The government has decreed that women are not allowed jobs, books, or more than a hundred words a day. Dr. Jean McClellan was in denial that it could go that far, but now she’s trying to figure out how to reclaim her voice in a world that has told women to be quiet…
This book was disturbing in a way reminiscent of 1984 and A Handmaid’s Tale. But it’s also an important book for our time, and an absolutely riveting tale.
— Jody Chwatun
“This ambitious debut scared me so much that I began reading it in very small portions. In Dalcher’s version of the future, women have lost all of their rights and are limited (via electronic handcuffs) to speaking only 100 words per day. Their entire purview has been relegated to the home and family, where even girl children may not speak more than 100 words per day. Women cannot work, female representation in government has dropped precipitously over the years, and the bible belt has become a bible corset as men have reclaimed their masculinity through dominance of women in all areas. Even while we are currently consumed with the unthinkable changes in the current political environment .. this book reminds us to keep our eyes open and our voices heard.”
— Terry Gilman, Creating Conversations, Redondo Beach, CA