Melissa Ohden had me at page one. In her absorbing memoir, she wastes no time getting to the questions that drove her through darkness, and ultimately, to faith and forgiveness. She asks questions about her identity and why she was given up for adoption, as any adoptee might. But she also asks questions much graver: Why would anyone try to abort her, and how had she survived? It’s a journey that both breaks hearts and heals them.

Melissa makes a compelling statement against abortion as she shapes the inner pain she dealt with trying to cope with the idea that her biological family did not want her and attempted to end her life. Her story highlights God’s grace and mercy, which carried her through this trial to become an effective speaker in the pro-life movement.

Ohden speaks with authority, merited by many courageous battles described in the book. She is a voice for those wounded by abortion. She is a voice for abortion survivors attacked or silenced by abortion advocates unable to reconcile their support for the murderous procedure with the existence of living survivors. She is a voice of forgiveness for the sorrowful who regret their abortions or their complicity in abortions. And she is a voice for the unborn who have no voice.”

Very personal and compelling.

A heartrendingly personal memoir.… No matter how one may feel about the controversial issue of abortion,You Carried Me is a compelling, soul-felt, and honest testimony.

Melissa Ohden’s book is many things: a testament to human resilience, a message of healing and forgiveness, an insight into the extraordinary journey of a pro-life campaigner, but perhaps even more than that, it is a loving tribute to Melissa’s heroic adoptive parents and to the thousands of adoptive couples who welcome children into their lives every year.

Ohden’s straightforward and courageous memoir revolves around her efforts to find her birth parents and understand her identity after discovering at age 14 that she survived a late-term abortion…. Readers of all stripes will feel compassion for the circumstances of her birth.

A memoir of mothers, daughters, adoption, and abortion. . . . Ohden's story is complicated, and she has impressively overcome significant emotional challenges. . . . [Her] perseverance is inspiring.