I Am Amy Dunne: A Very Private Tragedy, A Very Public Case

by Amy Dunne

In 2007, Amy Dunne was barely seventeen years old and pregnant with a baby girl who had anencephaly, meaning the baby was certain to die before or at birth.

Amy, who was temporarily in the care of the Irish state, told a social worker about her plan to travel for a termination. Although she was supported by her family and by the baby's father, she was told that it would not be possible for her to travel, so Amy had to fight her case in the High Court. Her private tragedy quickly became an extremely public story.

Now in her thirties, with the Eighth Amendment repealed, Amy reflects on the culture of shame that she and many other Irish women lived through. I am Amy Dunne is ultimately a story of enormous resilience and power.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Memoir, Irish Literature

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2022

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the end of Edna O’Brien’s short story “A Scandalous Woman”, the narrator reflects on how Ireland was a ‘land of shame… a land of strange sacrificial women’. I’ve always felt this can be read two ways: the self-sacrifices of women to maintain the martyred Irish mammy archetype (‘how many Irish mammies does it take to change a lightbulb?’, ‘ah don’t worry about me pet, I’m grand here in the dark), and the way in which the post-independent state sacrificed the rights and lives of women to maintain the official and oppressive conservative Catholic ideology. Women were denied access to contraception and divorce, forced to travel overseas in secrecy if they needed an abortion, and sequestered away in various institutions if they ‘transgressed’.
Against this, in the 1980s and 1990s there was a series of what the late academic Siobhan Kilfeather described as ‘sensationalised exemplary cases’ which highlighted how the issues of sexual and reproductive rights (or the lack thereof) had affected individual girls and women in devastating, sometimes fatal, ways .
But. For the individuals involved, just as for Amy Dunne in 2007, their circumstances were't sensational or exemplary: it was their lives. I am Amy Dunne is a powerful and well-paced book which focuses not on the wider social context but on Dunne’s own story and how she came to be at the centre of a high-profile legal case at just seventeen, her life up until that point, and just as importantly, her life afterwards. How awful to have your personal experience publicised and politicised like this, to have your most intimate details broadcast to the nation on the Six One News. And even if she was anonymised as ‘Miss D’ in the case well, one, Ireland is a small place and word gets around, and two, a cloak of anonymity is no shield against such an invasion of privacy. It is reprehensible she was subjected to this at a very vulnerable time in her life.
This was a devastatingly raw and painful read and Dunne, who is commendably self-aware, also remarks how painful it was for her to write. Also commendable was how Orla O’Donnell reflected on her part in the initial court reporting and the impact of this on Dunne. I hope that Dunne now feels exonerated from the sense of isolation, guilt and shame she carried with her for many years and that in the future, if she maintains a public profile, it is because she wants one.

[sinead ganly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It breaks my heart that this in fact did happen and not so long ago. A very important story that needs to be shared, absolutely broke me into a million pieces but there is something so uplifting about Amy’s outlook on the world and how her daughter’s life shaped her own.

[Amy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much that I literally couldn’t put it down. The emotions were so raw and Amy really left herself within the pages of her book. I have been through trauma myself and could relate to how she was feeling a lot. Feeling like I’m the only one it’s happened to that I’m alone and ostracised. Our country let her down and she deserved more not only from the state but from the hse who was meant to provide her care. It really shows how broken our system is. My name is also Amy and after this book I am proud to just share a name with a woman as strong and resilient as she is. I know if I’m even half as strong and resilient as her that I will be okay. - Amy if you do read this your country failed you when you needed them but the fact you still trust and have a heart of gold and want to help others is inspiring. Adam should be proud he has a mam who fights for the right thing.

[Niamh Gaynor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking read, you could really sense the pain and anguish the author went through. One thing that would've improved it would've been a reflection on how the author's opinions surrounding abortion for non-medical or non-traumatic reasons (i.e. a woman making a choice to have a termination simply because she doesn't want to have a child) has changed or evolved since she was young and speaking out against it in a class. Although the author understandably spoke and developed her opinions based on her own experience, an acknowledgement that abortion isn't always an emotional or big decision for every woman would have fit well within the book, as each woman's experience is different. Overall a great book that I would recommend to anyone who has limited knowledge or experience of those who seek out abortion for medical reasons.

[Britt N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has left me speechless. What an incredibly harrowing and intense journey that Amy has gone through as, and since she was a teenager. I can't imagine what these events were like for her to experience, I can only applaud her bravery and strength throughout. Absolutely heartwrentching. Well worth the read, especially with Roe v Wade being overturned in the US Friday. Unimaginable what Amy and others like her have had to suffer through.

[Niamh Gaynor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking read, you could really sense the pain and anguish the author went through. One thing that would've improved it would've been a reflection on how the author's opinions surrounding abortion for non-medical or non-traumatic reasons (i.e. a woman making a choice to have a termination simply because she doesn't want to have a child) has changed or evolved since she was young and speaking out against it in a class. Although the author understandably spoke and developed her opinions based on her own experience, an acknowledgement that abortion isn't always an emotional or big decision for every woman would have fit well within the book, as each woman's experience is different. Overall a great book that I would recommend to anyone who has limited knowledge or experience of those who seek out abortion for medical reasons.

[Dearbhla Q-H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Until the our recent repeal of the 8th amendment there were generations of Irish women who learned about abortion through the coverage of tragic cases taken by or against ‘alphabet women and girls’ who needed abortions, often in some of the most harrowing circumstances imaginable. I am the same age as Amy, and I remember being in 5th year in school and hearing about the plight of Miss D. Her case touched me deeply, as the fact that we were the same age meant that I couldn’t help but draw parallels between our lives. I felt a deep sense of empathy and righteous anger about what she was being put through- by the very people (her social worker, the wider state) who were supposed to be her protectors. Amy I’m so glad that your life has turned out so well, and I am so sorry that you were forced to endure the trauma that our state put you through. Thank you for sharing your story and for your brave and inspiring role in our repeal of the 8th amendment.