The Midwife of Hope River: A Novel of an American Midwife
Seeking refuge from the law in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, Patience Murphy sets out as a midwife in the wake of the 1929 stock-market crash. Armed with a birth satchel and what confidence she can muster, she delivers babies for blacks and whites who can no longer afford a doctor, accepting payment in chickens and flour and the occasional coin. Harman, herself a midwife, transports the reader to another time and place in this quiet story of a white woman who fights to usher life into an impoverished, prejudiced world. As Patience struggles to overcome her dark past, she opens her heart to Daniel, a lonely veterinarian, and her home to Bitsy, a black servant who becomes her apprentice and close companion, rousing the attention of the Klan. There&#x2019;s a whole lot of birthing going on in The Midwife of Hope River, but don&#x2019;t let that dissuade you from reading it. The author&#x2019;s love for the profession shines through in this testament to the power of women. A first novel well worth attention. --Diane Holcomb