Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Biercy

Ostensibly utopian feminist sci fi, this 1970s novel is actually a searing expose of mental health care, particularly for women and marginalised people. Connie is a 30something Latina in New York whose hard life shows on her face. Her first husband was murdered; the second abandoned her and their daughter. Violence and abuse have undermined the few opportunities she has had to improve her lot and she has winds up in a mental institution, subjected to brutal treatment. When she somehow makes contact with a person from the future Connie is treated with respect and care for almost the first time in her life. Her visits to the future are her escape and her education, where she gains some sense of agency. She is shown a vision of what the future could be, for better or for worse, depending on the choices made in the present – and the issues are as relevant in 2020 as they were in 1976. This is a hard read on many levels. The proposed utopian future is less than perfect but has a lot to recommend it. Particularly interesting are the prescient approaches to gender and to the environment; areas where there have been improvements since the 70s, although there’s still a very long way to go.