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The Midwife of Hope River

by Patricia Harman (Goodreads Author)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 1,469 ratings · 360 reviews

A remarkable new voice in American fiction, creates an uplifting novel that celebrates the miracle of life.

A William Morrow Paperback Original
A debut novel featuring Patience Murphy, an Appalachian midwife in the 1930s struggling against disease, poverty, and prejudices-and her own haunting past-to bring new light, and life, into an otherwise cruel world

As a midwife workin...more

Paperback, 382 pages

Published August 28th 2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks (first published January 1st 2012)

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Feb 03, 2013 Teresa rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is really two stories wrapped in one.

First we have the story of Patience, the midwife of Hope River, who is almost entirely disconnected from the community she lives in, despite being one of the most integral people in town. She attends births, but usually has little to no relationship to the mother. Despite this handicap, she repeatedly is able, in the matter of minutes, to size up the personalities of the people involved, calm the situation down, deliver the baby, and in one case, e...more This book is really two stories wrapped in one.

First we have the story of Patience, the midwife of Hope River, who is almost entirely disconnected from the community she lives in, despite being one of the most integral people in town. She attends births, but usually has little to no relationship to the mother. Despite this handicap, she repeatedly is able, in the matter of minutes, to size up the personalities of the people involved, calm the situation down, deliver the baby, and in one case, even convince a reluctant mother that she does, indeed, want to be a mother. The birth stories are lacking real human connection and warmth as a result of Patience's disconnection from her community. These birth stories were what I really hoped to enjoy, but they were clinical and dumbed down to the point that I really didn't get the pleasure I expected.

It's also the story of her past life, which is amazing and improbable and ridiculous. Every time she almost connects to the people in her present, this past life intrudes and we're back to the glory days where she was spending her nights fighting the man and rubbing elbows with such notables as Mother Jones and W.E.B. DuBois. If there is a police car, she seems to forget the current situation (even when it's as dramatic as a mine explosion) thinking that the fuzz are finally on to her for her 10 year old crimes.

Both of these stories are very interesting, and could have made a good book (or half of a book) alone. However, the way that they are woven together ended up slighting both stories. Patience is so wrapped up in herself, and her past life, that she simply misses out on what is happening right in front of her face. Every joy and every sorrow that Patience sees is reflected in her own joys and losses of years past. Patience is strangely naive for someone who has lived as much life as she has. While everyone grieves differently, the way she mourns losses doesn't seem authentic at all. Patience does do some growing by the end of the book, but it's too little too late. The real humanity of the stories, the WHY behind all of the struggles and midwifery, is lost in the telling.

The book left me cold, which is the opposite of what I was expecting. I went in with expectations for a book with joys and sorrows. I was not expecting a deep, intellectual read, so there I was right. But I did expect it to be emotionally stimulating and gratifying, and in that respect I was sorely disappointed.

ETA: I recently read Peggy Vincent's Baby Catcher . It is a wonderful, life affirming book of baby stories that I enjoyed thoroughly. I recommend it as a satisfying alternative to this disappointing book. (less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Kirsty rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: received-for-review, bookgeeks-and-nudge, read-2013

My Nudge review of The Midwife of Hope River can be found here:
http://www.nudgemenow.com/article/the...

Short review: I thought this would be a fascinating read - set against the Great Depression, with the Ku Klux Klan and other such historical events woven in - but it was dull and far too long. The protagonist was irritating and self-righteous. I'm giving this two stars because it wasn't awful, but it's not one I'd recommend at all.

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Apr 21, 2013 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Thank you Book Clubbers for not spoiling the ending for me on Thursday. Great birthday present! Love the midwife history and anecdotal form. Although Patience's voice is annoying as all get out, the story held me and I loved the ending!

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Feb 09, 2013 Rachael rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book tells the story of Patience, a depression-era West Virginia midwife with a dark past. Patience is self sufficient and isolated from her community, but as she reaches out to others through her practice, she is knit to her community through shared sorrow and joy. This novel attempts to celebrate our shared humanity, through love, loss, and the intense act of giving birth to a child. Unfortunately, this beautiful and uplifting theme fell flat for me because I was never emotionally engross...more This book tells the story of Patience, a depression-era West Virginia midwife with a dark past. Patience is self sufficient and isolated from her community, but as she reaches out to others through her practice, she is knit to her community through shared sorrow and joy. This novel attempts to celebrate our shared humanity, through love, loss, and the intense act of giving birth to a child. Unfortunately, this beautiful and uplifting theme fell flat for me because I was never emotionally engrossed in the book.

Honestly, I never felt strongly connected to the main character. Patience’s sordid backstory involves her meeting an extraordinary amount of historical labor leaders. It is completely over the top, and presented in such a “matter-of-fact” tone that it becomes absurd. She also seems to have a complete factual knowledge of every single historical event, illness, and personage that she encounters. This seems incongruous with the information she would have had access to at the time, and the way she constantly rattles off these facts to the reader feels like a Wikipedia article about the early 20th century labor movement.

The setting is interesting at times, but the book failed to impart to me a strong sense of time and place. Patience thinks, speaks and acts exactly like a modern observer would, betraying no idiosyncrasies which would place her in 1930. She is essentially us, the readers, thrown into the depression and baffled by the injustice that we find there. It made me feel detached from the world of the characters.

The most genuine and engrossing parts of the book are the birth scenes, which paint a rich portrait of the joy and pain of creating new life. It was these fascinating scenes, coupled with my keen interest in the history of childbirth, that held my interest in the book. As a piece of historical fiction, I found it lacking, but I would recommend it for those who are very interested in midwifery, and looking for an uplifting read. (less)

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Jan 17, 2013 Romancing the Book rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical

Reviewed by: Aubrey
Book provided by: Publisher
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

I love this book so much. It’s honestly one of my new favorite books ever. I love how Harman writes. She is quite frank and to the point but with a lot of humor. The main character, Patience, is exceptionally well written. She is character full of depth and layers and unquestionably a character that is more than what she seems. She is a midwife, but you get glimpses of a life led before that was exciting....more

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Jan 03, 2013 Amy S rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great book, great story and characters. Set in the 1930s in Appalachian West Virginia. Patience Murphy is an unlikely midwife, trying to care for women of all class and income levels in their small town. It is hard to be a midwife at this time, when even doing a routine internal exam is breaking the law. Patience, carrying her own sorrows deep in her heart, tries to assist women the best she can while dealing with the hard life in a small Appalachian community during the depths of the depression...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Started this review and had my computer freeze up -- grrrr!!! I was getting so deep, too. Attempting to reconstruct:

I am always drawn to books about midwifery, probably because my daughter was born in the 1980s with a lay midwife. Although this book was set in 1929-30, I thought the descriptions of the relationship between the midwife and the mothers were spot-on. I loved how Patience/Lizbeth and her teachers stepped back, allowed the mothers to labor in their own individual ways, learned from...more Started this review and had my computer freeze up -- grrrr!!! I was getting so deep, too. Attempting to reconstruct:

I am always drawn to books about midwifery, probably because my daughter was born in the 1980s with a lay midwife. Although this book was set in 1929-30, I thought the descriptions of the relationship between the midwife and the mothers were spot-on. I loved how Patience/Lizbeth and her teachers stepped back, allowed the mothers to labor in their own individual ways, learned from the "outside" of the woman's body, and let her guide them in how to respond. As a beekeeper, I find this management style (rather than intervening with drugs or trying to control the process) to be much in tune with my own approach to the hives! So much can be learned without opening them up and disturbing their world and so much can be done with touch and movement and bringing in the elements -- as Patience does when she puts Prudy in the bath and allows the hot water to relax her.

Another reviewer said "mothers don't ALWAYS say 'my baby, my baby,'" when labor concludes with birth, but I'm here to tell you, when I touched my child's crowning head, that's just what I said!

There are many things to love about this book -- the wonderful research into early labor organizing, for one. My ancestors' roots are in Pittsburgh in the 1870s and I've often wanted to know more about those times. My ancestors came from Ireland via Wales and worked as "puddlers" in the foundries there. I've often hoped that they fought for justice alongside Emma & Sasha, but I don't really know. Patience is somewhat carried along by her times, first as an orphan, then as a chorus girl, "milkmaid" and later as a radical and organizer, and finally a midwife. Although some reviewers found this trajectory to be difficult to believe, I found it refreshingly familiar. (Never thought I'd grow up to be a lesbian urban agriculturalist beekeeper, with a partner in car sales, brewing beer, heating with wood, practicing permaculture, etc -- from my small town Catholic tee-totaling upbringing...) Lizbeth morphs and grows throughout the book and I found her evolution fascinating. (view spoiler)

I loved the round of the seasons in the book. I found the lack of electricity, the reliance on the garden, and the bartering lifestyle interesting and well-described. I took pleasure in the many details of people's homes from grand to simple. (In the back of the book, I learned that a 1927 Sears catalogue played a part in imagining the setting -- what a great resource!) I loved how bits of Patience's past were slowly revealed as incidents in her life and with her patients brought them to the forefront -- it made for a riveting read as we learn more.

