Intimate Wars

A “searingly honest debut memoir” from an activist and award-winning journalist who made a woman’s right to choose her life’s work (Kirkus Reviews).   Merle Hoffman had built a life as a classical pianist and self-made millionaire before her passion for the equality and freedom of girls and women drew her to a bigger cause: protecting a woman’s right to have a safe and legal abortion.   Hoffman became an expert in women’s reproductive healthcare and used her entrepreneurial spirit to build one of the most comprehensive women’s medical centers in the country. In 1971, two years before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision made abortion legal throughout the US, Hoffman founded the New York abortion clinic Choices. As a medical provider, she pioneered “patient power,” encouraging women to participate in their own health care decisions.   Through her singular journey, Hoffman had many loves and even adopted a daughter from Russia, but never wavered in her commitment to fighting on the front lines of the feminist movement.   “From her decision to adopt a child to her love affairs, this is the story of one woman’s quest to live fully. Opinionated, fierce, bold and brash, Intimate Wars chronicles Hoffman’s efforts to improve women’s lives and influence history. She deserves our gratitude.” —Truthout