Della Leavitt

DELLA LEAVITT

AUTHOR

"Engaging and historically compelling" - Kirkus Reviews (Buy It)

"Heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure." —GOLDIE GOLDBLOOM, author of On Division

Historical Novel Society review , May 2026

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/vivians-decision/

"Vivian’s Decision is also delightfully full of Jewish wisdom, traditions, and immigrant history,

This riveting novel about female friendship and agency is strongly recommended."

Booklife Review, May, 2026 "Editor's Pick"

https://booklife.com/project/vivian-s-decision-a-novel-107271

"Debut novelist Leavitt shoots straight for the heart with this pitch-perfect historical fiction."

Chicago. 1956.

One overwhelmed mother.

Four young children.

Seven days to make an impossible decision.

Vivian Jacobson is distraught to be pregnant again. Already drowning in the demands of her four young children, she can’t imagine adding a fifth. Her husband Mel, a devoted partner,works long days in his family’s Maxwell Street tavern—leaving Vivian isolated and overwhelmed in their new suburban Chicago home. Vivian pleads with Mel to let her ask her trusted obstetrician for an abortion. He reluctantly agrees.

Vivian’s doctor won’t risk his license and refers her to an illegal abortionist. When Vivian flees, the man warns her that the clock is ticking: If she wants this abortion, she must return within one week. As she struggles with what to do, she is rocked by a series of revelations, including her Jewish immigrant mother’s parallel secret. Ultimately, Vivian must find the courage to make the decision that is best for her family—and for herself.

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A tender, charming, and generous story, filled with affection and deep knowing. Sadly, as timely and urgent now as then."

—ABBY GENI, author of The Body Farm

"Leavitt has written a fictional family saga reminding us that, especially for women, past is more than prologue. Self-determination requires courage…and sisterhood."

—Jill Pollack, founder of StoryStudio Chicago