As a lesbian & anti-racist, I have to disagree with some other reviewers complaints that Patience is unbelievable or too naive about racism, since she grew up in a racist society. (Unlike now, right?!?) When racist incidents happen today, I constantly hear other whites exclaiming in shock and disbelief -- how could this happen??? It's so unfair! I thought Patience's relative cluelessness about the ways that blacks in the story experienced discrimination was pretty true-to-life. Sadly, we can be blind when we're not the targets. And when we ARE targets, we can sometimes be a little more sympathetic, but far too often, we aren't.

So, setting A+, characters & the development A+, involving story and writing style A+ -- unputdownable! This one was recommended by my friend Paquetta and I can't wait to tell her how much I enjoyed it.

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Nov 06, 2012 Sara Palacios rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman follows Patience Murphy who has the gift of escorting women through the challenges of bringing children into the world. During the depression, Patience takes on a job that is risky and doesn’t yield much of a financial return … yet is one of the most difficult jobs imaginable. After her mentor dies unexpectedly, she takes the helm and although she feels completely out of her element, she takes things slow and begins to trust herself. In a little over...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Kimberly Lett rated it 5 of 5 stars

…the perfect novel to read during Autumn and Winter, The Midwife of Hope River, celebrates life, friendship, love and community. Get your hot cocoa, marshmallows and blanket together and prepare to sit for long periods of time as you enjoy this page turner that you’ll dread finishing.

Imagine the time, an era of the Great Depression, where hope seemed lost with each passing season, each day feeling dark and troublesome on “Hope River.” Hope River is on the Appalachia Mountain in Union County, We...more …the perfect novel to read during Autumn and Winter, The Midwife of Hope River, celebrates life, friendship, love and community. Get your hot cocoa, marshmallows and blanket together and prepare to sit for long periods of time as you enjoy this page turner that you’ll dread finishing.

Imagine the time, an era of the Great Depression, where hope seemed lost with each passing season, each day feeling dark and troublesome on “Hope River.” Hope River is on the Appalachia Mountain in Union County, West Virginia, where you will surprisingly find a lot of diversity: miners, travelers seeking work, business owners, physicians, ministers and their families make up this community. The time is filled with racism, discrimination, many laws that divide us. A time where little work is offered, therefore many babies are conceived. A time before ultrasounds and technology, where hospitals are able to turn you around if you aren’t able to take care of the bill first and a time where doctors could turn you around because of the color of your skin is the setting for “The Midwife of Hope River.” In this novel, you will see the beauty of life bringing a community of people together despite their differences and the chaos surrounding them.

New to the community, certified midwife, Patience Murphy (formally Elizabeth Snyder) has traveled a journey filled with sadness, loss and trouble. She now finds herself moving from the city to this rural area wanted by the law. With guilt on her heart and mind, she gives endlessly to this community with no expectations of anything in return. Patience does not turn away a birth even when she regrets it later. She attends the births of the affluent, the poor, black, white, homeless, Amish, Christian, non-believers. Each birth is celebrated uniquely, yet beautifully. In giving birth, many lessons on life are learned with each birth report she writes. Occasionally reminiscing about the past she left behind, standing up for those things she’s most passionate about: life, social equality and her new friends. With this new leaf on life, her new help and dear friend, Bitsy, a courageous black, intelligent woman with dreams of her own, they become a team in Hope River. Patience brings to Bitsy a home and work that she learns naturally, while Bitsy brings to Patience, a sense of what she endures as a black woman, family, warmth and together they embrace a beautiful friendship learning from each other. They both find healing in love, life and laughter in odd places.

