| # | Title | Subtitle | Author(s) | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Turnaway Study | Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having--Or Being Denied--An Abortion | Diana Greene Foster | 2021 | This well-researched book presents findings from a key study on the impacts of abortion access and abortion denials on women’s physical and mental health, as well as socioeconomic status. |
| 2 | The Story of Jane | The Legendary Underground Feminist Abortion Service | Laura Kaplan | 2022 | The Abortion Counseling Service, AKA "Jane," provided abortion care to thousands of pregnant people in Chicago before it was legal. This memoir — written by one of Jane's members — provides a first-hand account of the organization's rise and legacy. |
| 3 | This Common Secret | My Journey as an Abortion Doctor | Susan Wicklund and Alex Kesselheim | 2008 | Dr. Wicklund devoted her career to providing reproductive health care. In her memoir, she provides a realistic view of practicing medicine in hostile communities, the inherent risks involved, and the strength it takes to protect a vital right. |
| 4 | Essential Labor | Mothering as Social Change | Angela Garbes | 2025 | This is a great book for new parents and anyone who wants to better understand the complexities of being a parent and caregiver. Angela Garbes writes about the ways our society undervalues caregivers and also beautifully illustrates the power mothering has to change our communities. |
| 5 | The Beginning and End of Rape | Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America | Sarah Deer | 2015 | This book presents a powerful overview of rape and sex trafficking in North America in the context of colonial violence against tribal nations. It also provides strategies for enacting positive change for women in tribal communities. Read to understand — and to be inspired. |
| 6 | What We Talk about When We Talk about Rape | Sohaila Abdulali | 2019 | Sohaila Abdulali tackles tough and often taboo conversations around rape and rape culture, using the lens of her own brutal rape along with interviews with survivors from around the world. | |
| 7 | Sister Outsider | Essays and Speeches | Audre Lorde | 2020 | This collection of essays and speeches is essential reading for insights into Black queer feminism. |
| 8 | White Tears/Brown Scars | How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color | Ruby Hamad | 2020 | Ruby Hamad uses history, pop culture, and personal history to explore the ways white women contribute to oppression and white supremacy, often at the expense of women of color. |
| 9 | Born Both | An Intersex Life | Hida Viloria | 2017 | Hida Viloria’s poignant memoir about self-discovery is also an excellent primer on the history and stakes of intersex activism. |
| 10 | Gideon the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir | 2020 | Lesbian necromancers in space. What more could you want? This book has amazing world-building, an incredibly filthy narrator, lots of swords, and an intense contest to become immortal. | |
| 11 | A Shore Thing | Joanna Lowell | 2024 | Trans people have always existed, and this story is a very fun way to explore trans historicity. It’s a sweet, queer, Victorian historical romance novel that includes botany, bicycle races, and a fantastic trans hero. |