Immediately after reading Irene Vilar's memoir, Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict, I closed the book and went to my bedroom to take an afternoon nap. I needed to escape; however, no sleep came, my mind rolling over Vilar's tragic story. When I was asked to review this book, I kept thinking of course by book's end, I'll understand how one woman made the decision to have fifteen abortions in as many years. Yet, that wasn't the case and it disturbed me--a pro-choice supporter.

The two reviews on Amazon and Robin Morgan's foreword to Vilar's book are thoughtful and almost apologetic on behalf of the author's repetitive decision to terminate one pregnancy after the next. There were hints that I was going to find empathy for the author when she writes early on about how she learned that women were not to be in the way of men, even when they are being fondled and touched--violated--by these men. At a very young age, Vilar felt she needed "permission to occupy some place in the world." I dare say that many women can relate to that feeling. Still