With each birth, you will feel that you are right there in the room with every detail given. This is no surprise since the author, Patricia Harman, served as a Midwife for several years passionately delivering life into this world, never losing a patient alongside her husband who’s a gynecologist and retired obstetrician. The author has been committed to service herself throughout her life as an activist and teacher. She brings life to Patience Murphy and “Bitsy” for each reader to love and enjoy in this beautifully written fiction. As it deals with “Life, death and the beautiful mess in between,” The Midwife of Hope River, will make you laugh as well as cry; dream and think as this beautiful and powerful story unfolds. The eye opening story it is, The Midwife of Hope River, inspires with amazing details from the past and a hope for the future as it brings into full circle, life, even in loss, while cherishing the greater good in all of humanity.(less)

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Oct 05, 2012 Eggletina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“That’s what makes you a good midwife,” the old lady says. “You know the value of life, and you know loss. My father used to say the two are one, like the bramble and the rose. Life and death… the bramble and the rose.”

So says one midwife to another in Patricia Harman’s debut novel depicting one year in the life of a midwife living in a rural community in Depression era West Virginia. The story is primarily focused on the birth stories (human and animal to my delight), but the heroine's backsto...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Louise rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Story Description:

Harpercollins|August 20, 2012|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-06-219889-1

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 secr...more Story Description:

Harpercollins|August 20, 2012|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-06-219889-1

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 River rings 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.

My Review:

Patience Murphy was at one time Elizabeth Snyder who was a showgirl, a wife, and a mother-to-be. Now she is Patience Murphy, midwife in Appalachia in the 1930’s during the Depression in a little county called Hope River. She attends the births of both rich and poor families but is rarely paid in dollars for her services. Usually she’s paid nothing at all or a bag of flour, a few potatoes, or some other form of food. Times are tough for everyone. Patience worries constantly about the day her past catches up with her and is always on guard wondering if the people coming up her driveway are in need of her services or if it’s the Sheriff.

The story begins with Patience attending one of the communities white residents who is expected to have a stillbirth but the baby is born alive. Patience has not yet had a lot of experience at being a midwife but she is the only choice for a lot of folks since Dr. Blum, the county’s white doctor refuses to birth any babies for people who cannot afford to pay him. Mrs. Potts, the negro midwife is ill.

Patience keeps a record book of all the births she attends, recording the name of the family, the baby’s name and weight, who was in attendance and if there were any complications during the birth. The births she attends are riveting and will keep you glued to the edge of your seat.

Patience befriends, Bitsy, a young black girl who moves in with Patience and begins attending the births and assisting, Patience.

The Midwife of Hope River is a story of great strength, struggles, loss, redemption, truth, survival, and hope. It is also a celebration of life. For a debut novel, this was a crackerjack read!

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Sep 23, 2012 Viviane Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Patience Murphy lives an isolated but adrenaline-kicking lifestyle. At any time of the day or night, a person might knock on her door or a car pull up into her yard, seeking her very new skills as a midwife to help deliver a baby. Sometimes everything goes oh so smoothly and yet there's always tension even until that last second when a baby emerges from his or her mother and is found to be healthy and whole when there is equal joy! But frequently, for various reasons, the baby has turned in uter...more Patience Murphy lives an isolated but adrenaline-kicking lifestyle. At any time of the day or night, a person might knock on her door or a car pull up into her yard, seeking her very new skills as a midwife to help deliver a baby. Sometimes everything goes oh so smoothly and yet there's always tension even until that last second when a baby emerges from his or her mother and is found to be healthy and whole when there is equal joy! But frequently, for various reasons, the baby has turned in utero and Patience has a huge challenge to deliver the baby, saving both the baby and its mother's life. Pay comes in very, very small bills but more likely in the form of food or wood for a fire.

For the Depression is looming over the entire nation and even the mines in West Virginia have closed or are very close to closing. Patience has wound up in this little country town because she fears the cops are after her, a story that gradually emerges throughout the entire novel.

A neighboring veterinarian is the first to help Patience albeit after quite a bit of gruffness. But he later turns out to be more than a rough character and becomes a caring friend. So what's the drama herein? Could it be the delivering of animal young 'uns as well as human babies? Could it be when a fierce ice storm glazes the area through which Patience must travel for another birth? Perhaps it's the husband who violently abuses his wife or anyone close enough to his rage?

There are several stories within this obvious surface story. But the reader finds Patience to be an honest, straight-forward, caring woman who has picked the perfect profession for her and luckily for her patients. Unions and racism are volatile subjects to discuss or be a part of. Patience, however, is a rebel for the most sincere reasons one would be a viable rebel; she cares more for people, their families, their finances that help them survive, etc. more than greed for more material possessions and more than the hate that turns cowards (KKK) into would-be killers!

