It’s “Call the Midwife” set in the U.S. homefront during World War II. If you loved Patricia Harman’s Midwife of Hope River you’ll love Once a Midwife! Named Best Midwife Book of the Year from the American College of Nurse MidwivesThe women of Hope River trust midwife Patience Hester, whose skill in delivering babies is known for miles around. But though the Great Depression is behind them, … for miles around. But though the Great Depression is behind them, troubles are not, for Europe is at war…and it can only be a matter of time before the U.S. enters the fray.
And while some are eager to join the fight, Patience’s husband, Daniel, is not. Daniel is a patriot—but he saw too much bloodshed during the First World War, and has vowed never to take up arms again.
His stance leaves Patience and their four children vulnerable—to the neighbors who might judge them, and to the government, who imprison Daniel for his beliefs.
Patience must support their family and fight for her husband’s release despite her own misgivings. And with need greater than ever, she must also keep her practice running during this tumultuous time…relying on generous friends, like Bitsy, who has returned to Hope River, stalwart neighbors, and her own indomitable strength to see them all through.
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This novel is about a midwife in Hope River, West Virginia during WWII. It is book 3 in the Hope River series and can be read as a stand alone with minimal confusion. However, there were a few places in the book that I wished I had read the series in order so I plan to read the first two books to answer my questions.
Patience is a midwife in a small town. She lives there with her husband Daniel, a veterinarian, and their 4 children. She is well known as a midwife in the area and the women trust her to deliver their babies. When World War II starts, life in their small town changes. War becomes the main topic of conversation and everyone is willing to make sacrifices to show their patriotism. Even though most of the local men are willing to sign up for the military to go fight, Patience’s husband is just the opposite. He had seen bloodshed during the first world war and vowed to never kill again. The people in the area – many of them his friends – judge him to be a coward but he stands his ground even to the point of being imprisoned by the US government for his pacifist beliefs. Can Patience continue to support her husband even though she doesn’t understand him? Can she keep her family and their farm intact during this tumultuous time in their community?
I enjoyed reading about Patience and her family and plan to read the first two books. I thought that this book was too long and would been more effective at a shorter length but I did find it interesting to read about delivering babies at home during this time period.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
This is book 3 in a fascinating series of an Appalachian midwife in the early 1930s. While food, jobs and money are scarce, WWII has the West Virginia community of Hope River consumed with fear, and passionate about contrasting political convictions. That becomes obvious within the lives of the midwife and her veterinarian husband as opposing views cause a rift in their marriage. Is it possible to still love someone when you don’t like or understand the beliefs of that individual? This book was a mystical bridge to an era I am happy not to have lived, and a lens through the eyes of strong and brave main characters. The audio is enjoyable, but the narrator shouting in song raised the sound level way too high; except for that, this is my favorite book in the series so far!
This book describes the life of a young woman in Appalachia from about 1910 to 1945. She becomes a mid=wife by default. She is taken in by an older woman who is a mid-wife and begins to learn how to help the women of the hills and hollers of Appalachia. Medical services were nearly non existent during this period. Women often gave birth in crowded, unsanitary conditions with no help except family members and a mid wife if you were lucky. Families were large, 8 or more children were common. Family planning was unknown. It’s a glimpse into a life that still exists in this part of the country. Often, the mid wife was the only health care provider available to a community.
Just a great book
Too many characters and story was dull
Loved the story line – and the short chapters that made it easy to stop reading when I only had a short amount of time for reading. I will look for more books by this author and I want to see if this book is part of a series so that I can read more about these characters.
Provided insight into events portrayed with the advent of WW11. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this series, which began during the depression.
read the other midwife books also. even though this one is very different , I enjoyed it as much as the other ones
I haven’t read the first two books in this series, but I don’t think it matters too much. Patricia Hester is a midwife in rural West Virginia during World War II. The history of the period is very interesting, the characters are good, friendly, etc. The story is rather weak and predictable.
Once a Midwife is the sequel to Patricia Harman’s fantastic The Midwife of Hope River, and on it’s own merits, it would be a more-than-fine read. It does pale a bit in comparison to the original work, though. But, first:
Once a Midwife jumps ahead from the early days of the Great Depression to the early days of World War II and finds Patience and Daniel long-married and with a houseful of children, some born to them and some adopted through the hardships of 1930s life in West Virginia. In the run-up to Pearl Harbor, both Patience and Daniel are staunchly isolationist and anti-war, but when Pearl Harbor is attacked and Hitler’s madness becomes clearer, a wedge grows between them as Patience tries to reconcile the man she believed Daniel to be with the man he has become.
Ultimately, the relationship between them, and Daniel’s continued refusal to register with the selective service, is the main plot. And it’s not a bad plot, but it’s not what I was expecting, either. I better enjoyed the first book, with its focus on Patience and her work as a midwife and the patients themselves than I did their domestic discord. What’s more, in writing the conflict as she did, I felt Harman did a disservice to Patience. Specifically, we see Patience worrying, constantly, over the threat of Daniel going to jail, and what that will mean for her and the children and their little farm.
I don’t doubt she would have worried, but give the steely empathy Patience showed repeatedly in the first book, and sporadically throughout this sequel, it would have felt more authentic to me had she reflected more on the parallels of their situation and that of every other family where the husband, son, father, brother was being sent to fight. Patience reflects repeatedly on the difficulties of being apart, but given the broader circumstances of the time, this rang a bit hollow for me.
Sequels are rarely, in my experience, as good as the original (I’m looking at you, This Side of Glory and Heaven and Hell), and this one isn’t bad. But if the first book was five stars, this one is three-and-a-half or four.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2019/02/once-midwife.html)
Good look at life of midwife in West Virginia during the 30’s and early ‘40’s.
Good characters and very interesting. Enjoyed seeing both sides of patriots and conscientious objectors. Liked the book.
Tells it how the world was in that era a area. Great story telling
I found it boring and couldn’t finish.
I am enjoying it.; I am on page 325.
I loved this book! I especially liked the main character and the setting of the book. I could relate with both.
Strong story about life and difficulties of poor farm folks struggling to survive during wartime.
I have read all of Patricia Harmon’s books so far. I find them very entertaining. I was an ob nurse for over 40 years and I identify with her books.
I love this series. This author is a must read for me.
I really enjoyed the story and the characters