Della Leavitt author
A novel by Della Leavitt
Vivian's Decision
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.
Other Publications
"The Do-Over"
Forthcoming. Tilt: Off-Kilter Stories for a Topsy-Turvy World. Windy City Publishers.
"Hannah's Pledge"
June, 2024. In Feisty Deeds: Daring Women across Six Centuries. Women's Fiction Writers Association.
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"On Squirrels & Other Interlopers"
April, 2023. In Meaningful Conflicts: The Art of Friction. Windy City Publishers.
"Repeal!"
2021. In Turning Points: An Anthology from Members of the Off Campus Writers’ Workshop. Windy City Publishers.
"The Week That Was"
2019. In J. Rehak (ed.) A Reason to Be Here. A collaborative novel from the Off Campus Writers' Workshop. Windy City Publishers.
Continued Publications
"The Return of the 17-Year Locusts"
Leavitt, Della. (2017). Honorable Mention. Prose. "The Return of the 17-Year Locusts," In Word of Art 3: InPrint Writers, Rockford, IL.
"Chicago's writing community: Nurturing new voices."
Leavitt, Della (2023). "Chicago's writing community: Nurturing new voices." About Write. https://ocww.info/About-Write?p=chicago-writing-community-nurturing-new-voices
"The Necklace"
Leavitt, Della. (May, 2022). "The Necklace" in FreeFlashFiction. https://freeflashfiction.com/fiction/the-necklace/.
Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Guest Blogger
Leavitt, Della. (October, 2020). Chicago Literary Hall of Fame guest blogger. https://chicagoliteraryhof.org/blog/entry/persistence-at-the-3rd-annual-virtual-storystudio-conference
"Remembering the Marshall vs. New Trier match-ups"
Leavitt, Della (August, 2020). GameChangers documentary film. Personal essay contest winner. https://www.gamechangers.film/contest
"Where I am from"
Leavitt, D.R. (2017). "Where I am from," Vitae Scholasticae: The Journal of Educational Biography. Special Issue: Family Methodology. 34(2), 28-31.
"Teachers create a Professional Learning Community to be a place of their own"
Leavitt, D.R., Palius, M.F., Babst, R.D, Donegan, R., Lampkin, J.L, Smith, M., & Whitford, P.A. (2013). Teachers create a Professional Learning Community to be a place of their own. Mid-Atlantic Education Review, 1(1)3-16.
"I teach like you all are gifted"
Leavitt, D. R. & Washington, E. N. (2013). “I teach like you are all gifted:" Leading lowest-track students to become confident mathematics learners. In A. Cohan & A. Honigsfeld (Eds.), Breaking the mold of education: Innovative and successful practices for student engagement, empowerment, and motivation (4th in a series) pp. 171-178. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
"Inquiry as a stance"
Leavitt, D. R. (2010). Inquiry as Stance: Practitioner Research for the Next Generation, Book review. i.e: inquiry in education, 1(2), Article 7. Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.nl.edu/ie/vol1/iss2/7
"Meek, but Not Weak!"
Leavitt, D.R. (2010). (Unpublished dissertation). "Meek, but Not Weak!" A Resilient Black Female Mathematics Teacher Composes a Purposeful Life. University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Education. Proquest, UMI-3417385.