Interesting midwife story
934738
Paradox Lake
Book 4

Autumn was introduced as a 17 year old senior in high school in the first book of the series, "Small-Town Sweetheart" (probably my favorite book of the whole series).  We watched her adjust to life while Dad was overseas fighting.  In the second book, she was in college (I'm thinking a Sophmore).  I'm guessing that she had about six years of education or so.  Though it doesn't seem like everything fits in time-wise in the progression of the books, I'm not going to nit pick on this.  I was so  happy to see that Autumn actually had her own story and all the dynamics of her growing family.

She met Dr. Jon Hanlon at college but found him as a flirt and someone who thought he was better than everyone else.  But Jon hasn't told her his side of the story.  As he becomes the new director of the women's health center, he also takes over the managing of the birthing center where Autumn works and he doesn't believe in home births.  Autumn is determined to show him differently!  But Autumn is no longer doing actual deliveries after a delivery goes wrong.

The two help each other find focus and direction in their lives.  Jon is struggling with what a family and God is really like.  Autumn is trying to figure out who she really is.  They both are trying to make some life choices that could affect their relationship.  The author does a fine job weaving this story together.  I noticed one reviewer stating there was no plot or purpose to this story, but I disagree.  I thought everything was clearly set out, and the goal I expected was waiting nicely at the end.
178939
This is the story of a midwife who has had little medical training but has to make a living.  She learns from a very close, but much older friend who has delivered many children.  The story takes place in a small southern town during the depression and we slowly learn about the past life of the main character, Patience Murphy.  An excellent story that brings to light the tremendous struggle and triumphs of that era in history.
2116277
I loved this story.  The midwife gave a good picture of the way women such as myself faced child birth in hospital settings with doctors to tend us. It was great to see the alternative way to bring new life into the world. We have come a long way in the methods now used to assist a mother in giving birth because of women like the midwife in our story.  I loved being able to learn more about the Amish and their beliefs.  I wanted to keep reading the book rather than doing the other millions of things that I must do.  It was a great read, and I would love to have another story that continues where this one leaves off.
1465515
I haven't finished this,  so maybe I shouldnt be reviewing til I do,  but there *lots* of birth stories and..  I'm sure that was great for women at one point so had no other way to hear them but I listen to a podcast called 'The Birth Hour'  which is an AMAZING resource and to tell you the truth,  or sours my taste for reading a birth story when you can hear a woman's birth story in her own words.
4713047
I have enjoyed this book. First of all the title intrigued me, Midwife of the Blue Ridge. After watching the PBS series, Here Come the Midwives I have been interested in this subject. Living near the area of the Blue Ridge also made this book more interesting to me. I don't pretend to be a great intellect. I enjoy reading for recreation and to learn new things. I like a good story. I probably won't go into those deep, dark books that make me study as I read them. I am done with that for the most part. This book hit the spot with me. I thought the part of the book where Maggie helped Hannah's husband get back home from the war so Hannah could care for her dying husband. Maggie was just a child. The story continues and Hannah eventually crosses the Atlantic Ocean under less than pleasant circumstances and is bonded fortunately to a good man with a good family. They are in the mountains working a farm and being invaded by Indians. The author is describing life as it was back in those early days in America.

The interaction between the men and Maggie is fun. There are fewer women than men and being a single woman in that setting makes for some conflicts. I enjoyed that part. I also liked the part where Tom paid $30 for the right to eat her packed lunch with her. I also liked his skills in living in the woods and surviving Indian wars.

One of the best parts to me was the descriptions of Maggie's medical treatments of people. I enjoyed her toothpowder packets and her treatments for boils and dealing with fevers. Some of these methods were known to me from some of my elderly mountain kin. It was interesting for her to find the herbs and plants that she needed were in America but were called by different names.

Being a bond woman made for some difficulties for Maggie and some of the people looked down on her and made caustic remarks. That would be pretty typical of people even today, I believe. I thought she handled things nicely. She was a survivor. Sometimes we need to read books where the nice guy or girl does finish in a good place. This happened in this book. I will look for more books by this author because I have enjoyed this book very much.
3486014
Delia Parr's The Midwife's Tale was a mixture of medical, romance, mystery, and spiritual. Several plots were interwoven among the story. I found myself thinking about it between readings and wondering how it would turn out. The story seemed to have loose ends. Nothing was said about the situations with Will, Samuel, Victoria, the Reverend, the orphans, and Martha's brother. At the end, I felt myself dangling for want of the closures. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the tale.
236900
I'm not a birth or midwife junkie, so I was a daunted at first by a novel about the process of giving birth--but I was drawn in before the end of the first page by some fascinating, understandable characters I quickly cared about. Then the spiritual practice of moving through pain to allow new life to be born became more real to me as I moved with the midwives in the book, and they increased their capacity to do that.
1202117
Mary Sutter is a young woman from Albany who wishes to become a doctor in pre-Civil War America, long before this was thought possible.  She trained as a mid-wife with her mother, but somehow midwifery was not like medicine.  Luckily for her, the Civil War starts and she jumps a train and heads south. She meets resistance frequently, but is persistent and eventually gets what she wants - to work as a doctor.

