Sophia C. reviewed on 12/27/2012 + 289 more book reviews

This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor is a profile in courage. Susan Wicklund writes about her untraditional entry into medicine and experiences on the front lines of abortion provision in various clinics in the Upper Midwest. Inspired by her own poor experience with an abortion in the 1970s, Dr. Wicklund, once a single mother on welfare and food stamps, devotes herself to womens reproductive health, first as a travelling doctor and then as the owner of her own clinic in Montana.

Chronicles of the obstacles created by the anti-abortion protesters are eye-opening. (Reading this book in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting offers another perspective on gun control.) Although Dr. Wicklund most definitely deserves recognition for her courage and conviction in providing abortion services, there is a hint of my way or the highway. The standard pro-choice arguments are relayed, along with real-life examples of how desperate women are to end unwanted pregnancies. The first chapters are very poignant, but towards the end there is an abrupt and weak transition as Dr. Wicklund takes time off to care for her aging parents. The book is written in very simple sentences. Nonetheless, this is an important first-hand account of the abortion wars, although those who really should read this would probably not care to do so.

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