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Bird's Eye View: Stories of a Life Lived in Health Care
Bird’s Eye View is a compelling book of stories sharing a life lived in health care. Written for health professionals, each chapter offers insight into how it feels to be a vulnerable patient. Poignant and provocative, this unique book highlights the patient and family experience and includes practical wisdom to inspire us all.
Praise for Bird’s Eye View
Bird’s Eye View should be on every healthcare training curriculum. This book opens the doorway to a new level of understanding of the health care journey. - Professor Catherine Crock AM Physician, The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne
There are few people with Sue Robins’ breadth and depth of experience. There are fewer still with her insight. In Bird’s Eye View, lessons are served up with unblinking eyes, a firm hand and a gentle heart. - André Picard, author of Matters of Life and Death
This extraordinary book is a must read for health care clinicians, scholars, individuals and families. This manifesto calls for greater compassion and kindness from health care providers at every level. - Janice M. Bell, RN, PhD, Founding Editor, Journal of Family Nursing
Author Bio
Sue Robins is a Canadian author and health care advocate. Her essays have been widely published in health care journals and newspapers, including the Canadian Medical Association Journal, The New York Times and The Globe and Mail. This is her first book.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2019
12 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Sue Robins
7 books8 followersSue Robins is an author and health care activist. Her life experiences as a mother of a child with a disability and a recent cancer patient grant her a unique perspective of our health system.
Sue’s writing has been widely published, including articles in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, The New York Times and The Globe and Mail.
Her first book Bird’s Eye View: Stories of a life lived in health care will be published in November 2019. Sue is a senior partner in Bird Communications, a health communications company.
Sue’s writing has been widely published, including articles in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, The New York Times and The Globe and Mail.
Her first book Bird’s Eye View: Stories of a life lived in health care will be published in November 2019. Sue is a senior partner in Bird Communications, a health communications company.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 1, 2020
A must read for anyone working in healthcare!!
May 25, 2025
This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to work in health care. Equal parts raw, thought-provoking and beautiful, I have added some new tools to the toolbox that I carry as a hospital social worker thanks to Sue.
January 3, 2021
Great read for someone who’s working in the healthcare field. Beautifully written. Thank you for sharing your story.
July 22, 2021
should be required reading for absolutely everyone connected in any way to health care.
January 28, 2020
In the interest of full disclosure, Sue is a treasured friend. That said, our lives did not cross till she was almost finished her cancer treatment, so this book has given me greater insight into what she’s been through, not just with breast cancer, but also as a mother of a son with Downs Syndrome.
Sue’s ability to embrace being vulnerable in sharing with such raw honesty how these events affected her life is breath taking. I had to read the book in small chunks because as someone who lives with chronic disease and disability, it was so incredibly relatable. I cried the whole way through-it was THAT good. It was also deeply humbling to find myself (and my beloved dog!) between the pages. What an amazing gift.
This book, which is full of Sue’s hard won wisdom is being adopted as part of the curriculum for future health care providers. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Instructors are recognizing how important the patient voice is and Sue has done an excellent job in expressing how she feels we can all take responsibility and work together to fix a broken health care system. Her person to person approach aims at putting the CARE back into healthcare.
This is a must read, especially for patient advocates!
Merged review:
In the interest of full disclosure, Sue is a treasured friend. That said, our lives did not cross till she was almost finished her cancer treatment, so this book has given me greater insight into what she’s been through, not just with breast cancer, but also as a mother of a son with Downs Syndrome.
Sue’s ability to embrace being vulnerable in sharing with such raw honesty how these events affected her life is breath taking. I had to read the book in small chunks because as someone who lives with chronic disease and disability, it was so incredibly relatable. I cried the whole way through-it was THAT good. It was also deeply humbling to find myself (and my beloved dog!) between the pages. What an amazing gift.
This book, which is full of Sue’s hard won wisdom is being adopted as part of the curriculum for future health care providers. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Instructors are recognizing how important the patient voice is and Sue has done an excellent job in expressing how she feels we can all take responsibility and work together to fix a broken health care system. Her person to person approach aims at putting the CARE back into healthcare.
This is a must read, especially for patient advocates!
Sue’s ability to embrace being vulnerable in sharing with such raw honesty how these events affected her life is breath taking. I had to read the book in small chunks because as someone who lives with chronic disease and disability, it was so incredibly relatable. I cried the whole way through-it was THAT good. It was also deeply humbling to find myself (and my beloved dog!) between the pages. What an amazing gift.
This book, which is full of Sue’s hard won wisdom is being adopted as part of the curriculum for future health care providers. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Instructors are recognizing how important the patient voice is and Sue has done an excellent job in expressing how she feels we can all take responsibility and work together to fix a broken health care system. Her person to person approach aims at putting the CARE back into healthcare.
This is a must read, especially for patient advocates!
Merged review:
In the interest of full disclosure, Sue is a treasured friend. That said, our lives did not cross till she was almost finished her cancer treatment, so this book has given me greater insight into what she’s been through, not just with breast cancer, but also as a mother of a son with Downs Syndrome.
Sue’s ability to embrace being vulnerable in sharing with such raw honesty how these events affected her life is breath taking. I had to read the book in small chunks because as someone who lives with chronic disease and disability, it was so incredibly relatable. I cried the whole way through-it was THAT good. It was also deeply humbling to find myself (and my beloved dog!) between the pages. What an amazing gift.
This book, which is full of Sue’s hard won wisdom is being adopted as part of the curriculum for future health care providers. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. Instructors are recognizing how important the patient voice is and Sue has done an excellent job in expressing how she feels we can all take responsibility and work together to fix a broken health care system. Her person to person approach aims at putting the CARE back into healthcare.
This is a must read, especially for patient advocates!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews