Black Girls Must Die Exhausted: A Novel

Through her main characters, Allen explores external and internal pressures that women, particularly Black women, must face when considering whether to have children. Tabby’s diagnosis of premature ovarian failure exacerbates the existing struggles that women face; she experiences her most fertile period in tandem with her crucial career-building years and must come to terms with the fact that her window for having a child is much smaller than she supposed. Tabby acknowledges that modern men are put off by women who are more focused on building families than on building their careers. Simultaneously, Tabby’s mother asserts that Marc would be better prepared for a more substantial commitment if Tabby “put less focus on [her] career for a second and more focus on him” (57). These interactions prove that the society in which Tabby lives does not support her journey to become a mother, even though she is still expected to become one. At 33 years old, Tabby feels shamed and belittled—even sometimes by the people closest to her—for not having children.

Tabby’s interactions with Lisa Sinclair highlight the various inequities that disadvantage women in the workforce and healthcare systems. After Scott Stone interrupts Tabby and dismisses her