Susan Wicklund

Given the intensification of the political onslaught against women's reproductive rights in this country, reading this book felt very apropos. I know very firmly where I stand in the whole abortion debate, and I thought myself very knowledgeable about the various issues. Wicklund showed me that I knew next to nothing about what actually having an abortion entails, and that while I may know the issues I don't know the emotions. The threats and dangers that Wicklund faces on a day-to-day basis show more shocked me, and I have nothing but respect for a woman who continues to do her job with compassion and conviction in the face of all that. I don't think I could do something - no matter how deeply held my sense of rightness - in the face of such ugliness, ignorance, hate, and hypocrisy.

Thank you, Dr. Wicklund. show less

This is a compelling memoir of a doctor who travelled between Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, and Minneapolis working at abortion clinics. What stood out was the great compassion and care she gave each of her patients--while at the same time fending off dangerous protesters, and hospitals that prioritized billing protocol over patient well-being (and common sense). Her stories of run-ins with anti-choice extremists were scary and deeply disturbing (frequent death threats, home broken into, show more cornered late at night in a parking lot, frequently held hostage in her home when they blocked off her driveway, and followed everywhere she went), but the stories that really got me were the individual patient stories. I am not a crier, but I had tears in my eyes three or four times while reading the gut-wrenching stories of what some women go through before ending up at an abortion clinic. Other stories showed the head shaking hypocrosy of the anti-choice protesters (several who ended up in her clinic seeking abortions for themselves). The book is written in simple, clear language, and I wouldn't call it literary, but it gripped me from the beginning and I whizzed through it in less than a day. Literary?, no, but some pretty good writing all the same.

Recommended for: I definitely recommend this for anyone who is interested in this, or is interested in human rights. show less

Flat-out one of the most gripping memoirs I've ever read, and one of my favorite books. When Wicklund describes her career as an abortion provider as a "journey," one may underestimate the amount of torment and grief she alludes to. But by the end of the book, there is no doubt about the scale of harassment and terror she endured because she was convinced that her work was more important than her fear. A must-read for Feminists, pro-choicers, and progressives. However, I'm sure everyone else show more reading it wouldn't hurt, too. show less

this is a really great history of what it was like to work in the medical field, trying to provide legal abortions, when under active threat from so-called pro-life protesters. she tells stories of women and their decisions, why abortion is health care and necessary, and how hard it is to give your life (and that of your family) to a cause that really requires all of you, without rest or cessation. an important book.