Read For Free The Reluctant Midwife (Hope River #2) Brought To You By Patricia Harman Distributed As Publication Copy
fabulous sequel to the "The Midwife of Hope River", Nurse Becky Meyers, and the doctor she served, Dr, Isaac Blum, return to Hope River to settle into Dr, Blum's family home, only to discover it's been sold to settle back taxes, Dr. Blum has become catatonic, and Becky hopes the peace of the countryside will restore his spirits, But with no place to call home, Becky seeks out Patience Hester, But the Hester homestead has been abandoned, Fortunately, Patience and her husband David have only moved to the other side of the mountain, David accepts Dr. Blum as a helper for his veterinary practice, and slowly Dr, Blum shows glimpses of healing, A great friendship develops between the two couples, Desperate for work Becky takes the position of camp nurse at the CCC camp, There she cares for the men, coming to admire many for the dedication to their service and the heroic actions taken in the midst of great danger, The depiction of the hardships of thes are vivid, The descriptions of the beauty of the mountains, and the people who inhabit them make you feel a part of the community, At times gritty, and not always happyeverafter, the novel is a tribute to perseverance and the true meaning of community and being a good neighbor,
Im always very, very hesitant when a books description boasts that fans of Whatever Book or This Show will love itkind of like when a books description says a mixture of This Popular Book and That Popular Book.
What can I say Im a skeptic,
Im a huge Call the Midwife fan, Hint: its on Netflix, folks!, So when I read the description for The Reluctant Midwife, I laughed, Just because it says midwife in the title doesnt mean its going to satisfy my need while I wait for the next season to show up on Netflix, I thought.
Well, kudos to whomever included that in the description, because it definitely hit the spot,
Disclaimer: I did not read the first book in the Hope River series, I wanted to see how this particular book fared by itself, Im pleased to say that if you would rather just read this one, you dont need to read the first to understand what is going on, That being said, I can definitely see how reading the first one would help the reader understand various characters backgrounds, I plan on going back and reading the first,
Speaking of characters, I loved them, Betsy is an incredibly real protagonist, who has very real, raw emotions while dealing with Dr, Blum who, in the wake of his wifes death, has become catatonic, her new impoverished situation, and figuring out who she wants to be, She experiences plenty of anger, gratitude, happiness, and frustration to make her a very relatable character,
Patience, the midwife, is incredibly sweet and loving, and shes the primary reason Ill be reading the first book shes the star of that one, Her husband is cool, her son is adorableI loved them, Even minor characters, like the grocer or the woman on the outskirts of town who Becky delivers groceries to, are important and multidimensional,
I found the labor scenes simultaneously horrifying and pageturning, Whether the baby was blue, the mother was shrieking, or the midwives had to do something to keep mother or baby alive, I was transfixed, Naturally, I picture Becky as Jenny Lee aka Jessica Raine but with an American accent, of course, The imagery is vividyou can almost hear the grunts, moans, and pain of the women involved,
I did have one gripe: it was very long, with quite a few dull parts in between, Those bits are slow and hard to read, I suppose thats how life is, though, Its not always exciting. The book definitely read more like a diary than a novel, Rather than the entries being split up by date, they were broken into small subheads,
Overall, I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to those who are interested in historical fiction based in thes and/or midwifery, I rated it a/on Goodreads,
I received this book from TLC Book Tours and the publisher in exchange for an honest review, Just an okay book. . the first one she wrote was better in my opinion, . . I was captivated by The Reluctant Midwife: A Hope River Novel, which is set in rural West Virginia in the's, I was immediately drawn to the mystery of why surgeon Dr, Blum suddenly became mute and remained so, Why would his nurse of over seven years, Becky Meyers, tote him from place to place, caring for him when they had only a professional relationship Because of his nearly catatonic state, he had lost his medical practice and both lost their livelihood.
I eagerly followed the trail of clues while the lives of Nurse Becky, Dr, Blum, and Patience Hester and her husband were woven together, Author Patricia Harmon's voice brought life to the unfolding drama, And I became one of the neighbors of the small rural community who kept tabs on everyone living in within its boundaries,
You wouldn't need to have a particular interest in midwifery to be swept up by The Reluctant Midwife, Harman's descriptions of the Depressionera West Virginia countrysidethe mountains, rivers and plantsprovide a vivid backdrop for this narrative,
The's weren't so different from the challenges and hardships we face, The characters live during hard economic times that shake up the lives of folk from all walks of life, Natural disasters and drought have farreaching impact on the livelihoods of families throughout the nation, There is racial strife. There are sacrifices by those serving in the armed forces, There are social implications for families of wounded warriors returning home with visible and unseen scars, Much of this certainly resonates today,
The life of nurse Becky takes a twisted turn along her professional path, and the reader shares her trepidation and responses to the events around her, New government programs, like the Civilian Conservation Corps, are developed to stimulate the economy, Radio broadcasts bring news of Hitler in Germany and the Spanish Civil War, Women and African Americans are afforded less status by mainstream culture and have fewer job opportunities,
There is a good deal of medical talk and details of home births, The Reluctant Midwife is rich in underlying themes as well, such as how the Dust Bowl affected agrarian life in America, During the Dust Bowl, farmers headed west to California where they found hope in more fertile valleys, These regions are now are drying up, just as our western states once again experience drought,
Like the author, I am a baby boomer and many of my relatives shared stories of the Great Depression and their experiences with war, This novel helped me better understand what it was like for my father growing up in the's, as my grandfather was a small town country doctor, The historical context adds an important dimension to The Reluctant Midwife however it is the craftsmanship of Harman's writing and her unique expression that is compelling, A broad audience will thoroughly enjoy this book,
by Martha Meacham
for Story Circle Book s
reviewing books by, for, and about women Harman successfully sketches the harshness of thes, The Great Depression at the center as well as a tragic wildfire, Despite the desperation, the lack of food and work, in some instances homelessness, people pull together and hold out a helping hand and/or open their doors, Neighbor looking after and supporting their fellow neighbor, Inspiring and uplifting of the sense of community in the face of difficult trials as struggles were shared together,
Becky isnt easy to like, in fact shes downright cold and aloof, I wast sure if she would grow, as the story continues, the reader is given glimpses of hope, A skilled nurse but her bedside manner clearly lacking her frustration with Blum infuriated me at times, She possesses a kind heart, however, you find yourself straining to see the goodness, Yes Becky has had her share of heartache but my goodness she is so pessimistic, Shes on the edge of giving up hope, after a while it becomes increasingly frustrating, Patience is Beckys polar opposite, amazing given her incredibly painful past, yet she is optimistic, warm, approachable and unlike Becky she enjoys midwifery, Two differing women with their perspectives under a lens,
A solid story during a trying time in history, midwifery along with its challenges and triumphs probed, I had not been aware of this author until I had the get good fortune to receive an ARC of this title,
I had no expectations as I began to read, I suppose that I was thinking along the lines of the television series "Call The Midwife", What an excellent read this is! We follow this tale , whose protagonist is a registered nurse who is caring for her former employer a currently disabled doctor who presents, as the story begins, as more or less catatonic.
