This was an interesting read. This book talks about abortion so may not be for everyone. I went in with my eyes open. Informative

I was really interested to read this point of view, as I really love medical memoirs, but found this really disjointed and not well written and so I couldn't finish it.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Fan Blade Publishing from and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Abortion is one of the most polarizing, divisive topics in America. To be so candid and diplomatic about it is difficult. To share others stories on it is lovingly beautiful. The perspective of a nurse -and not sharing their opinion- is a lovely gift. It’s the choice of a woman in that situation. It’s not an easy one. It’s something they’ll carry the rest of their life no matter what they choose. It’s not like picking out gum at the store in the checkout line. It’s a heavy weight with a lot of factors to consider. To put such grace to the topic is necessary. No, it probably won’t change minds but it might give others a little bit of perspective as to what someone goes through making the decision.

While not a bad book, it's not exactly what I was expecting, especially based on the blurb. My thoughts going into this was that it would be akin to Adam Kay's This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor - someone from the 'inside' drawing back the curtain to show us how life & day-to-day goes on behind the scenes we the regular folks see from the outside. And though it has hints of this, the book seems to merely touch the surface and doesn't go really deep into the happenings - I wasn't expecting so much detachment from the author (it's a memoir, after all; we're here for her POV and mindset and also opinions, never mind what they'd be). So in that aspect, this felt like a let-down.
A lot of what the author recounts is also very 'dated' in the sense that, she was in service decades ago, and this book is thus a slice of life from back then, and not the situation as it is now (which the blurb seemed to imply it would be about)
So all in all, a bit of a let down, even though it does provide a glimpse into a world most of us have no clue about.

It's always hard to 'review' non-fiction books about such sensitive topics, particularly about a topic such as abortion. The positive here is that D'Amato did not take sides, and was fair and equal in the stories she told. However, I feel the ancedotes lacked a lot of depth, the flow of the stories were not cohesive, and the writing was pretty mediochre at best. Admittedly this is a sensitive topic to make come across as particularly exciting, but the writing style left a lot to be desired, and I felt there could have been more detail in some places. I also feel the emphasis was more on the author as opposed to the individuals she wrote about.

I’ve often felt that abortion providers might do more to educate the general public about the inner world of pregnancy termination - but also that they are too burnt out, and too focussed on their actual patients, to be able to focus on that. For that reason, I’m incredibly grateful to Patrice D’Amato for writing The View from the Clinic, part memoir and part ethnography; part stream-of-consciousness and part creative writing.

D’Amato makes a point of NOT directly giving her opinion about abortion, and instead offers a glimpse - well, a VIEW - “from the clinic.”

What kind of person works for an abortion clinic? What do they say to their family? Their friends? What goes through their mind when they’re seeing patients, and do they judge? D’Amato repeatedly draws the reader’s attention toward unpacking their own judgments; reminding (probably) even the wokest readers of the human’s tendency to pass judgment on situations beyond their own lived or shared experiences.

I did not really enjoy the part where the author writes fictionalised narratives of what she imagines her patient’s lives to be like. While it is probably a very important exercise for a healthcare worker, it probably would be better off published in a separate volume. It seemed disparate to the writing in the rest of the book.

As much as this is an excellent book for the so-called layperson, it evoked a feeling of kinship for me as a healthcare worker. I so appreciate that D’Amato writes about burnout, and the pragmatic decisions she has made for her career. I appreciate her sharing how she has forged her own path in order to continue contributing to the field, but in a way that does not burn her to pieces.

I don’t anticipate that this book will change anyone’s stance, but that is not what D’Amato sets out to do, in anyway. It does offer an opportunity for greater empathy, which is hopefully something more people can strive towards.

A brilliantly written book on a difficult subject. The author makes you laugh and cry all at the same time. Well worth a read.

A enjoyable read about a relevant topic. The author doesn't take sides and discusses the patients she has worked with while at the clinic.

This is an excellent read on a sensitive but relevant topic. After the outrage of abortion policy in the US, this read helped me understand better the true repercussions of what goes on during and after an abortion.

I love that the author does not take sides, instead she provides a rational outlook on the patients she had worked with during her time at the abortion clinic. Although her writing could have been a little better, I still enjoyed reading this.

Thank you Netgalley and Fan Blade Publishing for the arc.

This ends up skewing a bit lighter/anecdotal than I expected going in and I do think I may have been expecting something a bit more down to earth, but this is a middle age writer, so ultimately, I'm not that surprised. It ends up being more about the narratives of the women as told by the nurse, which felt a bit odd, as she always manages to show up in each story even though it feels like the narratives should be more of the emphasis. It feels like the author isn't entirely sure of the audience she is trying for, but if nothing else she is preaching to the choir that knows of the necessity of abortion. Of course, the timing of this against the Roe v Wade decision ended up being darkly hilarious. Still something you could pass to, say, a relative to maybe get them a bit more realistic idea of what abortion clinics and the people who go to them are like.

