Della Leavitt in conversation with Abby Geni, "Vivian's Decision"

Join us at the Book Cellar for the launch of Della Leavitt's new book, Vivian's Decision, with conversation partner Abby Geni.

About the Book:
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.

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 to her brood. Her husband, Mel, is a devoted partner, but he works long days in his family’s Maxwell Street tavern—leaving Vivian isolated and overwhelmed in their suburban Chicago home.

When Vivian pleads with Mel to let her ask her trusted obstetrician for an abortion, Mel reluctantly agrees. Her doctor won’t risk his license, but refers her to someone who will. Once she finds herself in the sleazy abortionist’s disgusting makeshift flat, she can’t go through with the procedure. As she flees, the man warns her that the clock is ticking: If she wants this abortion, she must return within one week.

As Vivian struggles with what to do, she is buffeted by a series of revelations, including her Jewish immigrant mother's parallel secret. Ultimately, she must find the courage to make the decision that is best for her family—and her own fulfillment.

About the Author: 
After careers in technology and math education, Della Leavitt, immersed herself within Chicago’s vibrant literary community to learn the art of writing fiction. In her debut historical novel, Vivian’s Decision, Della began by turning to family lore, imagining her Russian Jewish immigrant grandparents’ lives alongside their children’s desires and disappointments as they strove to assimilate and abandon Chicago’s Maxwell Street and multi-ethnic West Sideneighborhoods. A Newberry Library fellowship and a grant from the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE) supported writing this novel. Della’s short stories appear in the anthologies, Turning Points (2021), Meaningful Conflicts (2023) and Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women (2024). Years earlier, as a first-generation college grad, Della joined the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union, sharing the CWLU’s feminist vision.

About the Conversation Partner: 
Abby Geni is the author of the novels The Wildlands and The Lightkeepers and the short story collections The Last Animal and The Body Farm. Her books have been translated into seven languages and have won the Barnes & Noble Discover Award and the Chicago Review of Books Awards, among other honors. Her short stories have won first place in the Glimmer Train Fiction Open and the Chautauqua Contest and have been published or are forthcoming in numerous journals, including The Missouri Review, Epoch, Ninth Letter, and New Stories from the Midwest. Geni is a faculty member at StoryStudio Chicago and frequently serves as Visiting Associate Professor of Fiction at the University of Iowa Writers'  Workshop.

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