“Most people don’t change the world, and yet, most people still matter.”

Nisha works in an abortion clinic in Chicago. The forty days leading up to Easter are the most difficult as there’s extra protesters during Lent. To make things even worse, her ex-boyfriend Aaron now works at the clinic with her. He used to be an anti-abortion protester so she doesn’t trust him.

Some patients have to come from neighboring states. They all have their own stories and different reasons for being there. Some women are seeking medically-necessary abortions, some are rape survivors, or too young to be mothers. Some fear an abusive partner or being fired from their job. The clinic provides abortions to women who need them as well as helping women who choose to stay pregnant.

Nisha pretends to be okay outwardly, while inwardly she struggles with depression. Her mother had her out-of-wedlock and she wonders if her mother considered abortion. Her Hindu community is very conservative, so she keeps what she does for work secret. She keeps doing her job even though it’s incredibly stressful and feels like it accomplishes too little. However, she tries to remind herself that if you save a single life, you save the world.

She jokes about Indian Standard Time meaning Indians are always late. I’ve heard this same joke used in reference to Native Americans as well as Mormons. I guess everybody uses the standard time joke.

As if her life isn’t hard enough already, Nisha starts seeing demons, which feels like overkill when humans are capable of doing tremendous evil all on their own. However, Muya, the demon of ignorance, might be willing to help her. He has the power to make people forget things, which could come in handy. Nisha also discovers that she’s able to experience the lives of her ancestors using dance.

Nisha is a very sympathetic character, understandably weighed down by depression and suspicious of others. She isn’t perfect, sometimes lashing out at people who want to help her and continuing to hold grudges after receiving sincere apologies, but her faults make her a more realistic character. She receives threats against her life, but her depression makes her immune to these threats, so it’s at least good for something.

This is a very timely book with references to ICE raids and the current state of abortion access in the U.S. While this book is pro-choice overall, some pro-life characters are depicted in a positive light. The complexities of this controversial issue are fully examined. The pro-life and pro-choice positions aren’t strict black and white opposites. There are many shades of gray between them.

There’s vague references early on to an accident in Nisha’s past, leading the reader to expect a big reveal later on. While we learn more details about this accident later, there ultimately isn’t a big reveal tied to it, which felt a bit disappointing. However, this is the only flaw I could find with the book. Overall, it’s excellent and well worth reading.