'Say Anarcha' takes an unsparing look at gynecology's origins

The history of medicine is far from complete without doing justice to the history of childbirth. Even if that means presenting a shattering, heavy account of the conception of modern gynecology. In "Say Anarcha," Guggenheim fellow and Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate J.C. Hallman attempts to carry readers into harrowing realities endured by enslaved African American women in 19th-century America. A work of speculative historical fiction, Hallman’s newest book traverses from Alabama to Africa to peel back the stories of Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy, three young Black woman who were the experimental subjects of J. Marion Sims, the father of modern gynecology.

Anarcha Westcott, an enslaved black woman from Montgomery, Alabama, was not only Sims’s experimental subject but also a skilled midwife, nurse, mother, and wife. Where Hallman succeeds most is not only in describing Anarcha’s victimization as a "uterine guillotine" but also her strength. While other depictions of her story have emphasized the inhumane lack of anesthesia that characterized the procedures she underwent, Hallman also underscores Anarcha’s resilience in the face of cruelty.

“After I made the first discoveries of Anarcha’s life — the first proof of her existence that did not come from the man who experimented on her — I began to encounter objections: it was all too disturbing; I wouldn’t find more about Anarcha; and, I wasn’t the right person to tell the story,” Hallman wrote in an email interview. “The last was the most significant — and legitimate — and I weighed it heavily, and came close to giving up on the book. But if I gave up, I would be consigning her to oblivion all over again, and I would essentially be aiding and abetting Sims as he went on controlling her story, much in the same way he once controlled her body.”

As a reader, I also came to care about more than how Sims hurt Anarcha. I was moved to tears by Anarcha’s resilient commitment of learning how to care for others when her own physician cared so little for her. By delving into the myths and monstrosity behind Sims’s experimentation, Hallman strips down through parallel narratives just how much of a lie has lived in Sims’ enduring legacy of being the one to fully pioneer vesicovaginal fistula (VFF) surgery. VVF is an opening between the bladder and the vagina that is often caused by neglected obstructed labor. As described, "Say Anarcha" does not sacrifice graphic description for grand storytelling. Rather, it persists on pain to pursue the truth on how early obstetric medicine on the margins often manifested in the evasion of ethics when driven solely by an aching for achievement.

One of the book’s more interesting literary elements was its celestial motif, which opens the book. Hallman uses the notion of falling and shooting stars as metaphor for how Sims’ and Anarcha’s seemingly separate lives eventually merge. Although not without its criticism, this characteristic does not overshadow the seriousness with which Hallman strives to debunk the medical misinformation and deliver history. Rather, his technique is a bifurcation born out the unification that arises when the historical world meets the literary one

“My training as a fiction writer at the Iowa Writers' Workshop (IWW) informs how I approach every subject, even as a writer primarily of nonfiction these days — that’s seen here in the use of falling stars as a controlling metaphor throughout the entire book,” Hallman wrote in an email. “This, perhaps, is the most subtle part of the book, the part that is intended for the most discerning of readers — that ambition, that writing for the most enlightened of audiences, is something I took away from my time at the IWW.”

If you’re interested in being further enlightened on Hallman’s conception and development of "Say Anarcha," he has also compiled an online illustrated bibliography called the "Anarcha Archive" which drills down more into his rigorous research. If you want to meet the author in person, he will be reading from "Say Anarcha" at Iowa City’s Prairie Light bookstore on Sept. 6, starting at 7 p.m. But most importantly, if you’re interested in learning how to prioritize social justice without compromising on health care, pick up this book to learn why one cannot and should not exist without the other.

Sibani Ram is a native of Iowa City. She graduated from Duke University in 2023.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 'Say Anarcha' takes an unsparing look at gynecology's origins