In the interest of full disclosure, I received an ARC of These Heathens by Mia McKenzie via NetGalley. Many thanks to Random House for approving my request.
Seventeen-year-old Doris goes to Atlanta for an abortion and gains a lot of perspective in Mia McKenzie’s novel These Heathens.
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Summary
Publish Date June 17, 2025
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Welcome to rural Georgia in 1960. Doris Steels is a Black seventeen year old from a poor religious family. When her mother falls ill, she drops out of school to help care for her family, but initially has hopes to return. Time passes, and one day Doris discovers that she is pregnant. Doris is not ready to be a parent and is adamant that she wants an abortion.
But when you live in a small community where the only people who can help you with an abortion also know your parents, what do you do? In Doris’ case, she turns to Mrs. Lucas, a former teacher who is originally from Atlanta. Mrs. Lucas has friends and connections in Atlanta, and agrees to take Doris there for the weekend to obtain an abortion.
While waiting for the doctor, Doris meets – and is scandalized by – the people Mrs. Lucas and her friend Sylvia associate with. Over the course of the weekend, Doris meets prominent members of the Civil Rights movement and people who explore same sex relationships.
Doris went into this weekend not completely sure of what she wanted. Can she figure it out by the end of the weekend?
Thoughts
What Happens When You Leave Your Bubble?
The official synopsis of These Heathens talks about how McKenzie’s novel deals with “the transformative power of leaving your bubble, even for just one chaotic weekend.”
This concept was something I thought about as I read These Heathens.
Doris spent her entire life up until this point in one particular bubble that shaped her perspective and her expectations for life. When she had the opportunity to leave – even for a short time – and see a completely different way of life, her perspective changed.
We often talk about how important it is for characters to change over the course of the media that we consume. For Doris, leaving her bubble for the weekend was the catalyst she needed to make a change.
Doris spent most of her life being unable to make decisions about her own life. Often, these decisions were made based on factors outside her control. Let’s face it: being a poor Black person in 1960s Georgia is unfortunately going to put some limitations on what options are available to you. Doris had intersecting factors ranging from her class to her race to her gender that impacted the choices that were available to her.
By making the choice to seek out an abortion, Doris made a very intentional decision that would have an impact on the rest of her life.
In going to Atlanta, she saw some of the other choices she had available to her.
Based On A Real Person
McKenzie based Doris on her grandmother. I love knowing that fact. I think the real Doris would have been an interesting woman to know.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
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