Take My Hand

"Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze...an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption." -Celeste Ng

"Highlights the horrific discrepancies in our healthcare system and illustrates their heartbreaking consequences." -Essence

Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY Newsweek . San Francisco Chronicle . Essence . Yahoo! News . The Nerd Daily . Daily Mail . Electric Literature . BookBub . Ms. Magazine . BuzzFeed . Parade . Oprah Daily . NBC News . and more!

"It's a haunting tale of how the actions of government agencies aren't innocent of racism, injustice, or abuse, emotional and physical, of Black people in America. Valdez offers beautifully written prose, gripping dialogue, and unforgettable characters. Take My Hand is another remarkable must-read by Dolen Perkins-Valdez - it and deserves every accolade it's getting."-NPR

"Perhaps the most notable of this book's gifts are its deft packaging of history and its quiet nod-in the juxtaposition of timelines-to the reproductive oppression haunting Black women to this day. Like the most effective education, though, it feels that the information is streaming through the heart, awakening it and inspiring it to action."-San Francisco Chronicle

"A jewel of a book...Perkins-Valdez's grasp of large historical themes is matched by her attention to her characters' lives, their existence so meticulously rendered that you can smell the fetid air of the Williams's country hovel and the scent of the girls freshly bathed and slathered with cocoa butter....Take My Hand reminds us that truly extraordinary fiction is rarely written merely to entertain...Perkins-Valdez has done a fine job of building a structure and scaffolding that will not only endure but also bear the weight of future writers yearning to bring the past to readers afresh."-Washington Post

"[An] impressive historical epic. Valdez's story and characters are deeply affecting and call attention to the importance of recognizing history's dark moments."-Newsweek