Letter to a Child Never Born

Published by Rizzoli in 1975, Letter to a Child Never Born was quickly translated and sold in twenty-seven countries, becoming an extraordinary world success. It is the tragic monologue of a woman speaking with the child she carries in her womb, a letter that confronts the burning theme of abortion and the meaning of life by asking the sour questions: Is it fair to impose life even if it means to suffer? Would it be better not to be born at all? Letter to a Child Never Born summarizes the real meaning of being a woman: the power to give life or not. When the book begins, the protagonist is upset after learning she is pregnant. She doesn't know anything about the child, except that this creature depends totally and uniquely on her choices. The creation of another person directly from your own body is a very shocking thing—the sense of responsibility is huge; it is a heavy bundle that gives life to endless reflections, from the origin of our existence to the shame of our selfishness. If the child could choose, would he prefer to born, to grow up, and to suffer, or would he return to the joyful limbo from which he came? The freedom and the individuality of a woman are also undermined by a newborn—should a women renounce her freedom, her job, and free choice? What should she do at this point?