Boundless: An Abortion Doctor Becomes a Mother
Adult; Memoir; (Market)
In Boundless, respected writer and physician Christine Henneberg takes on the most polarizing and provocative issue of our time: What does it mean to choose—or choose not—to have a child, and what does it mean when that choice isn’t yours to make? As a young physician in training, Henneberg imagines deliberately shaping her life by her choices. But when she finds herself pregnant and performing late-term abortions, she is forced to reckon with the hardest questions: What is the source of her agency and the root of her ambition? What does it mean to make a “good” choice when so little is under her control? And how can she maintain her boundaries in a world of boundless love—the world of motherhood? Her answers, bravely and beautifully articulated, lie at the heart of this provocative, tender, deeply empathic memoir.
With a courageous, unflinching voice and a singular perspective from the abortion frontlines, Boundless raises radical and essential questions about boundaries, bodies, and the meaning of choice.
Finalist
Plot/Idea: 10 out of 10
Originality: 10 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 9.50 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: The storyline here is timely, rich, and cohesive. The reader will be quickly invested in the author's story, from her struggle to become a mother to her work helping women who choose abortions. It is a brave and personal story.
Prose: The author is a powerful writer and storyteller. Her narrative is finely structured, polished, and memorable.
Originality: The author movingly describes the experience of straddling the personal vs. professional divide. As a physician who performs abortions--and becomes pregnant herself--Henneberg brings a truly unique, nuanced perspective to a complex and timely topic.
Character/Execution: The author emerges as a multilayered, accomplished individual who candidly explores her own experience with pregnancy while fully humanizing those who seek abortions.
Date Submitted: January 25, 2023