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5th out of 116 books
—
27 voters
Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart- A Midwife's Saga
A memoir of a young midwife practicing in the wilds of New Hampshire who trained with a wonderful old country doctor, fell in love with her obstetrician back-up, and ultimately became a national leader in the struggle to reclaim the profession of midwifery in the United States. A story of love, loss and deep dedication to birthing women.
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
June 1st 2008
by Bad Beaver Publishing
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© 2008 Feathered Quill Book Reviews. All rights reserved.
Biographies/Memoirs
Lady’s Hands, Lion’s Heart: A Midwife’s Saga
By: Carol Leonard
Publisher: Bad Beaver Publishing
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN: 978-0-615-19550-6
Reviewed by: Pamela Victor
Review Date: January 2009
Lady’s Hands, Lion’s Heart has it all. It’s part memoir, part American history, part textbook, part spiritual journey, part love story. Carol Leonard relays her life story as a midwife, a mother, a wife and a health care activis...more
Another inspiring midwife story! Carol's tale is heartwarming and heartbreaking by turns. I thought it was a unique twist to weave through her days of babycatching the relating of her love life which of course has to do ultimately with the babycatching. I think this is the first midwife story I've read (and I've read a few) where I encountered a midwife I didn't agree with professionally but still respected and wanted to listen to. Leonard got her start working in an abortion clinic, being liter...more
I read this 363 page book in one go yesterday-- it was like sitting in this woman's den in comfy navajo-blanket chairs, talking all night in front of a fire. Her voice is so immediate-- funny and sometimes bitchy --always honest. She has some funny verbal hiccups: "from soup to nuts" and "dog and pony show" -- charming! She doesn't gloss over tragedy and loss and abuse in the lives of her women and herself. But she's just as clear about the joy and miracles she's seen being a midwife, or "with-w...more
A really interesting read; she is funny, descriptive, vibrant, and oh so strong-willed! This makes Leonard an excellent story teller. It was neat to look back at the start of midwives and their growing public and medical recognition as a legitimate source of care for pregnant women. Carol Leonard is clearly passionate about her cause and her enthusiasm is catching as you read along. After the first hundred pages or so I thought that I would get bored of the story (how many times can you read abo...more
I absolutely loved this book! Ms. Leonard has a wicked sense of humor. I am a midwife and a doula and I felt at times I was reading my own life. I found myself hysterically laughing and at other times reaching for the box of tissues to catch tears and wipe a drippy nose. This is a love story on many levels. I would recommend this book to any aspiring midwife and/or doula. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand why there are those of us who choose women's health and birth a...more
Click here to read my review on Bookpleasures.
http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitep...
The book is subtitled A Midwife's Saga. Saga means a narrative of heroic deeds, which is a perfect description for this book.
http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitep...
The book is subtitled A Midwife's Saga. Saga means a narrative of heroic deeds, which is a perfect description for this book.
I was handed this book to read on Friday after I started interning for the New Space for Women's Health in nyc. I read it, completely enraptured, in one fell swoop, and then saw Carol talk at Bluestockings on Saturday. On Sunday, I sit here writing this review.
This book is fucking hysterical, heart-wrenching and written with deft clarity. None of that gross fuzz that coats a lot of midwifery/women-fer-women memoirs of that time. It actually inspired me to become a midwife after I swore that I'd...more
This book is fucking hysterical, heart-wrenching and written with deft clarity. None of that gross fuzz that coats a lot of midwifery/women-fer-women memoirs of that time. It actually inspired me to become a midwife after I swore that I'd...more
It was good, but not as good as Baby Catcher. I really don't appreciate Ms. Leonard's implication that giving birth is what brings a woman into womanhood. While I agree that giving birth is a rite of passage for some, it is not a rite of passage that CREATES womanhood as it cannot be experienced by many women, whether due to infertility or being trans.
By the way, the ending of this book is devastating and the devastation hits fast and furious. The book is so good and beautiful and you have very...more
By the way, the ending of this book is devastating and the devastation hits fast and furious. The book is so good and beautiful and you have very...more
A book review is supposed to be a readers opinion of a book and the talent (or lack thereof in some cases, but not this one) of the author in weaving a good tale. This book is Midwife Carol Leonard's memoir; this is a book that is clearly very personal to her. As someone who initially went to college to become a nurse with a focus on Labor and Delivery, and who was blessed to have three wonderful midwives deliver three out of my four children...number four seemed to think my husband and the nurs...more
Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart is a deeply-felt book. It's funny and sad and engaging, in large part because of its very straightforward and honest narrative voice.
This memoir covers the years 1975 to 1986, beginning with the author's experience giving birth to her only child--not a great experience: "This is when the conflicting emotions begin. I am incredibly high from giving birth, proud that my body is so strong and wise. [...] I feel thwarted that my accomplishment has somehow been belittled, t...more
This memoir covers the years 1975 to 1986, beginning with the author's experience giving birth to her only child--not a great experience: "This is when the conflicting emotions begin. I am incredibly high from giving birth, proud that my body is so strong and wise. [...] I feel thwarted that my accomplishment has somehow been belittled, t...more
We like to think that obstetrics has come a long way since the 1950s, when women were often bound and drugged by obstetricians during labor, leaving them with no conscious memory of their birthing experience. But midwife Carol Leonard’s memoir reminds us that maltreatment of women in the delivery room has persisted. When Leonard gave birth to her son in 1975, she was shaved, forced to have an enema, strapped down and scolded for “touching herself” to relieve pain and pressure. Her delivery ended...more
I have never been so viscerally affected by a book as I was by this one. Seriously, never. I squirmed, I clutched at my heart, I cried.
