This is one of those books that, when you see the title, you think you already know what you’re going to read – but you finish the book learning much more than you thought.

My guess is that yesterday, today or tomorrow, you made a choice about something. Could be anything – what you ate, what you wore, who you talked to when you came into work. Or maybe you chose not to go into work at all.

We all choose to do things, even if we don’t think about it consciously.

Authors Karen Bender and Nina DeGramont are two fiction writers who were frustrated with the polarizing debate of pro-life and pro-choice, CHOICE is a collection of 22 honest essays written by women about the experience of pregnancy.

This book does not advocate any particular side; from miscarriages to contraception, from parenthood to infertility, these stories reflect realistic journeys of women in their quest for personal possibilities. CHOICE reminded me that these topics are not as black and white as we often make them out to be. There is no one answer.

What’s unique about CHOICE is that it does not judge, pick sides or pontificate – and this review is not intended to either.

I simply hope that both encourage you to think.

Many of you can probably relate in some way to these stories, whether personally or through the stories of your loved ones. I’ve known people in all of these situations who have made a variety of different choices.

My own patchwork of others’ stories could have created a book like this – and it would have looked different – but would have still illustrated the personal nature of deciding what is right for each one of us as individuals.

After I read the book, I thought it would be interesting to read the basic definition of choice itself, which I’ve included below, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Choice consists of the mental process of thinking involved with the process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them for action. Some simple examples include deciding whether to get up in the morning or go back to sleep, or selecting a given route for a journey. More complex examples (often decisions that affect what a person thinks or their core beliefs) include choosing a lifestyle, religious affiliation, or political position.

Most people regard having choices as a good thing, though a severely limited or artificially restricted choice can lead to discomfort with choosing and possibly, an unsatisfactory outcome. In contrast, unlimited choice may lead to confusion, regret of the alternatives not taken, and indifference in an unstructured existence; and the illusion that choosing an object or a course leads necessarily to control of that object or course can cause psychological problems.

What goes on in between is highly personal.

There are people all over the world who have no options or choices, based on laws or the economic conditions in which they live. In my life, fortunately, I personally don’t know anyone who does not have the option of choice, and I assume many of you are the same. But reading this reminded me of the people throughout the world who can’t take action in any direction, due to the inherent absence of options.

Personally, I think we often forget about the difference between options versus choices. There are options – the menu from which we can choose – and choices – the menu item we order.

Even if you assume you will disagree with many of the decisions made in this book, I’d strongly encourage you to read it anyway. CHOICE is not just for women – I have male friends who have read it and could easily relate. Regardless of what a person is choosing, having the mental ability to do so is what makes us human.

What do you say? Is choice a privilege? How can those of us blessed with many freedoms of choice empower others who aren’t? Your thoughts and experiences are always welcome.

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