The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman

Kelly expires suddenly, Patience is alone on the small farm she inherits, with no friends, few reserve supplies and Kelly’s midwife instruments.Įvents move swiftly as the Depression settles a mantle of suffering over the country. Sorrow is familiar to Patience, having also lost her first lover and infant baby to death. Kelly took the frightened woman into her home after Patience (really Elizabeth Snyder) fled Pennsylvania, where her union-activist husband was killed in a deadly conflict between police and mine workers. Newly arrived in Union County, Patience has been the beneficiary of her mentor’s generosity. The protagonist, midwife Patience Murphy, attests to that in the beginning of her tale: “Love, birth, death, my trilogy.”

This novel reads like a memoir, filled with the tales of women giving birth during the depression in West Virginia, the poverty and squalor of lives in crisis, as mines collapse and families hunker together for survival. 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.Book review: Patricia Harman's *The Midwife of Hope River* And she must find a way to bring Isaac back to life and rediscover the hope they both need to go on. Her skills and courage will be tested when a calamitous forest fire blazes through a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. But becoming a midwife and ushering precious new life into the world is not Becky's only challenge. Married and expecting a baby herself, she is relying on Becky to keep the mothers of Hope River safe. Read more 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. For these mothers-to-be, she relies on an experienced midwife, her dear friend Patience Murphy. While she can handle most situations, Becky is still uneasy helping women deliver their babies.

Luckily, Nurse Becky Myers has returned to care for them. Men are out of work women struggle to feed hungry children. The Great Depression has hit West Virginia hard. Good clean copy with some minor shelf wear 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.

Description for The Reluctant Midwife: A Hope River Novel Paperback.

The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman