Review for The View from the Clinic by Patrice D’Amato

Between my upbringing, my formative years, and my current profession, the central topic of The View from the Clinic: One Nurse’s Journey in Abortion Care is one I’ve been familiar with whether I want to or not. With something so polarizing for so many, it’s hard to find those voices that try and take a different approach, or at least one that appears to be as middle ground or impartial as possible. Having a completely unbiased view is largely never going to happen, especially for something like abortion. Author Patrice D’Amoto does try her best to do so here though, presenting her own experiences and supporting them with well-documented research.

Broken up into three parts, The View from the Clinic shifts focus multiple times. First, by taking a look at the author herself and then shifting to some of the people she’s treated in her years. The last part also focuses on individual cases like the pages in the middle, but the focus is less on the clinic and more on why the patients decide to enter the said clinic.

The writing is largely poignant, humorous at points, and heartfelt throughout. Patrice’s perspective is also a unique one. Just like it’s mentioned in the book, so many people with hard stances and loud voices on both sides have no real experience with what they’re arguing so heavily about. Thus, The View from the Clinic really does stand out because of this.

The work isn’t without it’s flaws though with a handful of errors and a few cases of some strange formatting. Timing and the years spent at different points don’t really match up either, though I think it was in error more than anything. Because of the unique perspective the book does offer, I also wanted to see more of it. The strongest parts are where the author shares her own expertise or stays extremely close to actual events. However, quite a large chunk is devoted to extrapolation built across many patients and while a very clever imagination… still an imagination. As a nonfiction title, I would have preferred a little less of that, and more of a focus on the goings-on of the clinic itself.

This was honestly a more enjoyable read than I expected given the subject matter. The tone the author must take with her patients bled through to her writing, almost coaxing you through the next page despite some rather heavy content. For, against, or one of the few people trying to take that middle road, I recommend this title to anyone interested in finding out more about how abortion looks at the operational level and not just the overarching concept.

The View from the Clinic is available to buy on Amazon, or you can find out more about the author and their other works at their website.