Looking for Jane

A novel about a secret network of women fighting for the right to choose, inspired by true events

2017: When Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a shocking confession, she decides to track down its original recipient. Her search takes her back to the 1970s, to a time when a group of brave women operated an illegal abortion network in Toronto, its name whispered only in secret: Jane.

1971: As a teenager, Dr Evelyn Taylor found herself in a home for troubled girls, where she was forced to give up her newborn baby for adoption. She struggles with this trauma her entire life. Despite police raids and the constant threat of arrest, she joins the Jane network as an abortion provider – fiercely determined to give women the right to choose that she herself was denied.

1980: After twenty-year-old Nancy Mitchell discovers a devastating truth about her family, she begins to question her entire life. When she falls pregnant unexpectedly, she finds help through the Jane network. While grappling with the consequences of her own choices, she begins working for Jane alongside Dr Taylor. However, she cannot escape the lies that haunt her.

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Looking for Jane is an original and moving story that provides an honest portrayal of the never-ending fight for women's rights. Heather Marshall reflects on a dark chapter of Canadian history, describing the solidarity and bravery of women who dared to stand up and resist.
— Ellen Keith, author

Looking for Jane is a brilliantly written novel about the lengths to which women will go in their desire for children. It also reveals a lesser-known chapter in the history of the women's movement: an ode to the female doctors, nurses, and volunteers who fought to win future generations the right to choose what happens to their own bodies.

— Janet Skeslien Charles, author of The Paris Library

The characters in this book feel like my friends, and their story cut to the quick. A masterly, courageous, and honest tale of what it means to be a mother, to be a woman, and to relentlessly defend the truth.
— Marissa Stapley, author