Merle Hoffman is a woman who is not afraid of controversy or criticism. She is bold, courageous, principled and outspoken and has unwavering commitment in support of women's rights and especially abortion as a positive reproductive health choice. This has been her life's work and there is much to admire. I first heard her on Woman's Hour in March 2012 – she made me sit up and listen. Her book, a memoir, is the story of what she describes as a mixed life – as an activist, a philosopher and a transgressor of boundaries enriched with allies, friends, lovers and family.

Born in the USA in 1946, Meryl (later changed to the “more powerfully androgynous Merle”) Holly Hoffman was born to an autocratic mother and a gentle father. Her mother's frustrated ambitions to compete, excel and perform in dance were transferred to her daughter to be the performer she never was. As an only child Merle created her own internal world, escaping her mother's desires though fantasy and by identifying with strong historical characters. Gifted with a musical talent and trained from an early age to be a concert pianist, it was at this time she learned to value criticism and discipline. However, music was not to be her life and later when she noticed that “parallel to the life I was living, another world was coming into being: …