In this episode of THINK BACK, I talk with writer J.C. Hallman about his 2023 book Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women’s Health. The book tells the story of J. Marion Sims, the 19th-century doctor often hailed as the “father of modern gynecology,” who carried out cruel and nonconsensual experiments on enslaved women—most notably a young woman named Anarcha. Hallman’s research not only brings Anarcha’s story to the forefront but also played a role in the campaign to remove a statue of Sims that once stood near Central Park.
We also get into his creative approach to history writing, the ethical questions of telling stories about suffering across racial and gender lines, and the need to move beyond overly rigid ways of narrating the past. I found our conversation to be eye-opening and deeply thought-provoking, and I hope you will too.
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