You Carried Me

After learning of her biological mother's unsuccessful attempt to abort her, Melissa Ohden embarks on a decades-long search for answers. Despite the stable love of two adoptive parents, she wrestles with despair and the overwhelming belief that she is unwanted. The harsh ambiguity surrounding her origins haunts her; she knows nothing about the couple that wanted her gone. But as she is pursued by God, Ohden uses her testimony to comfort others, from clients at the domestic violence shelter where she works, for whom betrayal is all too familiar, to other abortion survivors. The wounds of abortion run deep--for victims, siblings, spouses, and even would-be mothers. But ultimately, Ohden shows that Christ can redeem any relationship, no matter what. --Christianity Today Very personal and compelling. LA Review of Books A memoir of mothers, daughters, adoption, and abortion. . . . Ohden's story is complicated, and she has impressively overcome significant emotional challenges. . . . [Her] perseverance is inspiring. --Kirkus Reviews Ohden's straightforward and courageous memoir revolves around her efforts to find her birth parents and understand her identity after discovering at age 14 that she survived a late-term abortion. ... Her beautifully open book is unlikely to change minds on either side of the abortion debate, but it does personalize that debate in a unique way. --Publishers Weekly