A 2008 Indie Next PickDespite nurse-midwife Patsy Harman's own financial and personal medical trials, including her private battle with uterine cancer, she devotes herself to her patients' well-being in all aspects of their lives. They, in turn, tell her intimate stories both heartbreaking and uplifting.

A midwife's memoir of living free and naturally against all oddsIn her first, highly praised memoir, Patricia Harman told us the stories that patients brought into her exam room, and of her own story of struggling to help women as a nurse-midwife in medical practice with her husband, an OB/GYN, in Appalachia. In this new book, Patsy reaches back to tell us how she first learned to deliver babies, and digs even deeper down to tell us of her youthful experiments in living a fully sustainable and natural life.Drawing heavily on her journals, Patsy goes back to a time of counterculture idealism. She opens with stories of living in the wilds of Minnesota, in a log cabin she and her lover build with their own hands, with the only running water being the nearby streams. They set up beehives and give chase to a bear competing for the honey. Patsy gives birth and learns to help her friends deliver as naturally as possible. She moves on to a commune in West...

The USA Today bestselling author of The Midwife of Hope River returns with a heartfelt sequel, a novel teeming with life and full of humor and warmth, one that celebrates the human spirit.The Great Depression has hit West Virginia hard. Men are out of work; women struggle to feed hungry children. Luckily, Nurse Becky Myers has returned to care for them. While she can handle most situations, Becky is still uneasy helping women deliver their babies. For these mothers-to-be, she relies on an experienced midwife, her dear friend Patience Murphy.Though she is happy to be back in Hope River, time and experience have tempered Becky's cheerfulness-as tragedy has destroyed the vibrant spirit of her former employer Dr Isaac Blum, who has accompanied her. Patience too has changed. Married and expecting a baby herself, she is relying on Becky to keep the mothers of Hope River safe.But becoming a midwife and ushering precious new life into the world is not Becky's only...

Welcome back to Hope River in New York Times bestselling author Patricia Harman's newest novel as midwife Patience Hester, along with her family and friends, face the challenges of the home front during World War II.The women of Hope River trust midwife Patience Hester, whose skill in delivering babies is known for miles around. But though the Great Depression is behind them, troubles are not, for Europe is at war...and it can only be a matter of time before the U.S. enters the fray.And while some are eager to join the fight, Patience's husband, Daniel, is not. Daniel is a patriot—but he saw too much bloodshed during the first World War, and has vowed never to take up arms again. His stance leaves Patience and their four children vulnerable—to the neighbors who might judge them, and to the government, who imprison Daniel for his beliefs.Patience must support their family and fight for her husband's release despite her own misgivings. And...

As a midwife working in rural poverty during the Depression, Patience Murphy's only solace is her gift: the chance to escort mothers through the challenges of childbirth. Just beginning, she takes on the jobs no one else wants: those most in need-and least likely to pay. Patience is willing to do what it takes to fulfil her mentor's wishes, but starting a midwife practice means gaining trust, and Patience's secrets won't allow her to let anyone in. The Midwife of Hope River beats with authenticity as Patience faces seemingly insurmountable conditions: disease, poverty, and prejudices threaten at every turn. From the dangerous mines of West Virginia to the terrifying attentions of the Klu Klux Klan, Patience must strive to bring new light, and life, into an otherwise cruel world.

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...