I received a free copy for my honest review
About The Reluctant Midwife
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 3, 2015)
The USA Today bestselling author of The Midwife of Hope River returns with a heartfelt sequel, a novel teeming with life and full of humor and warmth, one that celebrates the human spirit.
The Great Depression has hit West Virginia hard. Men are out of work; women struggle to feed hungry children. Luckily, Nurse Becky Myers has returned to care for them. While she can handle most situations, Becky is still uneasy helping women deliver their babies. For these mothers-to-be, she relies on an experienced midwife, her dear friend Patience Murphy.
Though she is happy to be back in Hope River, time and experience have tempered Becky’s cheerfulness-as tragedy has destroyed the vibrant spirit of her former employer Dr Isaac Blum, who has accompanied her. Patience too has changed. Married and expecting a baby herself, she is relying on Becky to keep the mothers of Hope River safe.
But becoming a midwife and ushering precious new life into the world is not Becky’s only challenge. Her skills and courage will be tested when a calamitous forest fire blazes through a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. And she must find a way to bring Isaac back to life and rediscover the hope they both need to go on.
Full of humor and compassion, The Reluctant Midwife is a moving tribute to the power of optimism and love to overcome the most trying circumstances and times, and is sure to please fans of the poignant Call the Midwife series.
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About Patricia Harman
Patricia Harman, CNM, got her start as a lay midwife on rural communes and went on to become a nurse-midwife on the faculty of Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, and West Virginia University. She lives near Morgantown, West Virginia; has three sons; and is the author of two acclaimed memoirs.
Find out more about Patricia at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.
My Opinion:
This book was so different from what I was expecting it to be. Becky Meyers is a registered nurse and finds herself now caring for the doctor for whom she worked as he is now in a catatonic state of some sort. His family has abandoned him and she refuses to do the same. It is the height of the Great Depression and finding work is almost impossible for a man let alone a woman. Becky pushes through managing through grit, determination and some luck to keep the two of them from starving – but barely.
The Reluctant Midwife is the second book in a series and I did not read the first book but I felt no loss for not having done so. It stands alone very cleanly. As Becky establishes herself back in her hometown she assists her friend Patience, a midwife, on calls even though she would rather not have anything to do with childbirth due to a bad experience. But it was Patience that gave Becky and Dr. Blum the helping hand they so very much needed so Becky does not feel that she can deny Patience when asked. Becky finds a semi-regular job using her nursing skills and things seem to be settling in to a good place when a disaster in the form of a forest fire comes along and threatens everything.
I really enjoyed reading this novel even though I had put any books in this time period on hold. Something about it intrigued me and I’m so glad I did decide to read it. Becky is a fascinating character; I’m not sure I liked her and at some times I’m sure I really almost hated her but she was in a really horrible place and being a woman at that time without a husband must have been very difficult. Ms. Harman has a way of drawing her reader in to time and place that I really loved as I found myself very glad that I didn’t have to live through the Depression. The characters are all very well developed, distinct and unique and the flavor of West Virginia was very present.
Rating:
4.5
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