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Choice

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Listening Length: 38 minutes

In this thought-provoking short, #1 New York Times best-selling and award-winning author Jodi Picoult explores a dystopian crisis through the pinhole lens of an ex-couple experiencing an unwanted pregnancy.

Margot and James are broken up—for good this time. James made sure of it when he dropped the bomb on Margot: that he doesn’t want kids, ever.

Then, on the biggest morning of his life, James—an ambitious lawyer at a high-powered firm—wakes up pregnant. He realizes with dread that he is part of a recent epidemic of men suddenly and inexplicably becoming pregnant. His condition obvious to the higher-ups, James is denied the promotion he was expecting, sending him reeling.

Meanwhile, Margot, a social worker, must handle the influx of desperate, pregnant teenage boys suddenly seeking her help. When she receives a call from James with the same problem, the challenge of navigating post-Roe America hits even closer to home.

Please note: This content is intended for adults only. It features themes of pregnancy loss that may be upsetting to some listeners. Discretion is advised.

1 pages, Audible Audio

First published May 18, 2022

16 people are currently reading
3199 people want to read

About the author

Jodi Picoult

112 books94.9k followers
Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-eight novels, including Wish You Were Here, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire.

MAD HONEY, her new novel co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan, is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on October 4, 2022.

Website: http://www.jodipicoult.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodipicoult

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodipicoult

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5 stars
2,239 (42%)
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3 stars
953 (17%)
2 stars
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127 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 811 reviews
Profile Image for Terrie  Robinson.
648 reviews1,401 followers
February 2, 2024
Choice by Jodi Picoult is a Science Fiction Fantasy Story!

I love Dystopian Fiction and if it's mixed with Magical Realism and a narrator like Thérèse Plummer, I'm all in!

Men becoming pregnant? In this Dystopian future, they are...

In a convoluted way, Choice does bring to the table a creative perspective of "what ifs" and when the 'said' table begins spinning out of control, it turns almost everything on its head.

Choice has several thought-provoking scenarios with thoughtfully intended humor yet it feels hurried in its attempt to shove too much into something too short. As a result, it loses me for lack of all the touchy, feely, nuanced content I love.

Choice is a 38M Audible Original that's creative, timely, and nearly perfect!

3.5⭐
Profile Image for Kaceey.
1,516 reviews4,539 followers
February 4, 2024
My favorite author and narrator!
How could I not pick this one up!

A futuristic short story.
In a world where it’s the men who give birth…not the women!

Well done, Very clever!👏🏼
Profile Image for Deanna .
742 reviews13.3k followers
May 30, 2022

A quick listen with a very important message.

Profile Image for Taury.
1,214 reviews199 followers
June 19, 2022
5+🌟! Jodi Picoult it out of the ballpark with her short story Choice. How would you feel if you woke up pregnant…MEN! You faced all the obstacles women do…..Thank you Jodi Picoult for writing this short but point on short story!
Profile Image for Marianne.
4,430 reviews345 followers
May 19, 2022
Choice is a short story in Audible format by American author, Jodi Picoult. Set some years after Roe v Wade has been overturned, it is the author’s response to that imminent overturn, and is wonderfully clever and imaginative. It is narrated by Therese Plummer.

James Arborville is a thirty-two -year-old up-and-coming lawyer in Dallas who wakes up pregnant one morning, already apparently in his second trimester. And when he attends the urgent care centre, he discovers he’s not the only man with his predicament. It seems there is an epidemic of pregnancies in people without uteri.

Suddenly, James begins experiencing what many pregnant women endure: the physical, mental, psychological and emotional effects of being pregnant; symptoms, dietary choices and clothing options he never expected to have to deal with. He suffers career opportunity discrimination, judgement from medical professionals, advice and comments from strangers, and an unsupportive sexual partner.

Margot Alvis is a counsellor at a high school who finds herself suddenly having to deal with a fifteen-year-old pregnant boy who can’t get a legal abortion without travelling to Illinois or Colorado. After the boy leaves, the boyfriend who recently ended their relationship because he never wanted to have children, James Arborville turns up, obviously pregnant, telling her “It’s yours.”