This was a pleasurable read, not a typical historial romance novel, but an actual well researched story.  The historical parts of the book really worked well.  The relationship parts of the story had some logistical problems, but over-all I enjoyed it.  Thanks, Ms. Oliveira!
2903643
I really enjoyed this book, even though I wished it was a full length story! Julie is a nurse with spunk who stands up for her patients, in a time when doctors would rather sedate a laboring mother than deal with her. For most of her coworkers nursing is a job (instead of a career) that helps them marry doctors, after which they quit and settle into motherhood. But Julie sees ways that women can be more comfortable during labor, more aware of their surroundings, and happier overall.

Of course, the powers that be are not happy with her, and even though her friend and coworker Dr. Michael Young agrees with her, he's hesitant to stand up for her and her job is soon in jeopardy. Can they make it past their situation to a happily ever after? Should they?

 I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
3652175
As a labor and delivery nurse....this is so entertaining to see how natural childbirth really is compared with our high rate of C-sections at this time.
4927803
I'm always intrigued when reading a story about a midwife. Yet, this story was much, much more. It had mystery, suspense, trials and tribulations.

Madlen was a layered character. But my favorite character was Agethe. Neither woman was without flaws, which helped to make their lives more believable.

I happily read this as an April early read for Prime members.
28808
This was a very emotional story about 3 generations of midwives. Neva has just announced she is pregnant and won't say who the father is, while her mother Grace struggles to accept the news, her grandmother Floss is reminded of her own story.

I found that I quite liked both Neva and Floss, but could barely stand Grace. Grace just seemed too selfish and flakey. Neva was a strong modern woman, and I loved the way her story flowed. Floss had quite the secret in her past, and while it was fairly easy to guess early on, the actual story was very well told.

The midwifery parts of the story felt very professional and well researched, both the present and remembered parts. It was interesting to see the differences and similarities between the two time periods portrayed. It really makes you see that while our amenities and surroundings may change, at heart, people are pretty much the same.

Overall, this was a delightful story that I quite enjoyed. The focus on family and love was heartwarming, even if there were painful secrets and situations. This was a powerful story that will stay with me for a while.
4901352
As an aspiring birthworking, I enjoyed reading this fictionalized account of one woman's path to becoming a doula. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but the author's dedication to cranking in as many of the factoids related to doulaing and birthwork as possible would occasionally jar me out of the story. The knowledge presented is good, and much of the imagery is truly lovely. I ultimate came away wishing it had been a nonfiction account of the author's experience, as she clearly possesses beautiful words with which to tell the story.
1531775
This story discusses a woman's reproductive health.  The woman discovers she's pregnant and then decides to abort the child.  After being at the abortion clinic for a while,(on the day of the procedure)she decides she  wants to keep the child.  This story was very interesting and descriptive.
3855711
The Mountain Midwife***** by Laurie Alice Eakes

Midwife Ashley Tolliver comes from a long line of midwives in the Appalachian mountain community she lives in. She loves being a midwife but ponders if she should further her medical training to better serve all of the community. As a midwife there is not much she hasn't seen/experiencedor so she thoughtuntil she helps a young woman in a difficult delivery and needs to get the hemorrhaging woman to the hospital immediatelyhowever, the new mother and baby is abducted and must be found before it is too late.

Hunter McDermott gets a strange phone call from someone claiming to be his birth-mother. But is she really or is it some kind of scam? Only one way to find out, track her down and talk to her face to face. Arriving in the Appalachian mountains he learns that the local midwife may be his only hope in finding his birth-mother. So, he seeks out Ashley to help him.

Being a retired RN, I enjoy reading stories with a medical story-line and midwives. I really liked Ashley and Hunter and their story. There are many twists and turns as they embark on their own quests which often times intertwine. Mystery, suspense, danger, family relationships, reconciliation, forgiveness, love and romance and faith are woven together to make this a heartwarming, endearing story.

~I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild Team Challenge, this is my honest review~
239346
I loved the raw honesty of Margaret Charles Smith's story.  She tells about catching babies in a time when birth was not considered a medical crisis.  As one of the last granny midwives, Margaret has much to tell us about how African-American midwifery was stamped out in particular, and how hospital birth gradually became the norm in this country. I devoured this book in a matter of hours, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of birth in the United States.
286811
An interesting 1st hand look at a midwife services in Britain.  I would like to read more about her life and more stories!