Penniless and destitute, they have enough money for gas to travel to the town where the doc had formerly practiced only to find that the Great Depression had followed hard on their heels.
This is a story of despair and hope, of family and friendship, and of rebirth in unanticipated ways, I found this to be an uplifting story that was beautifully paced and features well developed characters and a strong plot, It was a book that I did not want to put down and that portrays this sad time with gritty realism and a relentless eye, It was an education in a way that made me grateful for the relative prosperity that we now enjoy and also gave me a better understanding of what people who lived through these difficult times endured.
Needless to say, when I finished this book I had to look for another title by this talented author! Becky Myers is used to hard work and a life filled with disappointment.
She grew up with privilege as the daughter of a local physician in Vermont, She married a doctor before the Great War and continued to live in New England, Sadly, her husband was never quite the same after his return from the war and committed suicide shortly after his return home, Determined to start over, Becky received additional medical training and eventually settled in West Virginia as a nurse with the public health department, She then left West Virginia and moved to Virginia to become the nurse in the practice of a local physician, When that physician becomes catatonic and she has nowhere else to go, she and Dr, Blum return to Hope River, West Virginia, Becky thought that Virginia had been hit hard by the depression, but West Virginia and its residents are struggling, For the first time in her life, Becky is dependent upon the kindness of strangers to ensure she and Dr, Blum won't starve. The one thing that Hope River needs is another midwife since Becky's friend Patience is unable to meet the demands of the county, Unfortunately, midwifery is the last thing that Becky feels comfortable providing, but she soon realizes that she either provides this service or starves,
First, let me say if you haven't read The Midwife of Hope River then you need to read it as soon as possible, Is it possible to understand the action in The Reluctant Midwife without reading The Midwife of Hope River first Yes, it is, but simply trust me on this one and read The Midwife of Hope River first.
Now that I have that out of the way, the second, and by far the most important thing is that I loved both of these books, I don't mean these books are nice, even though they are, or just that they are well written, and again they are, . . I mean that Ms. Harman has the ability to craft stories with characters that are so vivid and colorful that you'll want to know more about them,
The action in both books is portrayed realistically and without any sugarcoating, Life in the earlys was hard for a large number of people across the United States, Unemployment was high and social services were all but unheard of in many areas, Even with the harsh, hardscrabble life for most of the people portrayed in both books, there is always an underlying sense of tenacity and hope, Becky gets to witness this first hand and quickly comes to realize that even though she and her former boss, Dr, Blum, may be experiencing difficulties, they are also blessed, Ms. Harman reintroduces the reader to many characters from The Midwife of Hope River, namely the midwife Patience, her husband the veterinarian Daniel Hester, their son Danny, the pharmacist and his wife, the grocer and his wife, the colored pastor and his wife, and more.
The reader is also introduced to new characters like Captain Wolfe from the Civilian Conservation Corps CCC camp, a few mafia men from Pennsylvania, the young workerturnedmedic from the CCC camp, and more.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt even makes a cameo appearance, There is suffering and death interspersed with joyous tales of survival and life,
It was fascinating to read about Becky's transformation from this somewhat formal and privileged woman to one that becomes more relaxed, slightly more informal, and willing to do anything necessary to survive.
Becky's change begins when she becomes the caretaker of her former boss, Dr, Blum. Her change continues as she becomes more relaxed and selfassured with her midwifery skills, and is completed when she eventually becomes the nurse and sole medical personnel at the CCC camp.
Obviously I can't tell you everything about the book because then you won't need to read it, There are stories within stories in both The Midwife of Hope River and The Reluctant Midwife, Ms. Harman provides the reader with insight into the primary characters, Patience and Becky, by giving glimpses into their pasts as well as their present
lives, Did I enjoy reading these books Yes! I read both covertocover with minimal interruptions or breaks, If you enjoy reading historical fiction, you'll definitely want to read these books, If you think you don't like historical fiction, trust me and read these books, I can only hope that there will be more stories from Hope River in the future,
This review originally posted on March,, at sitelink thebookdivasreads. com/ . I received a digital review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, .