Midwives

A very short read today, which I listened to on the train going to upstate NY to visit my mother, Midwives by Chris Bohjalian.  The story is set in rural Vermont where the lead character, Sibyl Danforth (an unlicensed midwife) is accused of killing her patient (Charlotte Bedford) during the childbirth process delivering her baby son.  Danforth performs an emergency cesarean (saving the boy), though she has never been trained to do so, and it is unclear if she actually died of a stroke or because of Danforth’s decision to do the surgery. The book is told from the perspectives of Danforth and her daughter, Connie.  The story provides an in-depth view of the two characters feelings about the death of the patient and how the patient’s family (the Bedford’s) sue Sibyl for “killing” his wife.  Connie, aged 14, deals with a series of emotions during the trial and is placed in a position to assist her mother by “removing” incriminating evidence in a journal the mother refers to during the trial.  This is a riveting story of conscience and doing “the right thing” placed in the courtroom.  The author develops characters with essence and desire and the reader is on edge until the jury makes its decision, which I won’t divulge here… worth a read!