just sobbing. As many of you know I lost my Grandfather earlier this year and this was him. He always had this kindle on him, and the font was massive. Reading this line I immediately saw him in his reading spot and just had all the feels. So that was a great start for this one, but damn if it didn’t only go up from there. If there is ever a time where you have to read the authors note, this book is it. The fact that this was happening so recently is horrifying and honestly I am worried for what the current administration will do. This book was heartbreaking, and horrifying. I loved that Jessa was so determined to fight this case, and Carrie’s story will seriously rip your heart out. I dm’d Jackie while reading and let her know I couldn’t tell if I really disliked Vance, or if it was just the name Vance, but I kind of feel like it was a bit of both! I seriously don’t even know what to say other than you need to read this book! It was absolutely phenomenal and my first full 5 star read of 2025.

Thank you to @harpermusebooks for my gifted copy of this book!

This book was incredible. It was so captivating and really did historical fiction in the most perfect way. Reading Counting Backwards in a climate like today’s is so inspiring yet also so daunting. It really reflects how times unfortunately haven’t progressed as much as the media likes to portray.

I thought Jacqueline was such an amazing, complex character. Sometimes in books law can bore me a little, but I found the complete opposite with Jessica.