Let me explain: in my admittedly limited and very finite universe, vaginas are for fun and especially for putting things into, they are not for pushing out babies.
This book is all about pushing out babies and the intense physical, emotional, and family stuff that comes along with it. That's stuff I've never personally experienced, or actually thought about all t...more
Let me explain: in my admittedly limited and very finite universe, vaginas are for fun and especially for putting things into, they are not for pushing out babies.
This book is all about pushing out babies and the intense physical, emotional, and family stuff that comes along with it. That's stuff I've never personally experienced, or actually thought about all t...more
I would have given this 4 stars or even 5 if it were edited a little better. She has a tendency to ramble and to go on tangents. That being said, she has fascinating stories to tell and it's obvious that she loves her work. I had a hard time following the stories as a whole novel because they are broken into chunks that don't seem to lead to the next one. They are mostly good chunks though. Carol Leonard is an excellent story teller but she needs a little more practice as an author.
I thought this book was engaging, insightful, and honest. I liked Carol's no nonsense attitude (especially being a New England-er myself, and fellow home birth mama), but also her deep connections to spirituality and the belief in women's bodies. For a midwife's memoir - I thought it was great - I could read birth stories all day. When I read a memoir and I know that the writer does not have a background in writing or composition I tend leave my literally critiques at the door (with exception to...more
Perhaps it is the hormones of late pregnancy, but Leonard had me laughing out loud, re-telling her stories, and sobbing during this read. What a beautiful, strong, giving, dedicated woman, and what a life story...and she only writes about the first 12 years of her practice as a midwife beginning with the birth of her son.
3.5 stars. I loved all the birth stories and I loved reading about how she was involved in the legislation to allow non nurse midwives to practice home birth legally. The language and some of the characters in the book were a bit rough/weird for me and the ending was sad. But still a great read for a birth junkie!
I enjoyed this book immensely. It's the memoir of a midwife that started practicing in the 1970's. I laughed, I felt angered, empowered. My husband's coworker lent me this book - she bought it in memory of her daughter's birth. Carol Leonard was her midwife and she paid for her services with a cord of chopped wood.
An excellent book with true birth stories. Carol was a huge instrument in forming the Midwives Alliance of North American (MANA). A sad ending to her book, but not to her life. She is a strong lady and it comes through in her book. I did have a hard time with way she writes so I took off a star for that.
Very interesting autobiography by a passionate midwife, overall, well written, and well edited. Her life was intertwined with many dramatic birth stories, each unique, and some hysterically funny. In many ways her career was dedicated to empowering women. Yes, it was a "goodread".
A MUST read!!!!! I have never laughed out loud so many times ever with a book! The author is an amazing woman and character--this is way better than so many best sellers--very worth buying it right now!
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EXCELLENT book for anyone, not just birth lovers. :) This book had a love story, intrigue, suspense and lots of great stories. I think it may be one of my favorite midwife memoirs I have read.
Probably on the 4-star side of 3 stars, but I wasn't blown away, so I'm giving it 3. Definitely an interesting read, and man, if you want something to get all up ons about, just read about the struggle of midwives in the 70s and 80s. Really infuriating.
Thank you Sheridan for writing a review on this book. I loved it. I'm even more in love with birth than I was before and that's saying a lot. I would LOVE to be a midwife. I found myself laughing, crying, and feeling empowered. Great story, but very sad.
Loved, loved, loved this book. Clear delivery details, lots of birth stories. Personal, emotional, and fierce.
Some sad parts to this book including a description of an abortion and a very tragic loss in the author's life, but beyond that I really enjoyed this book. Lots of great birth stories with humor, emotion, and inspiration woven throughout. Also included some historical tidbits about the growth of midwifery in the 1970-80s and the formation of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA).
Our book club chose this book because she is a NH author and one of our members had Carol as her midwife. She is planning on coming to our meeting when we discuss her book. Very well-written. It drew me back. Though I would not want a home birth, Carol has made it possible for many women to have one and to make hospital birth more home-like and less antiseptic.
I love a good memoir, and I love a good book full of birth stories; this one didn't disappoint! Here's my full review: http://booklust-lisa.blogspot.com/200...
Great birth stories and interesting story of being a midwives in the '70s.
I read this for town book club in May. I was very apprehensive to read this book. I thought the subject matter wouldn't be interesting. It was good, but not a book I would have chosen to read. I recognized many of the locations of the book and suspect I know a few of the people within the book.
Birth Junkie reading. Wonderfully joyous.
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Carol Leonard, a "foremother of the modern midwifery movement," is a New Hampshire certified midwife who has been practicing for the last three decades. She is co-founder of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA), which represents all midwives in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and served one term as its president. Her work to improve maternity care in Moscow, Russia, was featured on...more
More about Carol Leonard...
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