COUNTING BACKWARDS

“I’ve been a huge fan of Jacqueline Friedland’s writing since I devoured He Gets That From Me a few years ago, but Counting Backwards is her best novel yet. In this dual-narrative story, Friedland fearlessly explores issues of incarceration and eugenics, infertility and the legacy we inherit from our ancestors. This is a riveting, compelling story—but it’s also an important one, reminding us that history’s darkest aspects can echo forward into our present day and that there is so much work left to do in the fight for freedom and equality.” — Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The German Wife

“Like Perkins-Valdez’s Take My Hand, Friedland’s novel exposes a shocking—and even more recent—betrayal of women by government institutions. Perfectly personified in the characters of Jessa and Carrie and featuring a refreshing twist, the story is unputdownable, not to mention incredibly resonant in these uncertain times.” — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular

“Friedland gifts readers with richly developed characters in a dual-timeline tale that explores fertility, inequality, and reproductive rights—both past and present with an eye toward the future. Counting Backwards is more than a powerful read, ultimately it teaches us all how to move forward.”  — Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of The Goddess of Warsaw  

“Counting Backwards is a tightly woven dual-timeline novel that explores the way in which the sins of a family member can reverberate for generations and how society’s mistreatment of women hasn’t changed in decades. Jacqueline Friedland’s ripped-from-the-headlines story is an Erin Brockovich for our times.” — Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost

“A dual-timeline novel inspired by real events, Counting Backwards examines the ways women’s bodies have been used against them in American society both past and present. With well-developed, complex characters, the story truly comes to life as both Carrie and Jessa try to navigate the hands they’ve been dealt. As secrets and connections are revealed, layer by surprising layer, Friedland explores both responsibility and redemption with heft and grace.” — Jo Piazza, national and international bestselling author of The Sicilian Inheritance

“A riveting story about the lengths people will go to control the destinies of others and the secrets we keep even from those we love the most. Jacqueline Friedland uncovers a shameful moment in our country’s history and in so doing, brings into the light people whom time has largely forgotten.” — Daisy Alpert Florin, author of My Last Innocent Year

“Timely, perceptive, and inspiring, Counting Backwards is truly a book for this moment. By masterfully combining legal history with some of our most pressing present-day issues, Jackie Friedland delivers a tour de force about family, female independence, and choosing to embrace what really matters. Only an absolute pro like Friedland could write a book this smart and this pertinent that still makes readers cry at the end.” — Lynda Cohen Loigman, author of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern

“Bold, timely, and inspired by shocking real-life events, Counting Backwards had me gripped from its opening chapter. In this courageous and propulsive novel, Friedland doesn’t shy away from tackling hard questions about social responsibility, ancestral loyalty, what we owe each other as women, and—perhaps most crucially—what we owe ourselves.”   — Carola Lovering, bestselling author of Tell Me Lies and Bye, Baby