Title: The Midwife of Hope River
Author: Patricia Harman
Publisher: William Morrow (August 28, 2012)
Format: Paperback; Pgs 400
Genre: Historical Fiction
Overview:
Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift: a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need—and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust—but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.
Honest, moving, and beautifully detailed, Patricia Harman's The Midwife of Hope Riverrings with authenticity as Patience faces nearly insurmountable difficulties. From the dangerous mines of West Virginia to the terrifying attentions of the Ku Klux Klan, Patience must strive to bring new light and life into an otherwise hard world.
Chapter 1
Stillbirth
“How long do you think my baby’s been dead?” Katherine turns toward me, and I can tell she’s still crying.
“Five days, maybe less,” I answer my patient. “I heard the heart-beat when I checked you last Friday, and you said the baby moved during church. Shut your eyes now. Try. You need to rest.
I place my new leather-bound journal on the maple table, lean my head back, and gaze across the dark room. Fire crackles in the blue-tiled freplace, fickers on the armoire, the canopy of the birthbed, and the wallpapered walls. A watery image in the dressing table mirror catches my eye. It’s me, a small woman with long auburn hair, a straight nose, and a round chin, pretty enough but not beautiful.
Midwife Patience Murphy has a gift: a talent for escorting mothers through the challenges of bringing children into the world. Working in the hardscrabble conditions of Appalachia during the Depression, Patience takes the jobs that no one else wants, helping those most in need—and least likely to pay. She knows a successful midwifery practice must be built on a foundation of openness and trust—but the secrets Patience is keeping are far too intimate and fragile for her to ever let anyone in.
Honest, moving, and beautifully detailed, Patricia Harman's The Midwife of Hope Riverrings with authenticity as Patience faces nearly insurmountable difficulties. From the dangerous mines of West Virginia to the terrifying attentions of the Ku Klux Klan, Patience must strive to bring new light and life into an otherwise hard world.
Chapter 1
Stillbirth
“How long do you think my baby’s been dead?” Katherine turns toward me, and I can tell she’s still crying.
“Five days, maybe less,” I answer my patient. “I heard the heart-beat when I checked you last Friday, and you said the baby moved during church. Shut your eyes now. Try. You need to rest.
I place my new leather-bound journal on the maple table, lean my head back, and gaze across the dark room. Fire crackles in the blue-tiled freplace, fickers on the armoire, the canopy of the birthbed, and the wallpapered walls. A watery image in the dressing table mirror catches my eye. It’s me, a small woman with long auburn hair, a straight nose, and a round chin, pretty enough but not beautiful.
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