Sabrina Jones

A raw and pained response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The stories that work best for me in this thick collection are the journalistic ones that feature personal testimonies or factual accounts about abortion, menstruation, and transgender issues. Fortunately, they outnumber the artsy fartsy contributions by a pretty wide margin, but still, with so many stories by so many different creators there are some ups and downs in the quality of writing and illustrations from page to page, but show more all hearts are in the right place.

Contents:
• A Message from the Editors
• Post Procedure / Sabrina Jones
• Bitchy Bitch in . . . Not Again!!? / Roberta Gregory
• The Real Cost of Freedom / Elaine Schulman, writer; Nicole Schulman, illustrator and additional text
• A Choice of Life / Sam Migliore
• My Illegal Abortion / Trina Robbins, writer; Ellen Lindner, illustrator
• First Period: A Thoroughly Unscientific Look at Menarche / Isabella Bannerman
• Just a Gentle Reminder / Lauren Simkin Berke
• Horrors of Puberty: A Cautionary Tale / Liz Keough
• Lifeblood Driving / Lee Marrs
• Manatee / Carly Shooster
• Tear It Down / Vanessa Glynn, writer; Meg Lemieur, illustrator
• 380 2nd Avenue: An Abortion Story / Laura Catherine Brown
• I've Told This Story Before: The Testimony of Lana Clarke Phelan / Lana Clark Phelan, writer; Jenny Brown, editor; Seth Tobocman, editor and penciller; Tamara Tornado, inker
• Wear a Condom / Peter Kuper
• For All He Cares, You Could Be a Broom / Emily Waters
• Seeds of Life / Jennifer Camper
• Goddess Arise: An Incantation to Heal the Feminine / Rebecca Migdal
• Seen at the Abortion Rights Rally / Regina Silvers
• Meet the Creeps / Guerilla Girls
• SCOTA (Abort the Court) / Sue Coe
• Tightrope / Susan Willmarth
• Thank You Nurses / Susan Simensky Bietila
• What My Catholic Religion Taught Me about Abortion / Tom Keough
• Late / Joyce Farmer
• Keeping It to Yourself / Ali Solomon
• Nancy Davis / Lance Tooks
• The Doll's Underground / Jenny Gonzalez-Blitz
• The Best Offense Is More Clinic Defense / Anonymous, writer; Sue Coe and Sabrina Jones, illustrators
• The Comic that Defends Self Harm / Elias Anderson
• Absences / Eliza Krane
• Rosa Did / Sabrina Jones
• Why Don't You Get Married? / Tsaurah Litzky, writer; Jackie Lima, illustrator
• God's Planned Parenthood / Jack Roux
• Trans and Non Binary Reproductive Healthcare / Jessica Raynor Sturdivant with Alok Vaid-Menon and Raquel Willis
• What Do You Want for Your Healthcare? / Annabelle Heckler with Mariko Yamasaki, Thishi, Na-té King, Seth, and Lily Dalke
• Intersectional Feminism and Abortion Rights / Paula Hewitt Amram show less

Booktalk:

With this book, I'm asking a generation in flip-flops to imagine how traffic stopped when Isadora strolled down 5th Avenue in her homemade sandals.
p. 3

This graphic novel tells the story of Isadora Duncan, the Mother of Modern Dance, from her humble beginnings as the daughter of a piano teacher to her sudden death, due to an overly flow-y accessory and all that came in-between.

Review:
I came to this book knowing a few things about Isadora Duncan, namely that she spawned the show more "Isadorables;" that her style of dance, which was supposed to be free of training and structure, evolved into a new form of dance altogether in which students can now train and learn choreography that is passed down from body to body much in the way that ballet, which she despised for its "rigidness," has been for centuries; and that she was kind of a boozer. Basically, I know the kinds of things they tell you at the beginning of a modern dance class held during a summer workshop for ballet dancers.

All of these things are laid out beautifully in the book. But there is so much more! Isadora traveled the (Western, including Russia) world, to showcase her dancing. She gave political performances, that were not all that well-received, and yet she gave them over and over again because she believed in what she had to say. She was a professional dancer who GOT PREGNANT without ending her career. She started schools for underprivileged girls in Europe where they could learn to dance (be "Isadorables") and eat three square meals a day free of charge.

She also had the first historically recorded wardrobe malfunction and a rather scandalous string of lovers. As Jones says, we all have Isadora to thank for the widespread acceptance of "comfortable dress and serial monogamy" (125).

Throughout this biography, Jones manages to balance Isadora's personal, professional and family personas. Rather than focusing on just the scandal, just the ground-breaking accomplishments, just the prevalent eccentricities, Jones shows how each was affected and usually enhanced by the others. She also manages to convey a lot of movement, which is what modern dance is all about, for a book of black and white illustrations. Almost every spread shows a swaying, jumping, or somehow dancing Isadora. Her innocent little "I'm not up to anything" face peeks out from every page as well.

By drawing from Isadora's own autobiography, as well as her other publications and the work of other biographers, including Isadora's most loyal adopted Isadorable, Irma Duncan, Jones puts forth a wonderful look at all of the facets of Isadora's life. This book expresses the freedom and artistry that Isadora spent her life sharing with others.

Book source: Philly Free Library show less

My Body, Our Rights, edited by Paula Hewitt Amram, Sabrina Jones, and Rebecca Migdal, is a powerful and accessible look at the importance of bodily autonomy to everyone's rights.

The graphic form gives these messages more impact since the reader is both reading the words and seeing the images. I also think that, by offering many short pieces that can be read in a short time it can reach a larger readership. Many people can't or won't take the time to read books or even essays on these topics, show more but these can be read in minutes. Once that happens, the ideas presented can be considered and hopefully generate action.

While I would readily recommend this to those already involved in the battle(s), I think this is the type of book that would make an excellent gift for those who haven't given much thought to the importance of bodily autonomy but might be interested in reading something that isn't a big time investment. Once that happens, they may well seek more details about areas they are particularly moved by.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss. show less

This is a wonderful biography of an important figure in the world of dance, expression, and feminism. Jones does an excellent job of portraying Duncan's revolutionary and visionary side while never losing sight of her humanity and fallibility. Because this is a graphic novel Duncan's movement suffuses the work, just as it should. This biography makes Duncan's ideas and life accessible to young adult readers without sacrificing the complexity of this this remarkable artist and woman.