By Hayley Platt
Canadian author Heather Marshall’s debut novel Looking for Jane, published on March 1, 2022, expertly investigates some of the hard truths for unmarried women in the latter half of the twentieth century, alongside a message of hope and resilience in the present.
In 1960, teenager Evelyn Taylor is dropped off at St. Agnes’s Home for Unwed Mothers by her father. She is there to wait out her pregnancy, put her baby up for adoption, and then return home, reputation unscathed.
In 1979, Nancy Mitchell finds herself rushing her cousin to the hospital following an unsafe abortion in a basement apartment. She is quietly told by one of the doctors what to do if she is ever in this situation again.
In 2017, Angela Creighton is going through fertility treatments to conceive a child following a few unsuccessful attempts and early miscarriages. While at work in an antique shop, she finds a letter written in 2010 that did not make it to its destination. Angela is determined to reunite the letter with its intended recipient.
Evelyn, Nancy, and Angela’s timelines slowly intertwine as the women work through the challenges put in front of them, leaving readers curious and determined to see the pieces fall together.
Looking for Jane is a book that readers will be able to identify with. Just as no person comes to motherhood in the same way, Angela, Nancy, and Evelyn face different challenges on their paths to ultimately find peace from the events in their lives. Each of their storylines tackles issues surrounding women’s reproductive rights from a different perspective, and each protagonist has secondary characters in their life that enhance the story and give further insights into the challenges that can surround a pregnancy.
Heather Marshall set the majority of this book in Toronto, describing places that existed in the earlier timelines and still do today. It is easy to imagine you are right beside the women as they fight for their rights while expertly protecting their motherhood.
Looking for Jane dives deep into the maternity home system that existed in Canada, as well as women’s reproductive rights in the 1970s and 1980s. The concluding author’s note identifies some of the pieces of history this book has drawn from, including the network of ‘Janes’ in Chicago (an underground service that assisted and supported women through the abortion process) that elements of the book were modeled after. Marshall’s background includes education in history and work in politics, and she has expertly used her background to complement the narrative. She is using her voice not only to tell a story but also to educate and encourage readers to search out more information and act after reading her work.
An astounding number of families have a history in maternity homes, with pregnancy loss, abortions, adoptions, and fighting for women’s rights. Looking for Jane showcases that it doesn’t matter how you come to motherhood, a mother is a mother, and that’s what’s important. Every reader will find some connection between parts of this book and their own life.
For an exploratory look at the birth and adoption process in Canada’s not-so-distant past presented in a great historical read, pick up this book today! Also, don’t miss our fantastic interview with the author, Heather Marshall!
Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for the complimentary review copy of Looking for Jane so that it could be impartially reviewed.