My Notorious Life is a historical fiction novel based on the fictionalized events of Ann Trow Lohman, also known as Madame Restell. My Notorious Life gives Axie a devastating backstory that grabbed my attention in the first chapter. Axie and her siblings are victims of the Orphan trade, separated from one another as well as their mother impacting their trust in others throughout their lives, especially Axie's. The writing is very detailed and character oriented. I could easily envision Axie's cramped apartment where she grew up, the train to Illinois, the doctor's office where she was taken in, her offices and eventually her mansion. Axie's character showed enormous growth throughout the story as she was forced to make difficult decisions about her place in the world, her family, where to put her trust and whether or not to fight for women's health as she was persecuted for providing birth control and abortions. In the digital edition I had, all the curse words were asterisked out, even words like crap. This was definitely annoying for me, and I didn't have an idea as to what some of the words were supposed to be. Axie's husband Charlie was also a bit of a mystery to me and I wished he was fleshed out a little more. I think Axie's perception of him was tainted from other men in her life, but I didn't have a good handle on his overall demeanor. Axie's story shines a light on the overwhelming and important history of women's health, access to contraceptives and abortions that we are unfortunately still fighting today.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.