The Midwife

By: Jolina Petersheim

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The Past - Graduate student Beth Winslow was sure she was ready to navigate the challenges of becoming a surrogate. But when early tests indicate possible abnormalities with the baby, Beth is unprepared for the parents' decision to end the pregnancy - and for the fierce love she feels for this unborn child. Desperate, she flees the city and seeks refuge at Hopen Haus, a home for unwed mothers deep in a Tennessee Mennonite community.

The Present - As head midwife of Hopen Haus, Rhoda Mummau delivers babies with a confident though stoic ease. Except in rare moments, not even those who work alongside her would guess that each newborn cry, each starry-eyed glance from mother to child, nearly renders a fault through Rhoda's heart, reminding her of a past she has carefully concealed.

Past and present collide when a young woman named Amelia arrives in the sweeping countryside bearing secrets of her own. As Amelia's due date draws near, Rhoda must face her regrets and those she left behind in order for the healing power of love and forgiveness to set them all free.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2014 Jolina Petersheim (P)2014 Oasis Audio

A beautiful book. I loved it!

This is the first audio book I've listened to about the Mennonite culture or midwifery. Jolina Petersheim wrote a beautiful story about a mother's love. But, with that came wild twists and turns in the book and I found myself actually taking a day off from work so I could finish this book. It is THAT GOOD!

Tavia Gilbert did an outstanding job as the narrator. Her characters were distinct and easy to listen to. She is one of my favorite narrators.

If you have a credit to use and you are torn between what to use it on, I really recommend this book. The ending is dazzling! I will be getting the other two books Jolina Petersheim wrote so far and I surely will keep my eyes open for more. This lady knows how to write a great novel!!!!

To God be the Glory! Thank you Jolina!

Excellent!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening this book! I listened in just a few days because it was so good.

Great story

I so enjoyed this listen. A great blend of tension, mystery, woven stories and close matters of the heart. Despite the mature and sometimes intense subject matter, it was relatively clean for a suspense/romance sort of story which I really appreciate. It’s a great read

Loved it!

Breaks your heart and heals it all at once. I thought I had it all figured out, and then, to my delight, I enjoyed as beautiful twists began to unfurl like petals in this beautiful flower of a book!

Very touching story

Jolina Petersheim has written a very involved story that moves backward and forward in time, and is alternately told through the voices of Rhoda, Beth and Amelia. In some books this can be difficult to sort out--but I found that to be no problem here--it was very clear who was speaking and at which time period.

Beth (in 1996) is a graduate student, studying bioethics, who decides for personal reasons to become a surrogate mother for her professor and his wife. Early pregnancy tests suggest that the child she is carrying might have serious abnormalities. Based only on this early possibility the parents ask Beth to terminate the pregnancy as they do not want to take this risk. Beth, however, cannot imagine doing that, and so flees to Hopen Haus, a Mennonite home for unwed mothers.

The remainder of the book concerns the subsequent unfolding of events--both tragic and redeeming (through the past and present points of view). Beth finds great comfort living with the Mennonites, and decides to become one of them--as well as becoming a midwife who now works in Hopen Haus. She changes her name to Rhoda (who tells her story in present day time). Because she has a great secret to hide, this provides a good protection for her. Amelia's arrival begins to focus the story in new directions--as Rhoda and others in the community must face a crisis that will effect many. The story moves faster and faster as the climax approaches, and there are a number of twists that makes it all interesting.

The ending seemed a little too forced, but it basically was a good read (listen). The narration was effective as well. The story had some religious overtones, but that was clear going into the book and worked with the story. I liked it--but think it might appeal to kind of a narrow audience.

Will warm your heart.

I really enjoyed this book. As a nurse midwife for 18 yrs I enjoyed the birth stories. They were fairly accurate in the OB and delivery care in the stories. There was a time in the middle when I thought about not finishing the book because it seemed very slow. Thus the 4 star review. But i had too many unanswered questions I couldn’t walk away from! It was well worth listening to the end. The author touches on such sensitive issues relevant to women’s lives - pregnancy; infertility; surrogacy; adoption; loss of pregnancy and relationships, as well as hope and love; accepting, letting go, and healing; spirituality; friendship; singleness; being childless; guilt and shame; and the never-ending miracle of maternal love. So creatively woven onto a story sure to warm your heart.

Tender and poignant

Jolina always tugs at your heart with her fabulous and complex stories. The redemption components of the stories make them even richer.

No one but Tavia Gilbert can do these stories justice, with her superb acting abilities, great character voices, and particularly the depth of emotion that is unique to her performances.

Excellent novel and performance.

Big, big, big disappointment

1. Not about midwifery
2. Main character gets whinier & more melodramatic as book goes on. (Blame narrator in LARGE part). I mean, seriously, the sniveling & almost-in-tears becomes so constant that the story gets lost.
3. I’m half way through, & would like to know outcome. But I’m not sure I can listen any further. It’s gotten bogged down in all these over the top scenes of melodrama. Story stopped moving forward.
4. I usually listen when I go to bed. It’s so irritating now, that it’s actually been keeping me awake. And not in a “what happens next?” good way.
5. Wasted a credit on this one, I’m afraid.

DEPRESSING!! Very well read though.

What character would you cut from The Midwife?

Meredith

Any additional comments?

I thought all along that this story must have been written in the midst of grief as it is full of grief from one chapter to the next, and I was right. There needed to be some more evidence of God's work, something tangible to cling to from God's Word.

Terrible misrepresentation of surrogacy

I'm not sure why I kept listening. Maybe because it is like a train wreck. The baby is not hers. She is not her daughter. She was not stolen from her. In fact, she stole that baby. I carried a surrogate baby. that baby was not mine and I had to no emotional attachment to the baby, just to the family. this story is exactly why no surrogate who has not already raised a baby should get through the psychological screening. Her attachment to that baby, while I know the story is not real, should not be unexpected from someone who gave a baby up for adoption against their wishes. this is a terrible situation that would not happen in real life. It made me extremely angry that this is represented as a normal surrogacy situation.