GIRLS LIKE US

Four girls navigate the impact of pregnancies on their futures in 1972.

Ola, 16, and Izella, 15, are sisters living in rural Georgia with their devoutly religious mother, Evangelist. After visiting their seer neighbor, Ola discovers she’s pregnant by her long-term boyfriend, a Vietnam War veteran suffering from PTSD, and she looks to Izella for support. Needing to be seen as mature, Izella feels obligated to take on the burden of Ola’s situation and find a way to get rid of the baby. Evangelist looks after 14-year-old Missippi, who longs for a mama to guide her and someone to talk to while her father is away working. Now pregnant by her sexually abusive uncle, she leaves for Chicago to live with Ms. Pearline and other girls like her. While there, she meets Sue, 17, a white politician’s daughter who is determined to rage against the silencing of women. As the nonlinear timeline goes on, each girl begins to understand the gravity of her situation, culminating in unbreakable bonds between them. Pink (Into White, 2016) weaves a heart-wrenching narrative through multiple perspectives that examines life before Roe v. Wade. The author brings to light the reality about the lack of choices that women, especially young, unwed women, had in regard to their futures. Ola, Izella, and Missippi are black.

A timely, honest story about women’s right to choose.