Vivian's Decision: A Novel

by Della Leavitt

An evocative work of historical fiction, Vivian’s Decision is an all too relevant story of repeated history, female friendship, and the strength that it takes to make choices of one’s own. 

In 1956 suburban Chicago, Vivian Jacobson, an overwhelmed mother of four, is distraught to be pregnant again. When she begs her doctor for an abortion, he refers her to an illegal practitioner. Her husband Mel, a Jewish WWII veteran working in his family’s Maxwell Street tavern, reluctantly agrees.

Accompanied by her bossy older sister, Vivian goes to the abortionist’s storefront but panics and insists he halt the procedure. As she flees, the man warns that she must return within one week, or else it will be too late.

Over the next seven days, while Vivian grapples with this weighty decision, she learns a series of staggering truths about her immigrant mother’s past that shake her to her core. With her future and the future of her family hanging in the balance, Vivian will search inside and out for the answers she needs to make her choice—even when they come from the most unlikely of herself. 

280 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Lainey Cameron]

Some stories feel less like historical fiction and more like a warning. Vivian's Decision is one of them — set in 1950s Chicago, it follows Vivian Jacobson, already a mother of four, overwhelmed, isolated, and pregnant again.

The central question Leavitt asks is deceptively simple: does a married woman — a good wife, a devoted mother — deserve to make her own decisions about her body and pregnancy? In 1950s America, the law has a clear answer. Vivian does not have that legal choice.

What I loved most about this book is that Leavitt doesn't take the easy route of making Vivian's marriage part of the problem. Mel is a genuinely devoted husband. He and Vivian have a strong, respectful partnership. Watching them Mel navigate an impossible situation together, with love and mutual support, made the stakes feel even higher. This isn't a story about a woman escaping a bad marriage. It's a story about a woman trying to figure out who she is and make an impossible choice within a good one.

The historical setting gives the story both its tension and its heartbreak. Vivian's path involves a back-door physician, a revelation about her own mother's past, and the kind of female friendship that quietly holds the novel together.

In a world where women's rights feel more fragile than ever, Vivian's Decision arrives exactly when it needs to. A powerful, heart-wrenching story about family secrets, impossible choices, and what it means to ask the people who love you to help carry a weight you cannot carry alone.

[Leslie]

I received an advance copy from the author, but this is my honest review. Leavitt has written an evocative novel set mostly in the 1950's about multigenerational pressures in a Jewish family trying to achieve the good life in America after emigrating from Eastern Europe in the early twentieth century. Vivian struggles to become pregnant early in her marriage to a nurturing, but somewhat older and traditional man--only to find herself the frazzled mother to four young children a few years later. Her frustration at the difficulty of being a good mother to her brood boils over when she realizes that she has become pregnant a fifth time. She still dreams of becoming a school teacher and being less dependent on her husband's financial support, but that ambition seems less and less attainable. As she struggles with her options, she gains the support and wisdom of a good friend as well as her mother and her older female relatives. She also discovers that her mother struggled with even more agonizing choices when she had a string of pregnancies as well as the worry of a less than ideal husband. The author's prose is straightforward and vividly describes the life of a newly suburban wife in the postwar generation that had mostly assimilated into mainstream American life. This book is poignantly timely, as it ends with the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that freed the next generation, only to have reproductive rights threatened or withdrawn in recent years.

[Michael Godwin]

Vivian's Decision is an evocative work of historical fiction that places one woman's deeply personal dilemma against the social and cultural realities of 1956 suburban Chicago. Through Vivian Jacobson, an overwhelmed mother facing an unexpected pregnancy, the novel explores difficult questions surrounding choice, family, marriage, identity, and the courage required to determine one's own future.

The story's seven-day timeframe creates an effective sense of urgency as Vivian struggles with whether to proceed with an illegal abortion. Her decision becomes even more complicated when revelations about her immigrant mother's past begin to reshape her understanding of her family and herself.

The historical setting adds considerable depth to Vivian's journey, particularly through the portrayal of a Jewish family, postwar life, and the limited choices available to women during the period. At the same time, the novel's themes feel strikingly contemporary, making Vivian's internal struggle relevant beyond its historical setting.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction with strong female protagonists, women's stories, family secrets, Jewish historical fiction, and emotionally complex examinations of personal choice may find Vivian's Decision a compelling and thought-provoking read.

[Margaret Ghielmetti]

This story explores on one of the hardest decision some couples will ever make, plus the historical context around that choice. I ached for the protagonist and her husband and family . . . while learning so much about Jewish life in the 1950s -- and before -- in Chicagoland.
The “no-goodnik” antagonists kept me worried about Vivian, then Leavitt offset that with wisdom from some very-decent-indeed “goodniks,” including Gwendolyn Brooks, a wise rabbi, a compassionate doctor, and family members with difficult pasts of their own.
Sensory details (like wafts of Aqua Velva) also bring Vivian’s era to vivid life and drew me deeply into each scene, place and time.
Plus, I appreciated the update-to-modern-day in the final chapter.

[Judy S]

Leavitt is brave to write a novel that tackles such a divisive and personal topic. The story of Vivian is touching and sensitive, calling attention to real-life issues, the broader question of agency, and how society can cause harm by failing to address them. Whether you agree with the main character's decision or not, the author has successfully developed genuine and relatable characters and relationships, highlighting the dilemma and juxtaposing it against the backdrop of other women in Vivian's life who faced a similar situation. The book takes the reader on a roller coaster of insights and emotions through various subplots. Kudos to Leavitt on such a finely crafted and well-written novel that speaks so importantly to our time.

[Amy Potts Ostrowski]

Sometimes history seems like today. Vivian's Decision tells a story familiar to women throughout time. Readers will connect with not only Vivian, but the cast of women in her life. I am not usually a historical fiction reader, but this one sucked me in not only because of the writing, but because of the often overlooked perspectives of women throughout history when it comes to reproductive rights and health. Highly recommend!

[Linda Paul]

In Vivian’s Decision, the main character must navigate a complex maze of challenges, including what to do when she’s faced with an unexpected pregnancy. The story weaves through all the ups and downs of her difficult decision that can only be made with her careful assessment of what it will mean to her life.

[Stephanie Claypool]

Della Leavitt has penned a thoughtful and deeply touching exploration of a difficult, complex decision at a time when safe and legal abortions were not available. With great care, the story carried me along as Vivian struggles with her choice and the secrets she seeks to uncover. As the clock ticked down to decision time, I anxiously awaited Vivian’s choice.

[Ken Bronstein]

Della's debut novel is a winner! This multi-generational historical fiction is full of character and should be read anyone who sees how our world can be strengthened by strong women who get the societal support needed to become who they want to be. Heartwarming and inspiring.

[Julie]

I read this because a friend of a friend wrote it! Besides the fact that it is set in the Chicago area - my home town - I found the writing excellent and the story very compelling.

[Anne Beall]

I loved this book. I felt like I was transported back into the 1950's in suburban Chicago. I felt a strong sense of place as I read this book--how things used to be and what women's lives were like. As the main character tries to decide what to do, I saw the ways she waffled and made a decision. And then made another decision. And it all made sense. This is a sensitive portrait of one of the most difficult decisions a woman will make. And it didn't end the way I expected. Well done!

[Kerry Chaput]

Vivian's Decision is both a story of immigrant life in America, and the exploration of women's choices. Vivian must contend with the trauma of her parent's past and the expectations of her current world, to somehow find a way toward her own truth. When faced with a pregnancy she knows would end her dreams and smother an already struggling mother, she must face the biggest decision of her life, and for the first time, she must make a decision for her, and no one else.