The Runaway Midwife
The Runaway Midwife: A Novel by Patricia Harman
Paperback, 416 pages
Published: January 31st 2017 by William Morrow Paperbacks
From the USA Today bestselling author of the Hope River series comes a new contemporary midwife novel.
Say “goodbye” to your old life, and “hello” to the life you’ve been waiting for…
Midwife Clara Perry is accustomed to comforting her pregnant patients…calming fathers-to-be as they anxiously await the birth of their children…ensuring the babies she delivers come safely into the world.
But when Clara’s life takes a nosedive, she realizes she hasn’t been tending to her own needs and does something drastic: she runs away and starts over again in a place where no one knows her or the mess she’s left behind in West Virginia. Heading to Sea Gull Island—a tiny, remote Canadian island—Clara is ready for anything. Well, almost. She left her passport back home, and the only way she can enter Canada is by hitching a ride on a snowmobile and illegally crossing the border.
Deciding to reinvent herself, Clara takes a new identity—Sara Livingston, a writer seeking solitude. But there’s no avoiding the outside world. The residents are friendly, and draw “Sara” into their lives and confidences. She volunteers at the local medical clinic, using her midwifery skills, and forms a tentative relationship with a local police officer.
But what will happen if she lets down her guard and reveals the real reason why she left her old life? One lesson soon becomes clear: no matter how far you run, you can never really hide from your past.
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My thoughts about The Runaway Midwife ~~
First line—"Next to the dead man lying on the beach, mostly covered with snow, is a dead swan, its neck twisted at a strange angle."
The Runaway Midwife was a great read, one that I found myself totally wrapped up in. I instantly liked and admired Clara and was rooting for her to succeed. She leaves everything behind when her life falls apart; her best friend committed suicide, her husband cheated on her, and one of her patients dies unexpectedly. She wants to leave that life behind and she flees to Canada. There is no one she can trust and she constantly worries that someone will find out her true identity. She has to learn to be a strong woman or she is never going to survive.
This story was a wonderful page turner and it kept my attention to the end. The writing was superb with a cast of great characters. I'll be on the lookout for future books by this author.
I received an ARC of this book for the TLC Book Tour and am voluntarily reviewing it.
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About the Author
Patricia Harman, CNM, got her start as a lay midwife on rural communes and went on to become a nurse-midwife on the faculties of Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, and West Virginia University. She is the author of two acclaimed memoirs and the bestselling novel The Midwife of Hope River. She has three sons and lives near Morgantown, West Virginia.
I've always found the career of midwife to be fascinating. How did one decide to be a midwife in that era? What did people expect a midwife to be able to do and not do? There's so much that I find interesting about it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour!