Heather is pale and thin, seventeen and pregnant with twins when Patricia Harman begins to care for her. Over the course of the next five seasons P...
read full description
reviews
Jan 21, 2009
Britta
rated it: 
"I know the passion mothers have for their children...You give birth to them in pain. You nurse them at your breast. You hold them at your heart forever."
"When someone you love dies, your life starts over. Right then, that moment, nothing is ever the same again. A blue sky, a snowstorm, the taste of cake, the feel of your own skin. Nothing."
"When someone you love dies, your life starts over. Right then, that moment, nothing is ever the same again. A blue sky, a snowstorm, the taste of cake, the feel of your own skin. Nothing."
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Apr 07, 2009
Jill
rated it: 
One of the best memoirs I've read in a long time. She provides a very different take on being a midwife in a modern age when economics rule even when you are living with your heart. Beautifully written and also captures the bonds woven between mothers and daughters, between patients and health practitioners, and, mostly, between women.
Nov 14, 2008
Jen
rated it:
This is a year in the life of a West Virginia midwife. She and her husband, an OB/GYN, in practice together, face many ups and downs as they navigate the sick healthcare system at the beginning of the 21st century. Her patients' stories are touching, often sad and sometimes horrifying. Patsy Harmon faces life, death and all the pathos and bathos in-between with a remarkable bit of aplomb. Recommended to those who enjoy short stories, are passionate about women's issues and/or would like more i
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 06, 2009
RNOCEAN
rated it:
Anyone working in healthcare or any mother could identify with this book, which I read in one day! It's by Patricia Harman and the following is a synopsis, with my rating below it:
A debut memoir interweaving a nurse-midwife's personal and professional trials with the intimate stories of her patients In Patricia Harman's exam room, patients open their hearts. Harman, a nurse-midwife, manages a private practice with her husband, an ob-gyn, in Torrington, West Virginia—a practice More...
A debut memoir interweaving a nurse-midwife's personal and professional trials with the intimate stories of her patients In Patricia Harman's exam room, patients open their hearts. Harman, a nurse-midwife, manages a private practice with her husband, an ob-gyn, in Torrington, West Virginia—a practice More...
Jan 11, 2012
Aimee
rated it: 
I liked this book ok, although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. This book was written by a midwife at a time when she wasn't delivering babies, so there aren't many birth stories. She is just a regular midwife praticing in a regular GYN office. The stories were rather depressing and I am just not that interesting in the gyn problems of the women she told stories about. However, once I got over the fact this book wasn't going to be about delivering babies in an alternative setting and
More...
Aug 24, 2011
Laura
rated it:
I picked up this book to read as I saw it at the ACNM conference in San Antonio and thought it would be about a CNM and her birth stories. As a student nurse midwife, I was eager to hear stories from a seasoned and experienced nurse midwife. However, I quickly learned at the beginning of the book that they had given up their malpractise to deliver and their hospital privileges. I was disappointed in this, but kept on with reading as I was still interested in her point of view regarding patien
More...
Jun 15, 2010
Danielle
rated it: 
This book was half doctor's-office confessional and half saga of personal and professional ups and downs. The stories her patients told were interesting (albeit mostly depressing), but her own stories were so...ugh. I can see it being a memoir and all, but no one wants to read about your endless financial troubles and marital issues and worries over your children. Also, there was WAY too much focus on the insomnia and "sleeping medicine" (I think she "found" her jar of medici
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jul 23, 2009
I'm currently in training to become a birth doula and I picked up this book amongst the other dozen or so necessary for certification. So far, so good. It's an easy read, nothing spectacular, but I'm really enjoying reading it.
A had a teacher in high school who told us about this theory of reading called "your poem", which basically is interpreting what you're reading based on your current life events. So like when you read Catcher in the Rye when you're 12, you bring someth More...
A had a teacher in high school who told us about this theory of reading called "your poem", which basically is interpreting what you're reading based on your current life events. So like when you read Catcher in the Rye when you're 12, you bring someth More...
May 26, 2009
David
rated it:
Engaging memoir by a midwife about her clinical practice in rural West Virginia, working in tandem with her M.D. husband. Caught my eye b/c one of our children was born with the help of a midwife, and we had a great experience. The caring and holistic approach they tend to take comes through clearly in the book, as do some of the complications of working with a spouse, having your kids go through troubles, the wide range of minor to major problems that come up in OB/GYN practice, and the moder
More...