We'd like to thank NetGalley and Fan Blade Publishing for the opportunity to read a copy of this book.

We caught on to it months after it was published, but this book ended up being a game changer.

The View From the Clinic gave such an honest and raw account of one woman's experience as a nurse in an abortion clinic in the U.S.

This book was incredibly timely and so necessary. Though D'Amato owns her view on abortions, her accounts of the people and ideologies that interact with an abortion clinic was so eye opening. She was so respectful and unbiased when it came to different viewpoints and people she interacted with, and that only made the book more engaging.

This is a read we'd highly recommend to anyone.

Well, this is a well timed, well thought out book at the time America is going, frankly....nuts about abortion. I think that this is an important book and although at times I found it a bit...much, It's definitely worth a read and I found the split between the 3 parts quite intriguing.

The View From The Clinic by Patrice D'Amato was both educational and fascinating. Abortion is a hot topic at the moment in America and such a difficult topic to discuss openly and honestly. So this is the perfect time for the book to be published. I loved how the book showed the humanity and real life stories behind the word 'abortion', it really brought to life the consequences of the options that women have available to them. The suggested further reading and the resources listed was a great way to point people in the right direction for further research or info as it can be a minefield with all sorts of incorrect info on the internet.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to find out more about the practicalities and decisions behind abortion, or for people who like reading medical memoirs.

As someone who works in healthcare, I was very excited to read this book. A lot of the emotions of the author resonated with me. I only wish that there was better editing!

This was a really interesting firsthand account of working in an abortion clinic. The writing was fantastic and I found the stories that were told to be absolutely fascinating. This is a three star read for me because at times I didn’t really understand the point of the “fictionalised” stories. I would have preferred to just have a firsthand account told by the author rather than stories that read like fiction in the middle of a non fiction book.
Overall this book was definitely eye opening and I think more people need to read this book, especially if they are quick to judge those who have abortions.

I would like to thank Fan Blade Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is a very timely book that serves as a memoir for D'Amato. The stories in it are fictionalized to protect the identities of those inside the story. There are parts of this book that I really liked, but there was a part of this book as someone who has chronic pain and many negative experiences with doctors, nurses, and other medical staff that I felt was not great. I know the author did not intend it the way it came across, but the story about a patient trying to obtain a prescription for back pain left a bad taste in my mouth. I get these things can and do happen, but accounts like these remind me of the irrational suspicion doctors and nurses have of patients. As a person with chronic pain, I have been threatened and turned away for just saying I was experiencing pain. I never mentioned wanting any medication, just a diagnosis. Unfortunately, my experiences are not rare or uncommon and stories like these remind me of how we got here. Otherwise, I think the stories surrounding abortion care are very valuable. I think these experiences are very important to talk about, especially right now.

I found this one to be super enlightening. Especially being a nurse myself I always enjoy reading/hearing perspectives from other people within the field who are in different specialties. I really liked reading all of the stories she shared and it definitely further opened my eyes to the abortion world and what goes on in those clinics.

These are the stories (modified for privacy) remembered by a nurse who worked in an abortion clinic. These are the things that stuck with her for years after she left. The heartache, the laughter, the shock, the nausea, the satisfaction. She has stories of patients, staff, parents, protesters, and herself. It's not raw...there are years between the events and the writing, but in some ways it's even more striking because of that. The details might be fuzzy, deliberately or through the filter of time, but the emotions are still there. This won't change anyone's mind on the subject, but it gives a lot more nuance to the conversation, and might help answer "how could you do/think that?"

I was interested to read this book. Firstly because it is currently a highly debated topic and also because it's from the point of view of the person generally ignored. Media discusses the rights of the mother and the baby but how it feels for a medical professional dealing with the patients is often overlooked.

As a nurse, crossing the picket lines of protesters to get to work, seeing cases of incest and abuse but really not being able to do much about it. This book provides a unique perspective.

The book is set out in parts, first hand accounts of cases seen and then fictional stories loosely based on real events.

The author does a good job of not trying to sway your opinion. She shows you that all types of people can end up at an abortion clinic and sometimes your assumptions turn out to be wrong.

At times uncomfortable, but an interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this read. It was quite informative; and always the type of real life book I head for in the bookstore or library. I always enjoy getting to have a sneak peak into a world I’ve never been in. Patrice takes the reader right inside of the abortion clinic, and for the pages of each story brings the reader right into each moment that requires the women to come in. For a second we learn how many different scenarios there are, how uneducated so many are and how scared young women are. I think regardless of where you stand on the debate it’s worth learning about. Thank you to Patrice
and all of the other health practitioners who provide those with safe abortions.