As with any topical issue she tackles, Picoult approaches this highly divisive subject with intelligence and sensitivity and humour. In less than forty minutes, she succinctly demonstrates why choice is so important and why leaving decisions about the right to make that choice to male legislators is both unfair and utterly illogical. A timely tale.
Profile Image for Tania.
1,453 reviews358 followers
November 2, 2022
A timely and inventive audible original to remind us that EVERYONE should have the right to make choices about their own body. I realize this was the intention but this almost felt too much like a message and too little like a story.
Profile Image for Darcy.
14.4k reviews543 followers
May 18, 2022
This one is very timely. For a short it packs in a lot and you know if this really happened things would be changing so fast, which makes me wish it would really happen.
Profile Image for NILTON TEIXEIRA.
1,281 reviews645 followers
August 25, 2023
A thought provoking story.
The story is too short, but I thought that it was well done.
Profile Image for Gerry Durisin.
2,287 reviews1 follower
May 21, 2022
This may be the best piece Jodi Picoult has ever written. Overnight, inexplicably, men all over the US awaken to discover they are in various stages of pregnancy. Since Roe v. Wade has been overturned, many states have banned abortion. These men will now discover how it feels, and how it impacts THEIR lives, when their choice to bear a child or not has been taken away.

Thank you to @Ron Charles for bringing this short story to my attention, and to Audble for making it available free.
Profile Image for Erin.
3,921 reviews466 followers
December 13, 2022
Audiobook narrated by Thérèse Plummer 38 minutes

This short story is set in the post-Roe vs. Wade era in which men in America are waking up to discover they are pregnant. Many of the male characters find themselves in the positions that girls and women have been experiencing for centuries.


This is certainly not going to be the type of story that is going to draw everyone in. Any person who already holds a strong opinion on the issue of abortion is not going to be changed by this story. Or maybe just maybe they might. I just know that I enjoyed listening to this audiobook on my way home from work was so enjoyable that I even sat in my driveway to listen to the last 16 minutes. Although I will admit that it was a story that ended with questions and that is why I rated it 3 stars.

The narrator, Thérèse Plummer, was very enjoyable to listen to and her voice kept me captivated.

Goodreads review published 13/12/22


Note: Jodi Picoult donated her payment from Audible to the National Network of Abortion Funds, which removes logistical and financial barriers to abortion in states where access is restricted or banned.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
824 reviews84 followers
October 2, 2025
This one is just a little too odd for me. Jodi’s books are a hit or miss it seems. I don’t even know what I just read. Not a fan of this one. 🫨 Two stars simply because Jodi is a good writer and the story flows despite the “creative spin” of this plot.
Profile Image for Mainlinebooker.
1,183 reviews132 followers
May 30, 2022
Jodi Picoult was infuriated when the leak of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision was handed down. To deal with these feelings, she wrote and blessed us with a FREE audible 30 minute short story that you should run to get. It is not only poignant but hysterical. She has donated her fees so that this could be available to anyone. Do yourself a favor and download this asap as she conjures what it would be like if men woke up one day to find themselves pregnant..
Profile Image for Joseph Whitt.
410 reviews6 followers
August 19, 2022
Picoult preambles her impromptu short story that her writing motivation was to be able to make a change. Good for her, but she does absolutely nothing to convince the pro-life side of the argument. This book will only be considered by those firmly in her camp. And, in case it needs to be said, I am pro-life. I am the embodiment of her villain in this story.

Choice simply turns the supposed patriarchy on its head. Overnight, without any explanation, cis-gender men now get pregnant and women, and those that feel more like a woman than a man, do not. "It's not biologically possible!" claims a character, and yet it is so. Fine - I can suspend reality just as well as the next guy. Nevermind the fact that the men also have the sperm and now (I guess?) also the eggs that intercourse seems completely arbitrary. I think what disturbed me the most is not at this laughable and self-defeating premise, but that the world just kept going as if nothing had happened. That "birthing persons" could actually mean anything other than a biological woman and the world just nods and walks on. It's actually a terrifying reflection of how relativist we have become as a society.

Though a short story, Picoult proudly throws all patriarchy talking points into the narrative, an act of shameless virtue signaling. "Look at me! See how amazingly progressive I am!" It's transparent and cringe. I'm genuinely surprised that James' boss was a guy - ah, no! I see now - only a guy would think pregnancy was a hinderence to productivity. I hear ya, Jodi. Aside from this trope, we have the mocking of pregnant women being clumsy and emotional, and the emotionally disconnected "father?"....I don't even know...there aren't words! Picoult even threw in the "well you should have thought of that before you got pregnant". And the women rejoiced!! Their comeuppance at last!! It's like the best part of being a man, apparently, is to be a complete shitty person.