Apr 12, 2009
Kim
rated it: 
I was expecting this book to be different, was actually looking forward to reading it knowing it was non fiction and about midwifery (a subject I love). Unfortunately, it was just sad and depressing in all the wrong ways! Ms. Harman's details about each of her patients did not have me caring about them much which is shame considering they were based on real people. Maybe it is an other testament to our poor medical system and possibly her inability to convey what really made these patients make
More...
Jan 25, 2012
Emily
rated it:
The first thing about this book is that it surprised me as a midwife's memoir. I have read plenty of these and this is the first one I ever encountered that did not at all focus on birth. There were only three births in the whole book, as the OB/GYN and Nurse Midwife (the author) the book is about had already given up their malpractice insurance to do deliveries. I was disappointed in this at first, but later in the book got over it. Instead, I got to witness several stories about the delicate,
More...
Aug 11, 2009
Lindsey
rated it:
This book was interesting, but it was unnecessarily depressing because this woman clearly has some kind of mental disorder that makes her a negative, whiny pain in the ass. Half of the book is just her complaining about money problems, even though she is no worse off than anyone else in the country right now. In fact, she mentions in one chapter that most families could fit their entire house in her master bedroom because her house is so huge and she lives there alone with her husband. Hm. Maybe
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 08, 2010
Diane
rated it:
I was so caught up with Pat Harman's stories I easily read this in a day. First of all, I love the format of "case studies." Although these weren't in depth we know enough about the women and their particular issues and circumstances that we can follow their progress. At times heartbreaking, at times maddening, the memoir made me feel like I was invited into the intimate lives of not only the patients but also Mrs. Harman and her surgeon husband, Tom. The description of the West Virgin
More...
Oct 02, 2010
Kate
rated it:
As a writer, I've struggled with how much to reveal to the world of myself; I admire how much the author reveals of herself, in her memoir of a "flower child" who later became a midwife. When malpractice insurance costs became too onerous, she stopped delivering babies, but continued in her practice taking care of women. Midwifery, mothering, and nurturing her patients, while also dealing with inefficient (and possibly malevolent) accountants, the IRS, her three grown sons who insist
More...
Feb 01, 2009
Julie
rated it:
Watch this great tv interview with Patsy Harman, the author: http://www.wdbj7.com/global/story.asp?s=...
Whether you’ve been in the care of a Midwife or not (I haven’t), this is a book that just begs to be read. The rich stories of the women! First time author Patricia Harman weaves her own life’s triumphs and struggles into this memoir in a special way that meshes with those of her patients. There are the young girls who find themselves pregnant, over-worked women with a whole lot of More...
Whether you’ve been in the care of a Midwife or not (I haven’t), this is a book that just begs to be read. The rich stories of the women! First time author Patricia Harman weaves her own life’s triumphs and struggles into this memoir in a special way that meshes with those of her patients. There are the young girls who find themselves pregnant, over-worked women with a whole lot of More...
Aug 07, 2010
Myriam
rated it:
This memoir was good, but not exceptional. It is interesting but not super well written. You don't end up caring for the author as much as I think she would like. Nor do you really care about her patients as much as you feel you should. It is quite repetitive on a few issues, such as drinking her "medicine," hugging women, and drinking tea. But it is quite honest, which I appreciate. And a fast read. (Took me 2-3 days, and that's with 2 littles.) Although I only rated it 3 star
More...
Dec 27, 2011
Ann
rated it:
I picked this one up b/c I was curious about the midwifing part. Instead of being about birthing babies, its a year in the life of a midwife and her gyn husband *after* they had to give up delivering babies b/c of the high cost of malpractice insurance. I learned a lot about the pressures caused by suing, the lives of young women in this poor area of West Virginia, and the work of a nurse-midwife who had to give up an important part of what she did b/c of outside pressures. But I also learned
More...
Jul 15, 2009
Kerry
rated it:
The personal narrative of this nurse practitioner-midwife (more nurse practioner accounts) reads more like a diary. This book captures what it means to practice medicine in a small town in West Virginia, be a co-owner of a medical practice these days and treat patients you know. Her encounters and difficulties with her patients are some of the most touching moments. The author is forthcoming about her own struggles and challenges which deepens my respect and compassion for her. This certainl
More...
Feb 13, 2009
Nette
rated it:
I enjoyed this book -- not so much the woo-woo stuff where she goes outside and bathes herself in starlight, but the gritty stuff about trying to run a practice when you're being hounded by the IRS and malpractice lawyers. And all the patient stories were fascinating. But here's my beef: how come a struggling ob-gyn clinic in Appalachia offers its patients nice soft cotton gowns, and my fancy-pants HMO in Redondo Beach gives us a blue paper-towel poncho ("opening to the front, please"
More...
Jun 10, 2011
Erinscarem
rated it:
The only thing I appreciated taking away from this book is an insider's account of some of what's gone wrong with our healthcare system, especially in regards to the financial aspects of mainstream maternity care. That said, I felt the discussion in the book was not impactful enough in this area to affect any kind of change, be it on a reader to reader level and especially not on the national level.
She also has this way of making some pretty significant personal flaws look like she was al More...
She also has this way of making some pretty significant personal flaws look like she was al More...
Jan 03, 2009
Kim
rated it:
For some reason, I thought this book would be a series of childbirth tales. It isn't. The word "memoir" in the title should have been a clue. But it is a strangely compelling story of a year or so in the life of a nurse-midwife (who has stopped delivering babies b/c of malpractice insurance). She's a little ditzy sometimes (as person and as writer), and some of her choices as a midwife don't seem to match her hippie past, but the women's stories she shares are compelling, as is her
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 10, 2011
Stacy
rated it:
I truly enjoyed Patricia Harmon’s memoir, and I felt her vignette style really worked. Her writing to me was quite eloquent, yet emotionally raw. It would seem to take a lot of courage to share her day to day struggles and insecurities. The outpouring of her thoughts was like reading her personal journal. I was most fascinated with her fantasy of escaping back to the previous farm life, the known and the simple.
From her treatment room as a nurse/midwife, she tells us many powe More...
From her treatment room as a nurse/midwife, she tells us many powe More...
Apr 24, 2010
Deena
rated it:
I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was a well-written interesting account of a WV midwife & former hippy, her husband an OB, and her patients the majority of them GYN. At the time of the writing, they had stopped delivering babies due to astronomical malpractice premiums. What I found disturbing was the one birth she did include that was an induction so she & her husb, could "deliver" their last OB before their insurance expired. The mom was nowhere ready for a
More...
Jan 19, 2010
Betsie
rated it:
I am about half-way through and I am so enthralled that I can barely put it down. I was skeptical about it at first, but it is really a great book.
*****************************
I was so absorbed in this book that I virtually ignored my kids all day so I could finish it. I am usually hesitant about reading memoirs because it's hard for me to get into non-fiction, but this book just swept me in with all the stories of the women that came through Patsy's nurse-midwifery practice. Some More...
*****************************
I was so absorbed in this book that I virtually ignored my kids all day so I could finish it. I am usually hesitant about reading memoirs because it's hard for me to get into non-fiction, but this book just swept me in with all the stories of the women that came through Patsy's nurse-midwifery practice. Some More...
Sep 07, 2009
Desiree
rated it:
I do not reccommend this book. It was, basically, the author telling us (whinning) about the most depressing situations her job encountered. I cannot remember reading about a patient that was happy... she only told the negative, sad stories.
Also, besides the fact that the author mentions putting up a nativity scene for Christmas time, and having a prayer request box, you cannot tell the author is a Christian in any other way. I do not have to read books only written by Christian More...
Also, besides the fact that the author mentions putting up a nativity scene for Christmas time, and having a prayer request box, you cannot tell the author is a Christian in any other way. I do not have to read books only written by Christian More...
Jun 06, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
I couldn't put this book down and read it in a day. I was hoping it would have more birth related stories but a lot of the stories were depressing/gross/TMI. STDs, teen pregnancies, abuse, drugs, etc. It did give good insight on the strain of the profession, as her and her OB/GYN husband eventually had to stop doing births because they couldn't afford the malpractice insurance. I have read a few other midwife memoir books that I liked better, but all in all it was an interesting book.
May 20, 2009
Katie
rated it:
I got this title from the Sunday newspaper book reviews and am glad I checked it out. The author is a midwife in West Virginia and this book gives a glimpse of one year of her life in the private practice she and her husband began. Aside from the fact that at times she was a little too New Agey-hippieish (she actually is a former hippie) for me, her writing style was comforting and honest. And reading the stories of her patients made me more grateful for my own health and security.
Mar 07, 2011
Cindy
rated it:
Stories from an OB nurse practitioner from West Virginia. Interesting, easy to read stories. My book club didn't care for some of the author's whining about money. We found out she came from a privileged background. but don't we all think we have it so hard? At least she was honest about sharing her flaws.
"The couple had made a baby by accident and given him away on purpose, a gift to a family that couldn't conceive. I'll never forget their courage."
"The couple had made a baby by accident and given him away on purpose, a gift to a family that couldn't conceive. I'll never forget their courage."
Jul 15, 2009
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