The Midwife of Hope River is about second chances and rising above the smallness of those locked in "old time" ways and means! It's about sticking together and needing each other in a truly whole, community style. Nicely done, Ms. Harman!(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Heidi Norrod rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review and Rating

5/5 stars

This tale is so engaging and intricately interwoven that you are afraid to put the book down lest it will disappear and you'll never be able to finish it. Yes. It is that good.

I had my doubts about it, thinking that it may be nothing more than a bunch of pages about babies being born. I was so very, very wrong. I am so glad that I chose this book to read.

Patience Murphey is a character that I'd love to invite over for lemonade while we sat out on the porch. The second...more

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Sep 16, 2012 April Helms rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Very enjoyable. Harman, who herself was a midwife, covers a lot of territory with her novel, which is set in the 1930s, during the beginning of the Great Depression. Patience Murphy (actually an alias) is more or less thrown into the role of the town midwife after her mentor dies unexpectedly. She feels completely out of her depth, but gradually comes to trust her own strengths and instincts. It takes place over a year, and includes a mining accident, racial tensions, economic woes, and domestic...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Roxanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

I began reading this book without looking at the jacket or introduction. About 20 pages into the book I realized I had read Harman's book The Blue Cotton Gown and had not been impressed at all.

This book was everything I was "hoping" for and I'm glad I gave the author a second chance. Her fiction was way better than her non-fiction.

This story is written so well that you don't know you are receiving a history lesson when you really are. I didn't want the book to end to be honest.

I enjoyed the stor...more

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Sep 07, 2012 aspasiacat rated it 4 of 5 stars

Coal mining West Virginia during the 1930’s is the setting for Patricia Harman’s engaging debut novel THE MIDWIFE OF HOPE RIVER. Patience Murphy is making a new life caring for pregnant women in Appalachia, as she reconciles her past with her new surroundings.

With the heart of Sandra Dallas, the intensity of Gay Courter and a nod to Barbara Wood the author integrates historical notes (the Great Depression, Appalachian coal mining, unions for miners and lack thereof, Emma Goldman the anarchist,...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Amye rated it 4 of 5 stars

Patience Murphy is the new midwife of Hope River, although she's uncomfortable with the title of midwife since her mentor, Mrs. Kelly, has passed away and Patience has yet to fully complete her training. Yet, Patience has a gift, a real ability to understand the birthing process and to help a delivering woman bring her baby into the world. Through her eyes we experience many different birthing scenarios: from the presumed stillborn baby delivered to the MacIntosh woman, to the hysterical screami...more Patience Murphy is the new midwife of Hope River, although she's uncomfortable with the title of midwife since her mentor, Mrs. Kelly, has passed away and Patience has yet to fully complete her training. Yet, Patience has a gift, a real ability to understand the birthing process and to help a delivering woman bring her baby into the world. Through her eyes we experience many different birthing scenarios: from the presumed stillborn baby delivered to the MacIntosh woman, to the hysterical screaming delivery of a fourteen-year-old girl, each birth is written with such intimacy and tension that the reader feels as invested in these women as Patience herself.

Set in the beginning of the Depression, actually the narrative begins the day after the crash, Patience has her own story as well. She is not just The Midwife of Hope River, she is a proud champion of the underdog, and we learn through Harman's tempered revelation, that Patience has fled from her home in Pittsburgh because of a terrible event. We learn that she and her mentor, Mrs. Kelly, and Mrs. Kelly's lover, Nora, were instrumental in the fight for coal miner's unions. They protested, along with thousands of miners, for better pay, better conditions, and better living standards. It is during one of these protests that something terrible happens, leaving Patience to flee and to change her identity.

However, social injustice is not something Patience can easily forget. With each new family she meets, each new life she delivers, Patience learns of different-and not always pleasant-aspects of her new community. From the impoverished mining camp nearby where the miners, not unionized, are living in squalor and suffering horrific working conditions, to the presence of the KKK, the town of Hope River is nothing like the quiet provincial town it seems to be at first glance.
There are uplifting moments in the novel as well. Patience reluctantly takes in a boarder, a young black woman named Bitsy. Their friendship blossoms slowly, but is realistic and heartwarming. Then there's the dashing Dr. Hester, the town veterinarian who has endeared himself to Patience by helping her with her growing farm. The two begin attending animal births together, and soon, something deeper develops between them.

