A Midwife's Tale

I really thoroughly enjoyed the book, and could hardly put it down. Of course there being a fragile, tenuous genealogical line didn't hurt. The diary is about an early Maine midwife Martha Ballard, who is the forerunner of her niece Clara Barton [Red Cross]fame. It is great how historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich weaves a true story from the tidbits of her diary. Martha's diary opens a world that most of us would never see
or come to know about. Not only is she a wife, a mother and a midwife, but she also keeps a garden, runs a family business and becomes appreciated and respected for her steadfastness of servanthood in a world and time full of chaos and rebellion. Her willingness to sacrifice is almost legendary and certainly stands as a reminder to how close family/friends/neighbors used to be, something not many of us know much about. Her being close-mouthed in her journal, when wronged by others, was a disciple of faith, not only in her God but in her believe in the goodness of her fellow-man/woman.
Later on in her closing years she opens up a little more, but still maintains a discreetness that is embarrassing to most in our culture. She is one of few privileged women in that early age to be invited to view autopsies, and her home grown medical knowledge often surpasses the textbook wisdom of doctors. On that note it interesting to note how closely midwife's and doctors worked, certainly closer than the usual doctor-nurse relationships today. As I read this story so much about her faith and servanthood held her steady through many many trials. This is an eye-opening book for anyone interested in the history of the formation of our nation ........... both in what was gained, and what has been lost. I can not say how impressed I was with the author who wove together such a spell binding story from so many sources ... its was as though Martha's diary was the treasured find that pieced them all together! If ever there was a pioneer person who knew without a doubt what God's purpose for them in life was ... Martha knew! It is not only a history story, or a story for the ages, its a story for today, for my kids, for my grandkids. I am definitely going to be getting the Documentary DVD!
ENJOY
A MIDWIFE'S TALE: The Life of Martha BAllard, based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
Vintage Books, Random House. New York. 1990 ISBN;9780679733768