I've Had One Too- The Book
Anna Wood is a writer and creator with interests spanning environmental activism, feminism, and technology. When she isn't working or volunteering, Anna can be found outside adventuring, or inside with a good book. She currently calls California, USA home.
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I've Had One Too: A Story of Abortion and Healing
I’VE HAD ONE TOO is an intimate portrait of one woman’s abortion, and the profound journey of reconciliation and personal healing that came in its wake.When author Anna Wood found herself accidentally pregnant, she was forced to confront the narrow confines of what had always been her stance on abortion:“I’m pro-choice, but I’d never have one myself.”Now she found herself asking: what “kinds of women” had abortions anyway? And why is the subject still so stigmatized?It was only in the months and years following the procedure, that she discovered how many women in her life had had one too—and yet felt too ashamed to talk about it.But as long as there are unwanted pregnancies, there will be abortions. With the issue back on the political agenda, Anna decided to tell her story to make it okay for other women to own and claim our right to this part of our reproductive lives. Along the way, she came to see that abortion is an integral(and often forgotten)part of the fight for gender and economic equality—while in writing I’VE HAD ONE TOO, she found space to grieve, hope for her future, and a way to make peace with her choice.
Show Transcript:
1:27 Anna’s introduction
2:20 “It became apparent, this is not the time, this is not the partner… I had an abortion”
2:46 “At first it was a lot of mixed emotions… it broke me open… “
3:24 “I’ve got to break out of these habits and cycles I was in”
3:57 “It started clear and ended clear…”
4:36 “very back and forth… finally it became clear”
4:51 “It had gone from what kind of life is this going to be for my child to what kind of life is this going to be for me?”
5:09 “There was immediate relief, but then there was also sadness”
5:25 Joyful life- “Did it come at this cost?”
6:08 “What type of woman has an abortion?”
6:26 “I was 34 and that felt old to me… there’s so much stereotype”
6:49 “It’s pretty safe to safe that everyone I know has been touched by abortion?”
7:52 “... of course this happens to men too”
10:35 “Other people are gonna go through this at some point and I want to be their rock”
11:04 “We need to have more conversations about this”
12:17 Using abortion as a catalyst for creative project
13:31 “I started getting help”- a therapist, a coach
13:55 “Hitting that rock bottom gave me this gift” (of clarity)
17:50 From darkness to light
18:30 Dante’s Divine Comedy “Once more we saw stars”
21:18 Abortion is our door; it’s the door that we walked through to rise
22:21 “I had so many conflicting emotions”
22:43 “I felt like I was in a pinball machine”
22:55 “Where’s the ceremony when you have an abortion?”
24:04 “That’s where I was then… take it as a snapshot”
25:08 “What makes us human, what makes us so adaptable as a species?”
26:30 “We have to be able to learn and grow”
26:57 “Opening up to my friends was the best thing I ever did”
27:29 “This is how you make change in the world”
28:30 We go places we never imagined possible when we keep showing up
annawoodauthor@gmail.com