This novel has a lot going on. There's the back-story for Patience which is fascinating, the social commentary, the friendships and romances, and finally the births. And it is that last thing, the births, that keeps the narrative moving at a good clip and prevents the story from being bogged down by weighty social issues. Patience is a likeable character, and I loved that she was still getting her feet under her when we first met.

The Midwife of Hope River is a great read. Patricia Harman is a skillful writer who knows how to build tension and to craft characters that we love and care about. The Midwife of Hope River is the story of life, of regret, and of the truth and beauty in all things. At 382 pages, it's a substantial read, but one you will find thoroughly enjoyable.
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Aug 22, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Patience Murphy didn’t start out to be a midwife. In fact, Patience Murphy began life as Elizabeth Snyder whose mother was a teacher and whose father was lost in Lake Michigan. Pregnant at 16 by her boyfriend, she lost the child, she married laser, killed that husband in error and moved with friends to the Appalachian mountains of Hope River, West Virginia to hide among the miners and hard working farmers.
There she became a midwife by lot, not by choice and was quite good at it. In the sad, joyf...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Fran rated it 5 of 5 stars

Midwife of Hope River
Author: Patsy Harmon

Devastating news rocked the world of this about to be new mother when told the child in her womb not live. Fearful, scared yet not giving up hope this young mother hung on because she felt the news she received was wrong and God would bring her child out safely and alive. The midwife in place, her husband barely able to stand and the birth imminent no one expected this result. The doctor examined her and agreed with the midwife: How could they both be wro...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Vern rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

Set at the base of Hope Mountain on a farm during the onset of the Great Depression, Patricia Harman begins one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read. Harmam describes the landscape in such a way that you feel the seasons change. She draws you in so deep that you forget you are reading a work of fiction.

"I've played too many roles in too short a time; had too many names, lived too many places." -Patience Murphy

Elizabeth Snyder Gordesky is on the run when her friend and midwife mentor, M...more Set at the base of Hope Mountain on a farm during the onset of the Great Depression, Patricia Harman begins one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read. Harmam describes the landscape in such a way that you feel the seasons change. She draws you in so deep that you forget you are reading a work of fiction.

"I've played too many roles in too short a time; had too many names, lived too many places." -Patience Murphy

Elizabeth Snyder Gordesky is on the run when her friend and midwife mentor, Ms. Kelly, brings her to West Virginia. Ms. Kelly dies of a broken heart and Elizabeth has a new role to play. Of all the roles Elizabeth has played being the midwife, Patience Murphy, is her most redemptive. Bringing new lives into the world slowly heals her heart of all the loss she has suffered in her past.

"To be a midwife was never my goal." -Patience Murphy

With each baby that Patience brings into the world there is a unique experience and an equally unique family. Times are hard for everyone. Patience's expertise is needed regardless of color, class, or economic status and she gives herself relentlessly. When Patience acquired an apprentice, Bitsy, who was threatened with homelessness a beautiful friendship blossoms. Bitsy being a young black woman brought a new dynamic to Patience's life and work. No matter how the community embraced Patience, she did not feel comfortable revealing who she really was.

The communities surrounding Hope River was clearly divided. Whites and Blacks. Patience being from Pittsburgh often crossed the lines. She was determined not to be boxed in. She faced racism head on. It must be said that Harman includes themes such as social justice, domestic violence, labor organizing, women's rights, and violent racism in a novel whose main theme is midwifery in an extraordinary way. Just when you thought the story could not melt your heart anymore Harman moves us by including two women with disabilities whose strength is astonding.

There were so many small details of this book that really made me smile. I fell in love with Patience's love and affection for her animals. The dogs Emma and Sasha who were named for radical anarchists. The cow Moonlight with her calf Sunny. Patience nursed a lame horse, Star, back to health. She often delivered babies where her only payment was food or nothing at all. The different reactions to birth by each family will make you laugh and cry.

I literally pondered over this review for days because I knew no matter what I wrote it would not express how much I enjoyed reading this book. Over the course of the novel, Patience reflects on her own past little by little. She heals gradually. Throughout Harman gives a balance of life and death. By the end a new life and a new love is blossoming and Patience's past is finally put to rest.

The Midwife of Hope River is one of those books I will never forget.

