You ever pick up a book and realize halfway through that you’ve been holding your breath? That’s the Dolen Perkins-Valdez effect. Honestly, if you haven’t dug into her work yet, you’re missing out on some of the most gut-wrenching, necessary historical fiction written in the last twenty years. She doesn’t just write "history." She excavates the stuff we’ve tried to bury.
Basically, she finds these tiny, jagged shards of real American history—the kind that makes you want to look away—and forces us to sit with them. But she does it with so much grace that you can't help but keep reading.
The Book Everyone Is Still Talking About: Take My Hand
If there’s one title that defines dolen perkins valdez books for a new generation of readers, it’s Take My Hand. Released in 2022, this novel is a powerhouse. It’s inspired by the Relf v. Weinberger case from 1973.
Think about that. 1973.
Most people think of the 70s as disco and bell-bottoms. Perkins-Valdez reminds us it was also a time of state-sanctioned medical abuse. The story follows Civil Townsend, a young Black nurse in Montgomery, Alabama. She’s fresh out of school, full of hope, and ready to help her community. Then she meets India and Erica. They’re just kids—11 and 13. They haven't even had their first kiss. But because they’re Black and poor, the government decides they shouldn't ever be able to have children.
It’s heavy. Kinda devastating, really.
The book jumps between 1973 and 2016. It asks some really uncomfortable questions about the "Savior Complex." Civil wants to help, but she’s also a product of her middle-class upbringing. She has to learn that "helping" can sometimes be another form of control.
Where It All Started: Wench
Before the massive success of her later work, there was Wench (2010). This was her debut, and man, it made a splash.
The premise is wild because it’s based on a real place: Tawawa House in Ohio. Before the Civil War, white Southern planters would take their enslaved mistresses there for vacation. Let that sink in for a second. A "vacation" for a slaveholder and the woman he owns.
The story focuses on Lizzie. She’s the "favorite" of her master, Drayle. There’s this twisted, complicated dynamic where she almost believes there’s love there. Then she meets three other women at the resort. They start talking. They see free Black people walking the streets of Ohio.
The tension in this book is thick. You’re rooting for Lizzie to run, but Perkins-Valdez shows us the psychological chains are often heavier than the iron ones. It’s not a simple "escape" story. It’s a study of trauma and the weird ways the human heart tries to survive under total oppression.
Don't Sleep on Balm
Published in 2015, Balm is sort of the middle child of the dolen perkins valdez books family. It doesn't get as much hype as Wench or Take My Hand, but it’s hauntingly beautiful.
It’s set in Chicago right after the Civil War. The city is a mess—literally and figuratively. Everyone is trying to figure out what "freedom" actually looks like now that the smoke has cleared. You’ve got three main characters:
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- Madge: A free Black woman with a gift for healing.
- Hemp: A freedman searching for the wife who was sold away from him.
- Sadie: A white widow who can talk to the dead.
It’s a bit more "magical realism" than her other books. But it works. It captures that feeling of a nation trying to stitch itself back together when the wounds are still oozing. It’s about the search for home when the world you knew has been burned to the ground.
The Newest Chapter: Happy Land
Fast forward to 2025, and we got Happy Land. If you haven't grabbed this one yet, do it. It continues her trend of looking at how the past refuses to stay in the past.
Perkins-Valdez has this way of making the 19th or 20th century feel like it’s happening next door. She’s an Associate Professor at American University, so the research is always airtight. You can tell she spends months—maybe years—in the archives. But when you read the prose, it doesn’t feel like a history lecture. It feels like a secret being whispered in your ear.
Why You Should Care
People sometimes ask why we need more books about the "dark parts" of history.
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Honestly? Because we keep repeating them. Take My Hand felt especially urgent given the current landscape of reproductive rights. Perkins-Valdez shows us that these aren't new fights. They’re old ones with new names.
Her writing style is lyrical but never "flowery." It’s direct. She hits you where it hurts, but she always leaves a little room for hope. Not the fake, "everything is fine" kind of hope, but the real kind—the kind that comes from looking at the truth and deciding to keep moving anyway.
How to Get the Most Out of Her Work
If you're planning to dive into these stories, don't rush. These aren't beach reads.
- Start with Take My Hand: It’s the most accessible and arguably her most polished work. It’ll give you a good sense of her voice.
- Read the Author’s Notes: Seriously. Don’t skip them. She usually explains which parts are real and which are fiction. It makes the story ten times more impactful.
- Look up the Relf Sisters: After reading Take My Hand, Google the real Mary Alice and Minnie Lee Relf. Their bravery changed federal law.
- Join a Book Club: You’re going to want to talk about these. There’s so much nuance regarding race, class, and gender that you’ll see something new every time you discuss it.
Dolen Perkins-Valdez has cemented herself as a "pre-eminent chronicler of American historical life," as many critics put it. She fills in the gaps that history books leave behind. If you want to understand where we are now, you kind of have to understand the stories she’s telling.
Go to your local library or independent bookstore. Grab a copy. Turn off your phone. Just read.