But probably worst of all is the misrepresentation of Roe v. Wade. For someone who proclaims such activism, it's alarming the dishonesty of the author. In the event the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, it would return the power closer to the people to the state level; it categorically would NOT ban abortions. The reversal would simply allow the states to make their own laws concerning abortion. And while it is true that there are states that have laws that will immediately restrict or ban abortions once Roe is reversed, there are states where access to abortion will be untouched. It's almost as if there is a diversity of thought around this issue! But Picoult is seemingly to argue that most states would ban all abortions - so, most people would vote for abortion bans? Abortion limitations? I'm not sure if she's right...I've heard most polls suggest that the majority of voters think at least some abortion rights are good. Regardless, Picoult seems to think it's true. Is she then really arguing against democracy? Yes, she is. Picoult would much rather a large overbearing government making national decisions. Abortion is not a constitutional right. Roe v. Wade was case law concerning privacy, and privacy is an inferred constitutional right. Therefore, the right to an abortion is an inference on an inference and that's a bridge too far in my humble and amateur opinion.

Similar to Picoult, I don't expect I'll be changing any views today. My reviews are for me anyway. But it's depictions like this dystopia that allow me to appreciate more the values I've been taught. A society of selfish living, transactional sex (mutual masturbation), and throw-away babies is truly appalling.
Profile Image for Sonja Arlow.
1,235 reviews7 followers
September 4, 2023
The the idea behind the novella is a good one – imagine waking up in a world where men are pregnant, facing the consequences and the negative impact in the workplace, society and personal autonomy.

However, the author was in such a rush to get her message across she skipped all nuance, so the story ended up sounding way too preachy and rushed.
Profile Image for Suhasa.
748 reviews12 followers
July 19, 2024
A powerful piece on the importance of choice!
If you're Pro-life, listen to this audiobook which WILL make you reconsider.
Exposes the hypocrisy of the pro-life anti-abortionists by creating a scenario where Cis-men become pregnant overnight and are faced with a "choice".

Revert the overturn of "Roe v Wade" ruling!!!
Profile Image for Barbara  Williford .
645 reviews5 followers
November 18, 2022
PLEASE READ FULL REVIEW.

**Trigger warning: this book is a political stance for Pro Abortion. All monies from the sell of this book goes to reversing Abortion rights**

I have gotten into the bad habit of just picking books blindly and reading without researching or looking at the review. I saw Jodi Picoult, was Free with my Audible and downloaded because I enjoyed her books in the past. I was thankful I didn’t spend any money since all of it went to funding Abortion rights. (Although, portions of my Audible Unlimited did.) NONE of this information is including in the bio, you only find out about it at the start of the book.

With that being said, it was a well written book and I thought it flipped the script with men getting pregnant and dealing with this physically, socially, emotionally, skipped over in the workplace and having a different perspective when changing laws. They got to experience the disparity in the work place because there’s a chance they may get pregnant. It was very thought provoking.

Note to Author: if you are going to write books from different perspectives, why not write one from the fetus point of view. THAT would be thought provoking. I mean, fair is fair.
Profile Image for Jessica.
121 reviews1 follower
May 23, 2022
Sounded like fun conversations I have with my friends with hypothetical what-ifs, rather than a brilliant shocker I expect from Picoult. I love all of her other works. It was particularly disappointing in a short story format. Shallow and surface level with absolutely no intrigue.

I am aware that she made this due to a political rage (understandable), and donations go towards non-profits of her choice (nice)...but I'd still expect more. More time and depth. Everyone I've ever spoken to and discussed the topic of abortion have already covered these topics. These ideas and scoffs concerning men. They are all, men and women, aware of the themes outlined in this short story, so I was a little disapponted in how superficial it seemed.
Profile Image for Colleen Chi-Girl.
891 reviews224 followers
February 26, 2024
This less-than-an-hour novella made me guffaw with laughter when I began listening to it. One of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult, in conjunction with Audible, came up with this complimentary, fictional, futuristic, hyperbolic audiobook.

Publisher's Blurb: Margot and James are broken up—for good this time. James made sure of it when he dropped the bomb on Margot: he doesn’t want kids, ever. Then, on the biggest morning of his life, James—an ambitious lawyer at a high-powered firm—wakes up pregnant. He realizes with dread that he is part of a recent epidemic of men suddenly and inexplicably becoming pregnant. His condition obvious to the higher-ups, James is denied the promotion he was expecting, sending him reeling.

Meanwhile, his ex, Margot, a social worker, must handle the influx of desperate, pregnant teenage boys suddenly seeking her help. When she receives a call from James with the same problem, the challenge of navigating post-Roe America hits even closer to home.

Please note: This content is intended for adults only. It features themes of pregnancy loss that may be upsetting to some listeners. Discretion is advised.