*ARC provided by LibraryThing Early Reviewers
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Dec 12, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Really I would give it 3.5 stars - but not quite 4 (because of the predictability of the plot and some of the characters). However, with that said, I really liked the stories she wrote about all of the deliveries the midwife/main character, Patience, attended. Each time it had me thinking more about childbirth in the early 1900's, the mortality that isn't nearly as prevalent today, and the way that throughout all time, generally our bodies know what to do. Of course, having delivered my 3rd baby...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Sarah Jamison rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. I like birth stories, so I guess I'd be predisposed to like it, but I really liked this book. Burst into tears twice while reading it, actually, because I was so moved by the birth stories. And possibly because I have just entered the final month of my second pregnancy and may be a little sensitive to these sorts of things, but still. What I can't figure out is how I liked a book so very much when it has such an annoying and absurd protagonist? There needs to be a new w...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Jessica Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars

I almost put the book down after reading the first line. I didn't want a book about dead babies, my heart just can't take that! Luckily, I continued, else I would have missed an excellent story. Written in a conversational style, I quite enjoyed this book as it reminded me of talking with my closest friends. You know about the protagonist's life from the start, but learn the deeper layers of who she is at heart as the novel progresses. The realization at the end that everyone has deep pain that...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Becky Haase rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I usually don’t like books that jump from the present to the past and back again, however, Patricia Harman does it so well in The Midwife of Hope River that I must change my mind. Incorporating births from her own experience as a midwife and seamlessly blending in a framework of history from upper class Chicago at the turn of the century, through union organizing in the coal fields and factories of the northeast and the Great Depression in Appalachia just before WWII, Harmon tells a moving and r...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very good read! Harmon sets her story about an early midwife working during the Depression in a coal-mining community called Hope River, West Virginia. Patience Murphy is a spunky single woman who has already lost two husbands and an infant, lived in an orphanage, and committed a murder. The other characters are great too--black Bitsy who comes to live with Patience and becomes her assistant-- Hester, the veterinarian who asks Patience's assistance in delivering a foal -- Mrs. Kelly, lesbian a...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Christie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-geography-challenge, 20th-century, controversial-issues, epistolary-novels, historical-fiction, kick-ass-heroines, picked-up-because-of-cover, romance, 2013-paranormal-scavenger-hunt

First sentence: "How long do you think my baby's been dead?"

Patience Murphy is the new midwife of Hope River in West Virginia in 1929. She has a talent for bringing babies into the world, even when cases seem hopeless for both mother and child. She harbors many secrets about her past; secrets that keep her from getting too close to her neighbors. But the hard times of the Great Depression have a way of bringing the most unlikely people together in the most extraordinary of circumstances and Pat...more First sentence: "How long do you think my baby's been dead?"

Patience Murphy is the new midwife of Hope River in West Virginia in 1929. She has a talent for bringing babies into the world, even when cases seem hopeless for both mother and child. She harbors many secrets about her past; secrets that keep her from getting too close to her neighbors. But the hard times of the Great Depression have a way of bringing the most unlikely people together in the most extraordinary of circumstances and Patience may not be as alone in the world as she thinks.

I found this to be a very inspiring, uplifting story of life and death during the dark days of the Depression. I felt it was well-written and the characters were well drawn and realistic. The author did a good job describing scenes and making the reader feel a part of them. The author also has a good feel for the political and social aspects of the time and pulls them into the story seamlessly. You get not just the economic downturn, but also race and labor tensions of the era. It's quite interesting how much is included in a 300 page book.

I did not like how Patience's past history was included in the book. I think it was important to include in the book, but it was just weird how something would be happening in the present and then suddenly we are flashing back to 20 years previously because someone said something that reminded Patience of something else. It was very jarring and broke up the flow of the story. It would have been nice to have these flashbacks take place in a different chapter, something with date and setting headings so we knew where we were. (view spoiler).

Other than those few issues, I did enjoy the book and found myself really wondering how it would all go for the characters. It was a good book and I recommend it to people who enjoy reading medical fiction, women's fiction, and fiction set in the early 20th century. Its a very human story and enjoyable. There are some graphic birth scenes throughout the book so if you are sensitive to that you might want to skip it.

