From July 8-11, Montana Book Company hosts Tracy McCabe’s fabric and textile books with an artist talk and storyteller from Free & Just on Thursday July 9th at 6 pm (upstairs).
A portion of book sales during the event will be donated to Montana Abortion Access Program.
“Living and Dying Under Dobbs” is a fabric-book project that tells the stories, in text and textiles, of those dying and suffering because of abortion bans. The project bears witness to the suffering and death caused by the Dobbs v. Jackson decision on June 24, 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right established fifty years before with Roe v. Wade. Currently abortion is banned or severely restricted in twenty-seven states. These changes in the law have unleashed chaos, suffering, and even death, much of it happening under the national radar.
Reading these stories is one thing, but an image that stirs your grief and rage will sear the stories into your heart and mind, which is where artist Tracy McCabe wants them to live.
Research by the organization Abortion in America suggests that stories of real people’s experiences with abortion bans can influence opinions and votes.
But what truly motivates her to continue indefinitely is a desire to collect these stories for the future.
Someday, McCabe believes, abortion will be legal again nationwide, but we can never, ever forget who paid the price.
Tracy McCabe is a lifelong maker and professor emerita of English and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at Lake Forest College.