My Review: This fictionalized story imagines a male attorney waking one morning in a very pregnant state. He is beyond upset and confused as we can imagine. As the story continues, more and more men, in various stages of pregnancy, are being passed over for promotions, due to their current status. Instead, non-pregnant women (including non-binary and trans), with equal skills and experience are being given the promotions. Listen to this to find out how they manage this conundrum. I found it so well written and well narrated by the lovely Thérèse Plummer.

On Friday, June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court (now ultra conservative) overturned the 50 year old Roe v Wade ruling that afforded women the access (right) to a legal abortion in the USA. The reversal now leaves individual states the right to curtail or outright ban abortion rights.

Regardless of your personal stance on Roe v Wade and abortion, and I am keeping mine out of this, the novella by Picoult can hopefully help those who have suffered from an unwanted pregnancy, have been denied the right, haven't wanted to choose, as well as those who can't imagine the struggle to make a decision that may go against every cell in your body.

Over the years, I have known, heard about, or read in the news, of so many women who had to consider the possibility of an abortion due to rape, incest, medical complications, etc. I now and forever will listen to the plights and misfortunes of others, and hope that our country will find a way to allow women their individual rights to chose.
Profile Image for Moony Eliver.
431 reviews232 followers
December 29, 2023
"If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament."
This quote is often attributed to Gloria Steinem, but she's made it known that she wasn't the originator. Regardless, we've all heard the sentiment, and while many of us agree wholeheartedly, of course we'll never be able to prove it. Damn shame, that.

Picoult's audio short is based on this concept. Literarily it's a bit too on the nose, and I suspect will only preach to the choir who listens to it, but still a solid effort.
Profile Image for Carly Rooney.
106 reviews3 followers
March 27, 2023
A super short story that is very relevant to the times. If men could get pregnant all the women out there know exactly how fast laws would change. That reality is so Infuriating.
Profile Image for Karen.
1,011 reviews581 followers
November 4, 2023
Free on Audible and taking just under 40 minutes to listen to, this thought provoking story turns the tables in respect of the controversial decision to overturn Roe v Wade in the US. The narration was excellent and the message in the story was just brilliant.
Profile Image for Ashley.
111 reviews5 followers
May 18, 2022
Yes. Just yes. You are a godsend Jodi Picoult, and your books are so impactful. Every human needs to go listen to this book. Right now.
Profile Image for michelle (travelingbooknerds).
324 reviews162 followers
July 1, 2022
i feel like this is one of the quirkiest jodi picoult stories i’ve ever read—it seems very not the type of story i’m used to her telling but in a positive way! i loved the contemporary dystopian sci-fi fantasy energy picoult charged this quick 40 minute audible original story with, and the fact that all the proceeds are being donated to reproductive justice is the icing on top. i loved the ending especially, but the story puts forth much for the reader to consider and marinate further on long after they have finished listening to choice.

edited to add: after having slept on it, i do wish the story was more actively intersectional other than just referencing black people or trans people and not examining further that revoked choice and forced sterilization has been happening and still continues to happen in black, trans, and disabled communities when it comes to reproductive care. and personally, i believe in america a pregnant man would still get a promotion over a woman who was not pregnant but that’s just me. for those reasons, i would love to see this concept explored a little deeper than it was here, maybe in the vein of hulu’s y: the last man graphic novel adaptation miniseries, if not in text; so maybe a network will pick this short story up to adapt it at some point and address/explore those truths further within the greater story itself. overall, though, a very powerful, timely, effective political commentary short story; and my favorite picoult work i’ve read thus far.
Profile Image for Brooke.
1,522 reviews82 followers
January 3, 2023
I thought this was super interesting and thought provoking. It is a really short listen and super important to read because of Rose vs. Wade. Very good/interesting conversation.
Profile Image for Natalie  all_books_great_and_small .
3,134 reviews166 followers
December 15, 2023
Choice is a quick yet powerful audio book that really opens your eyes and makes you think.
Narrated after the Roe V Wade trial, we are taken to a dystopian crisis unfolding in America where men of all reproductive ages are waking to find themselves pregnant. This book flips everything you think on its head. It gives men the viewpoint of what it's like to be a woman and have things so hugely impacted in your life such as pregnancy, unwanted or unexpected pregnancy, being looked over for a promotion because of said pregnancy or the risk you may be pregnant in the future, having your choices taken away from you and forced to continue with a decision you don't want or can provide for etc. This would make a great short film, and Jodi handled the topic very well. I hope this makes men in power taking choices away from women over the rights of their bodies - Stop and think, if they're brave enough to listen with an open mind, that is!
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