** spoiler alert ** Much of this book was about the trial of a midwife who was accused of involuntary manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license. I enjoyed reading about the trial and the midwife's thoughts throughout the process. The story was told by the midwife's daughter. I didn't really care for much of the "side" stuff she (well, he if you are talking about the author) had in there. I didn't find her pot smoking and very close relationship with her boyfriend (she was only 13 & 14 through most of the story) appropriate or pertinent to the story.

I read this for a church book group, and I'm very interested to see how other's felt about the story. It probably wasn't an appropriate choice for a church group, but I did find the overall story intriguing.

Throughout the whole story I was hoping that Sybil would be acquitted of the involuntary manslaughter charge. I truly felt that she had preformed the C-section as a noble act to save the baby. I believed that Charlotte was dead when she did the "surgery". Though I would never opt to have children at home, I felt for the midwives and women who were being persecuted for their decision to do so. I thought about how cruel the lawyers seemed, but then decided that the prosecutor truly felt that Sybil had killed Charlotte. Much of what he said came off as an attack on Sybil, but maybe that wasn't wrong as he was just trying to convince the jury that she had killed Charlotte.

I was morally torn by Connie's act to protect her mother, and by the last notebook entry from Sybil. Had Charlotte still been alive? If Sybil noticed anything when she began the C-section, why didn't she stop? Had she stopped, would the baby have also died?

So many unanswered questions--hopefully there will be good discussion at are group this week.