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Summary
Summary
A remarkable new voice in American fiction enchants readers with a moving and uplifting novel that celebrates the miracle of life. In The Midwife of Hope River, first-time novelist Patricia Harmon transports us to poverty stricken Appalachia during the Great Depression years of the 1930s and introduces us to a truly unforgettable heroine. Patience Murphy, a midwife struggling against disease, poverty, and prejudice--and her own haunting past--is a strong and endearing character that fans of the books of Ami McKay and Diane Chamberlain will take into their hearts, as she courageously attempts to bring new light, and life, into an otherwise cruel world.
Author Notes
Patricia Harman has spent over thirty years caring for women as a midwife, first as a lay-midwife, and later as a nurse-midwife in teaching hospitals and a community hospital birthing center. She became an RN as the first step in getting licensed as certified nurse midwife. In 1985 she began her training at the University of Minnesota where she received her MSN in Nurse-Midwifery. She has been a nurse-midwife on the faculty of The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University and most recently West Virginia University. She also spent several years in private practice, before the rising costs of liability insurance for Obstetrics caused her to give up deliveries.
The change in life style afforded Harman the free time to pursue writing. She has written two memoirs; Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey, and The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir. She has also written several novels; The Midwife of Hope River and The Reluctant Midwife, which comprise the Hope River Series.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in gritty Depression-era West Virginia, Harman's debut novel tells the story of rural midwife Patience Murphy, a woman who loves helping new mothers bring children into the world. But a secret, violent past keeps her from letting anyone get too close, at least until she acquires a black housemate named Bitsy as well as Hester, a handsome neighbor and veterinarian whose exposure to dying horses in WWI fueled his decision to take up his father's vocation. As times grow harder than they already are, these three unlikely friends have to pull together, even if it means revealing secrets that could bring trouble to them all. While Harman (Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey, a memoir), a certified nurse-midwife who has practiced in many rural communities, clearly has a comprehensive understanding of midwifery, her narrative pacing leaves much to be desired. Patience's story is slow, and the characters that surround her are insufficiently drawn, creating more inertia than intrigue. Still, the stories of the births that Patience handles in this difficult era are fascinating. Agent: Barbara Braun, Barbara Braun Associates. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Prohibition, the Ku Klux Klan, unions, Mother Jones--the early-20th century would be a tough world for anyone. Orphan, unwed mother, widow, midwife--Patience Murphy is a worthy adversary. Following her acclaimed memoirs (Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey, 2011, etc.), Harman offers her debut novel, tracing the life of a midwife in Appalachia. Yet Patience Murphy is no ordinary midwife. Indeed, much of society would question whether she meets the primary qualification for midwives in early-20th-century America: good moral character. Orphaned at the age of 14, Patience is sent to live first with a kind widow and then to Saint Mary's House of Mercy Orphanage. She makes good use of herself, reading to the younger children and working in the laundry. Eventually, Patience escapes her drudgery to become a chorus girl, lying about her name and age to secure the job. There she falls in love with Lawrence, a scene designer. Soon pregnant, Patience loses her child when Lawrence is killed in a train wreck. Yet Patience's tribulations and adventures have only begun. She becomes a professional wet nurse, an accidental thief and a fugitive from a would-be rapist. She is welcomed on the fringes of society by union agitators and midwives--until a violent workers' strike brings her world crashing down. After fleeing to Appalachia, Patience finds herself hiding her past while trying to gain some professional respect--a difficult goal, given that midwives could not legally perform internal exams on their patients. Threading these events together are the fascinating birth stories. Midwives are warriors in this beautifully sweeping tale.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
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's a whole lot of birthing going on in The Midwife of Hope River, but don't let that dissuade you from reading it. The author's love for the profession shines through in this testament to the power of women. A first novel well worth attention.--Holcomb, Diane Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
At age 36, Patience Murphy is a widow and union sympathizer whose radical past has sent her into hiding. When the Great Depression arrives, Patience is living in West Virginia, working as a novice midwife until the death of her mentor forces her to attend births alone. With the help of a nearby veterinarian and an African American girl, Bitsy, Patience keeps the wolves from her door. Called out at any hour of the day to the homes of both the poor and the not-so-poor, she slowly earns respect for her midwifery skills, if not much in the way of cash. Penning journal entries of each birth, as well as colorful back stories of the time she spent with anarchists and the two men she loved, Patience strives to make sense of her life. VERDICT Memoirist Harman (Arms Open Wide; The Blue Cotton Gown), herself a certified nurse-midwife, takes readers back to hardscrabble times and adds plenty of medical drama and a dash of romance, to offer an uncommonly good piece of American historical fiction. [For a contemporary take on midwives, see Bridget Boland's The Doula, coming in September from Gallery Books-Ed.]-Keddy Ann Outlaw, formerly with Harris County P.L., Houston (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.