Once a Midwife
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2.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Welcome back to Hope River in New York Times bestselling author Patricia Harman’s newest novel as midwife Patience Hester, along with her family and friends, face the challenges of the home front during World War II.
The 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, 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.
Customer Reviews
Totally disappointing
I really wanted to like this third book in the Midwife of Hope River series. I listened to this book on audiobooks, and possibly I would have liked it better had I read it instead of listening to it.
Parts of the story were interesting, and I didn’t know some of the history of rural West Virginia at the start of the 2nd world war. But I felt pulled back and forth unnecessarily by the protagonist regarding her husband and his trials. One minute she despised him and the next minute she’s forgiving him. It doesn’t add to the story at all.
Also, about every five minutes they break into song . I wouldn’t mind that so much except it goes on sometimes for several verses.
Now, maybe the voice of the written word was meant to be calmer, but the narrator interprets every other sentence as a panic. It gets old after awhile. I am from western Maryland, we can see West Virginia from my home. My people are from the mountains. They are stoic and proud. I know a lot of midwives. They are calm in a crisis or they couldn’t stay in their jobs very long. Patience, in this novel, seems to be constantly afraid and almost panicking at every single birth and other hard event in her life. The narrator is trying too hard, and she loses the listeners suspense of disbelief because of the constant whining.
Again, the narrators of the first two books in the series did creditable jobs. I was incredibly disappointed in this book. I probably won’t read another one, or listen either. For this I’m sad, because in general , I like fiction that includes nurses and midwives.