Midwives (Oprah's Book Club)

Sibyl Danforth became a midwife after being truly called at an emergency birth. The ex-hippie suddenly knew that being a lay midwife, helpign mothers have babies at home, comfortable and with their families, was what she was truly meant to do. Sibyl loved her profession, and wrote moving journal entries about her work with pregnant women.However, one stormy Vermont night, things went wrong. After a woman died during labor, Sibyl decided to save the baby by performing a Cesarean section. She is charged with involuntary manslaughter for her act. The state's attorney general takes the trial not just as an indictment of Sibyl, but as a diatribe against the entire home-birth community and lay midwives in general. The entire book is suspenseful, and the end really makes the reader reconsider much of what they have come to believe.Bohjalian writes an incredibly moving story about a deeply personal decision. The reader comes to know the midwives and to understand both the medical and legal debate through this work of fiction. The writing is evocative and beautiful, and the book is very strongly recommended.

This book is written in the voice of a young woman, Connie, who was a 14-year old girl in 1981. Through her eyes, we hear the story of her mother, Sibyl Danforth, a lay midwife, who goes on trial when one of her home births goes terribly wrong.Through Connie's eyes, the reader is taken on a page-turning journey by a well-crafted narrative that moves back and forth in time like a jigsaw puzzle. We feel the emotions of her first kiss as well as her feelings about seeing her loving family endure this event. The writer captures everything -- the nuances of the parents marriage, the deep belief her mother has for her calling to be a midwife, the seasonal changes in the State of Vermont, the controversy between home and hospital birth, and the wonder of the birth process itself.The story moves swiftly, pulling the reader into the time, place and internal feelings of Connie as well as the people around her. The physical descriptions of the births and the detailed medical information was fascinating and essential to the plot of the story.The writer is a man, but you'd never know it and I applaud him for this wonderful book which will echo in my mind for a long time. I literally could not put it down and, even though I had peeked at the ending before I started the book, I still felt every bit of the suspense that the writer intended.B

While reading Midwives, I had to stop several times and remind myself that this book is not only fiction but it was written by a man. How wonderful is the writing that Chris Bohjalian can really get into the brain of a daughter telling the story of her mother and her horrific experience. I continued to be pulled into the story and found myself thinking of the characters during my daily activities. I am still not convinced that this story is purely fiction. Writer does what few can do, convince you of his character and their experience and leave you thirsting for more information.