Irin Carmon joins us in the Rivertowns to discuss her book Unbearable: The Truth About Pregnancy in America
Rivertowns for Reproductive Rights and Picture Book are pleased to host author Irin Carmon at HudCo on the occasion of the paperback release of her book Unbearable: The Truth About Pregnancy in America.
Irin Carmon will do a Q&A with researcher, advocate and teacher Andrea Flynn. A copy of the book is included in your ticket, along with light beverages and bites. The author will be available to sign your book at the end of the Q&A period.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Irin Carmon is an award-winning feature writer at New York magazine and the author of Unbearable: The Truth About Pregnancy in America, which the Boston Globe called "a gripping page-turner" and "required reading," and which was a finalist for the New York Public Library's Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. She is also the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She lives in New York City.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Notorious RBG and award-winning journalist Irin Carmon, an ambitious and “gripping page-turner” (The Boston Globe) of what’s gone wrong with pregnancy in America, through the lens of history, politics, and the searing experiences of five women.
Award-winning journalist Irin Carmon follows five women in New York City and rural Alabama through an American system that can turn the most ordinary human event—pregnancy—into a fight for your life, your freedom, and your dignity. What happens as these women seek respectful, high-quality medical care for their pregnancies, whether wanted or not, is a uniquely American story, one that also includes a heroic doctor fighting for the better reality that everyone deserves.
Eight months pregnant herself when the Supreme Court allowed states to ban abortion, Carmon spent years reporting what she felt in her bones: that the typical story of pregnancy had been radically incomplete—and that the story is bigger than one court case or one experience of pregnancy. Going beyond the headlines and any one experience or choice, Unbearable illuminates the buried history of American obstetrics, the disappearance of pregnancy care options across the country, and the ever-proliferating laws that treat a fetus as a person and a woman as a vessel.
A profound call to action, “Unbearable exposes the devastating reality: that in today’s America becoming pregnant can mean losing your basic human dignity and autonomy. With meticulous reporting, riveting storytelling, and profound compassion, Carmon reveals how our healthcare system fails women at their most vulnerable moments, and why we must do better” (Hillary Rodham Clinton).
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Andrea Flynn is a researcher, advocate and teacher whose work focuses on the race and gender dimensions of economic inequality, reproductive health and justice, and health equity. She has 20 years of experience in policy analysis, higher education, and nonprofit management. She is the co-author of the book The Hidden Rules of Race (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Andrea teaches courses on reproductive and sexual health, public policy, and economic inequality at the City University of New York's School of Public Health, and at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, where she received her MPA and MPH degrees. She is passionate about gender, racial and reproductive justice. She frequently writes and speaks about her work and has been published in media outlets such as The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Ms. Magazine. She also serves as a vice president of her local school board in her district in Irvington, NY, where she lives with her family.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Unbearable: The Truth About Pregnancy in America by Irin Carmon is out in paperback on October 20, 2026.
From the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Notorious RBG and award-winning journalist Irin Carmon, an ambitious and “gripping page-turner” (The Boston Globe) of what’s gone wrong with pregnancy in America, through the lens of history, politics, and the searing experiences of five women.
Award-winning journalist Irin Carmon follows five women in New York City and rural Alabama through an American system that can turn the most ordinary human event—pregnancy—into a fight for your life, your freedom, and your dignity. What happens as these women seek respectful, high-quality medical care for their pregnancies, whether wanted or not, is a uniquely American story, one that also includes a heroic doctor fighting for the better reality that everyone deserves.
Eight months pregnant herself when the Supreme Court allowed states to ban abortion, Carmon spent years reporting what she felt in her bones: that the typical story of pregnancy had been radically incomplete—and that the story is bigger than one court case or one experience of pregnancy. Going beyond the headlines and any one experience or choice, Unbearable illuminates the buried history of American obstetrics, the disappearance of pregnancy care options across the country, and the ever-proliferating laws that treat a fetus as a person and a woman as a vessel.
A profound call to action, “Unbearable exposes the devastating reality: that in today’s America becoming pregnant can mean losing your basic human dignity and autonomy. With meticulous reporting, riveting storytelling, and profound compassion, Carmon reveals how our healthcare system fails women at their most vulnerable moments, and why we must do better” (Hillary Rodham Clinton).