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, … 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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Wonderful read. Recommend it greatly.
Didn’t want it to end
Great read about real life mid-midwifery and learning when the opportunity presents itself
I have no idea what drew me to this book. It is a real treasure to read! The main story is heartbreaking in so many ways, but all along there are home and love. Set in the hills of West Virginia during the great depression, it is a story of friendship and taking chances. Don’t miss this one.
Wonderful Books!
As a retired midwife I found this interesting. Also historically realistic and informative.
A fantastic “what if” with history. I couldn’t put the book down and kept checking to find out what was real and what was fiction. I highly recommend it.
The setting is during the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and FDR’s plan to get the economy moving again. There was much heartache, poverty, loss and hardship during this time period. This book tells of the resilience of the characters and the blessings that surround us all.
Very interesting and a lot of historical facts
What war does and what depression does to people. It hurts my heart.
I loved this book!! I love reading about medicine past and present. I have had experience with delivering babies. This book was spot on, no fluff!! Unless we have experienced the Great Depression we would not understand the extreme poverty these folks went through. It was a wonderful read, tempted to read it again, soon.
I couldn’t put it down! The author takes you deep into the time and community. You can’t help but care about everyone she writes about.
Totally enjoyed this book. Shared many things about the great depression. Makes you appreciate the times today. She was a strong woman who didn’t like to she other women suffer in child birth but had a gift to help both her doctor friend and others
I will snap up any book this author writes – she’s that good.
I found this book interesting because it seemed a fairly accurate picture of the depression era in a poverty-stricken area of the United States.
I read the first two books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed the view of depression era life from the women and midwife’s point. This was equally enjoyable.
Loved it
This series warrants my ultimate reader’s compliment. I want to be friends with the characters. The author beautifully blends the harshness of life and hope.
A page turner for sure! I couldn’t stop reading it.
This book is one of my favorites that I’ve read all summer. It explained the CCC Camps started in the Great Depression – both my stepdad and father-in-law worked in one in Michigan. I loved the fact that the nurse was so terrified of delivering babies, but could see all the gore and blood from accidents with an ax at the CCC Camp. This book showed …