Barbara Katz Rothman
— author of Weaving a Family
"This powerful, thought-provoking book places the new technologies and ideologies of parenting in historical context. There may be no answers we can all agree upon, but Hall has raised questions that all of us — parents and grandparents, medical providers, and those within and outside of religious traditions — need to think hard about."
Bernd Wannenwetsch
— Oxford University
"Reading Conceiving Parenthood comes at a risk, but a risk well worth taking. Written in an engaging and brilliantly entertaining style, the book confronts us with the ideology of the familiar and familial — an ideology in which we all are easily and comfortably entrapped. Who would not want to have or be part of a ‘good family'? Working through a wealth of amazing — and embarrassing — material that demonstrates the self-idolizing of the better-offs in twentieth-century American society as it has stylized the image of the ‘right' and ‘decent' family, Amy Laura Hall's analysis is still far from cold-blooded deconstructivism. Drawing on theological voices of brave dissent from the mainstream, her call for ‘reconceiving parenthood' is ultimately a call for mercy and a witness to its transforming presence in the midst of a highly ideologized society."
Christine D. Pohl
— Asbury Thelogical Seminary
"There is much to be learned from Amy Laura Hall's rich description and probing analysis of twentieth-century assumptions about responsible parents and children ‘worthy of a place.' Her account powerfully illuminates what is theologically and humanly at stake in contemporary impulses to craft more perfect children."
John Swinton
— University of Aberdeen
"This is a truly wonderful book — incisive, thoughtful, and profoundly disturbing. In powerful and moving ways Amy Laura Hall helps us to understand and recognize some of the darker recesses of American history. . . No one can read this book and remain unmoved. . . Conceiving Parenthood marks Amy Laura Hall as a scholar worth listening to."
Hans G. Ulrich
— University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
"A truly enlightening book that paves the way for a much-needed ethical and theological discussion."
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
"Hall's narrative potentially resonates across the theological spectrum."
Christianity Today
"Hall's research is exhaustive; her analytical acumen profound. . . [Her] style keeps the book accessible, and her personality is refreshingly present throughout. Four stars."
Modern Theology
"Hall has given a superb example of the kind of work ethicists should be cultivating. The book speaks primarily to American Protestant experience (particularly Methodism), but if readers have been attentive to the arguments presented, they should suspect that perhaps there are ways in which their own churches and denominations are complicit with the world, in ways as yet unseen and unknown, against the gospel message of Christ. If we care about naming and uncovering the sins in our midst, we will hopefully take to heart Hall's method and message."