Identify Books Supposing The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1)

Original Title:	Call the midwife : a true story of the East End in the 1950s
ISBN:	0143116231 (ISBN13: 9780143116233)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	The Midwife Trilogy #1
Characters:	Jenny Lee, Chummy Browne, Cynthia Miller, Trixie Franklin, Sister Julienne, Sister Evangelina, Sister Monica Joan, Sister Bernadette, Patrick Turner, Peter Noakes

The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1) Paperback | Pages: 340 pages

Declare Appertaining To Books The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1)

Title	:	The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1)
Author	:	Jennifer Worth
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 340 pages
Published	:	April 7th 2009 by Penguin Books (first published 2002)
Categories	:	Nonfiction. Autobiography. Memoir. History. Biography. Historical

Narration Toward Books The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1)

Having given birth with the support of a midwife three times, when I heard about this one, I knew I had to make time to read it. The Midwife is the memoir of Jennifer Worth (“Jenny”) and her experiences in the East End Slums of post-war London. I think three things come together to make this a very interesting book. First, the voice of Jenny. She is candid and real - her storytelling doesn't sugar-coat her experiences or her mistakes. She never pretends that the East End was anything other than what it was: a hard place to live where people still found things worth living for. She shares her prejudices with us and shows us how they crumbled as she became more intimate with the people she cared for, both as a midwife and as a nurse. Life in the convent, its routines and relationships - Jenny relates these things with an unaffected and honest candor. Every once and a while the narrative felt a bit jumpy (moving between time periods, etc.), but because I was interested wherever she took me, it didn't bother me. The second thing is that the time and place is so narrow - we get such an intimate slice of a group of people, their trappings and failures and the things that make them tick. Some of their vices are described in uncomfortable detail and you can imagine how hopeless and degrading life could be. She teaches us to appreciate "Cockneys" and there is even an appendix so we can read Cockney and understand what they are saying :) As much as this book is about being a midwife, I also think it stands well as a cultural study of a group of people that no longer exist in the same sense. The third thing is the art of midwifery itself and her journey as a midwife. I caught myself smiling while reading some chapters, there is so much joy - and other chapters brought me to tears and had me biting my lip with worry. She was in the thick of the struggle between life and death that all mothers experience as they bring a new one into the world. And I think there is a nice balance between medical information and the more extensive personal stories that make Jenny's neighborhood vibrant, full of characters and their histories. She never pretends that it was easy or glamorous work, and sometimes the conditions she worked in were downright disgusting. I kept having the thought: this was REAL. It was her LIFE. Women gave BIRTH this way, lived this way - medical science was so different and I think this memoir gives a fascinating perspective of a way of life that is no longer, as well as a flavor for the satisfaction that comes from working with pregnant women. It's not lyrical or dreamy - it's a down-in-the-gutters look at an ages old profession. I loved it.

Rating Appertaining To Books The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1)

Ratings: 4.19 From 52900 Users | 6245 Reviews

Rate Appertaining To Books The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times (The Midwife Trilogy #1)

Having given birth with the support of a midwife three times, when I heard about this one, I knew I had to make time to read it. The Midwife is the memoir of Jennifer Worth (Jenny) and her experiences in the East End Slums of post-war London. I think three things come together to make this a very interesting book.First, the voice of Jenny. She is candid and real - her storytelling doesn't sugar-coat her experiences or her mistakes. She never pretends that the East End was anything other than

In a reversal of my usual practice, I began watching this PBS series via Netflix last year, then decided to read the book it was based on. It's the memoir of a young girl who became a midwife in the slums of England's East End in the 1950's. The series has been very true to the stories in this book, including brilliant casting of the nuns and the midwives of Nonnatus House. Both the book and the series are excellent, and I now find that this is actually a trilogy, so I have more to come.

I watched the BBC series Call the Midwife before I read this, and knew I would not be able to be objective about it. I already knew all the beautiful people in the book before I started. I wouldn't know where to start if I were to enumerate all of them. Some are nuns, some are young midwives, some are courageous mothers doing their best in impossible situations, some amazing fathers providing and caring for their family in horrendous circumstances, and some piteous brave children surviving the

I read the companion book to this last year and hadn't been able to get this in the US, but now I am in the UK with my terminally-ill mother I took the opportunity to find it. You wouldn't think that the world of the 50s was so different as it is now, but this depiction of the 50s, of bombed-out London, health care where antibiotics were the new miracle drug and children played safely in the streets because there were no cars is truly another world. This, though, is also the story of a young

Post war London with its bombed out buildings and slums is the setting for much of this interesting and entertaining non-fiction read. There are so many incredible stories in this memoir by Jennifer Worth that it is difficult to pick a favorite, but I loved Chummy with her big ole heart, old-fashioned bicycle and her hero Jack who, as you will see, did become important in his day. Mary's story of prostitution is sad and touching, but Mrs. Jenkin's surrender to the workhouse is just beyond words.

Oh, that I could have six stars to give. . . Having originally been smitten with this wonderful British TV series, I am now head over heels in love with the book. It's the first of a trilogy which pleases me to no end. I must get my book club to read this.One of my favorite chapters is about a friendship between Chummy and an adolescent boy. It's barely touched upon on TV. The luncheon party whereJennifer's three male friends are invited to dine at the convent is pure comic genius. The premature

I love the the PBS/Netflix series so I thought I would read the book. The book did not disappoint! It was fantastic and so well written. The stories in this book were very similar to the series. I look forward to reading Jennifer's next two books in the series.