Once a Midwife

A Hope River Novel

By: Patricia Harman

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

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 with need greater than ever, she must also keep her practice running during this tumultuous time…relying on generous friends, like Bitsy, who has returned to Hope River, stalwart neighbors, and her own indomitable strength to see them all through.

Good, just slightly short of great.

I was eager to dive into this one as I'm such a huge fan of this series and of Patience the midwife. This story picks up in 1941-42 when the US is entering what will be eventually known as World War II. Patience's husband Daniel served overseas during the first World War and still isn't over the trauma from what he saw and did. Even though he is very patriotic, he does not support this war effort, and his efforts at avoiding the war and signing up for the draft (even though he has his reasons) cause a ton of trouble for Patience and their four young children. This story is about the tension and stress they all endure as a result of Daniel's beliefs and his eventual imprisonment for refusing to sign up for the draft.

I'll admit that while this was a story that I didn't stop listening to (or turning the pages, as I listened while I also read a paperback), it was just slightly less compelling to me as the first two books in the Hope River series. Whether it is because I was missing that people-helping-people community vibe from the Depression-era setting in the first two stories, or whether it is because WWII stories are less interesting - I just felt Patience's stress deeply. Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed the audiobook tremendously and will certainly reread. And I'm glad for the ending that the author gave this one. But I'm hopeful that this author will write another Hope River story with a little more happiness for these two.

Tavia Gilbert does a nice job narrating. I'm not sure why they went with a different narrator for this story when Anne Wittman also did a nice job portraying Patience in the first book; I am always confused by mid-series changes. I did think that Bitsy's portrayal was so very different than I typically imagine her (and so different than she has been portrayed via audio in the first two books) that it brought me completely out of the story every time she spoke. Still, I enjoyed listening to this story and I'd recommend this audiobook for those interested. I think it was well worth the credit that I spent on it.

Just okay

Storyline and narration a bit hollow. Didn’t enjoy it as much as the first two.

Great story but

I loved the story. The only thing that I did not like at all and found very distracting was all of the singing. way too much. I advanced through all of it.

excellent

the narrator was extraordinary ..making the story even better relevant .. historical and very enjoyable read

My favorite in the series

This one was my favorite in the series. Good story about hard times and hard decisions.