Geography Challenge: The Americas (USA)
Paranormal Scavenger Hunt: Non-magical animal(less)

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Oct 26, 2012 Morgan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Morgan by: Found on Library Shelf

Shelves: historical-fiction, setting-america, 20th-century, 2012

I enjoyed reading The Midwife of Hope River. The setting was excellent and I had no trouble finding myself in a desolate area trying to make sense of the stock market crash.

Patience was a likable character, and in the end, I was very happy for her. Patricia Hoffman did an excellent job giving her depth with an intiguing background, which is revealed in pieces throughout the narrative. Above all, seeing her relationship unfold and develop with Dr. Hester was a driving force in moving forward thro...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Sharon Thomson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Patricia Harman is a qualified midwife and has written two factual books, both memoirs. This is her first foray into fiction, but it reads like an autobiography. The characters are well written and believable, drawing you in to the Appalachian community of Liberty in West Virginia in the late 1920s. The book is based around the diary of ‘Patience Murphy’ the local white midwife. It tells her story, in flashback, and also her day to day life. Thoroughly researched it describes what life was like...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Gaile rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: depression-era, historical-romance

Patience Murphy is working in West Virginia as a midwife in the 1930, shortly after the crash. She is also on the run from the law and has been for ten years since a violent miner's strike in 1921. We see in this novel about people lived in the 1930s. No one really gets prenatal care and nobody shows up about a baby until a birth is pending. There are many descriptions of birth in this novel. Also the racial atmosphere of the past is in here although this takes place in northern Virginia. People...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

The story is told by Patience in the first-person point of view, and it definitely “rings with authenticity” when it comes to the detailed births that she attends. WHEW! I really need to stop reading books that detail childbirth. It’s very interesting stuff, but…I just couldn’t handle it without squirming and sometimes having to put my head between my knees out of dizziness. I’m a total wuss when it comes to medical stuff in general, and childbirth in particular. I am also a glutton for punishme...more

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About Patricia Harman

Patricia Harman has spent over thirty years caring for women as a midwife, first as a lay-midwife, delivering babies in cabins and on communal farms in West Virginia, and later as a nurse-midwife in teaching hospitals and in a community hospital birthing center.

She spent over a decade in the sixties and seventies in her wild youth living in rural communes in Washington (Tolstoy Farm), Connecticut

...more Patricia Harman has spent over thirty years caring for women as a midwife, first as a lay-midwife, delivering babies in cabins and on communal farms in West Virginia, and later as a nurse-midwife in teaching hospitals and in a community hospital birthing center.

She spent over a decade in the sixties and seventies in her wild youth living in rural communes in Washington (Tolstoy Farm), Connecticut (The Committee for Non-Violent Action) and Minnesota (Free Folk). During the Vietnam years, she and her husband, Tom Harman, traveled the country, often hitch-hiking, as they looked for a place to settle. In 1974 they purchased a farm with a group of like-minded friends on top of a ridge in Roane County, West Virginia. Here on the commune, they built log houses, dug a pond, grew and preserved their own food and started the Growing Tree Natural Foods Cooperative.

It was during this time that Patsy attended her first home birth, more or less by accident. "Some people are destined," she has written. "I was staying at a woman friend's commune when she went into labor and I ended up delivering my first baby." Soon after, Harman traveled to Austin, Texas to train with a collective of home-birth midwives. When she returned, she became one of the founding members of The West Virginia Cooperative of Midwives. Her passion for caring for women and babies led her to become an RN as the first step in getting licensed as certified nurse midwife. In 1985, with her children, a yowling cat and her husband she traveled north, pulling a broken down trailer to begin her training at the University of Minnesota where she received her MSN in Nurse-Midwifery.

For the past twenty years, Ms. Harman has been a nurse-midwife on the faculty of The Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University and most recently West Virginia University. In 1998 she went into private practice with her husband, Tom, an OB/Gyn, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Here they devoted their lives to caring for women and bringing babies into the world in a gentle way.

When, in 2003, the cost of liability insurance for Obstetrics sky-rocketed from $70,000 a year to $110,000, the Harman's decided to give up deliveries. Though many loyal patients grieved the loss of their favorite mid-wife/physician team, the change in life style gave the author time to begin writing her first book, The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir.

Patricia Harman still lives and works with her husband, Ob/Gyn Thomas Harman, in Morgantown, West Virginia at their clinic, Partners in Women's Health Care. Though she no longer attends births, she provides care for women in early pregnancy and through-out the life span. She brings to this work the same dedication and compassion she brought to obstetrics."

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