The Heart of the Midwife
4 Historical Stories

Four Women Fight for the Right to Life and Love   Love Charm by Cynthia Hickey Ozark Mountains, 1868 Bound by a common bond of wanting to help the Missouri hill people they’ve grown to love, Phoebe Hudson, socialite-turned-midwife, and Luke Morris, the schoolteacher, find themselves mediators in a family feud.   Love’s Rebirth by Darlene Franklin Denver, 1871 Dr. Vaughan Strahan, a war veteran, wants to work with expectant mothers so others don’t die like his wife and child, but there is already a midwife working in the old mining district whose approval he is determined to win.   If Not For Grace by Patty Smith Hall New York City, 1889 After her friend’s death in childbirth, Grace Sullivan converts her family home into a haven for immigrant families preparing for the birth of a child. But when the city threatens to close her down, her only hope is to ask for help from an unlikely source—her former fiancé, Patrick O’Leary.   Between Two Worlds by Marilyn Turk New Orleans, 1890 Camille Duval confronts Madam Lafleur, the local voodoo queen, when she attends one of her first births since moving to New Orleans. How can Camille convince the young mother to trust her instead of voodoo for the health of her baby? Can Camille enlist the support of the young family physician, Julian Charbonnet who doesn’t seem interested in “women’s affairs”?