Today, I finished reading The Midwife, a memoir of birth, joy, and hard times by Jennifer Worth. The author worked as midwife in postwar London's East End slums. What a hard time in history! Whole families were crammed into two rooms. Women were conned into becoming prostitutes. Inadequate food, disease, and beatings were all quite common. Jennifer was only in her 20's but never writes of quitting midwifery despite all the challenges she faced.
My favorite part is the wide variety of people Jennifer meets. Some of them are hilarious, some are terribly sad. One of her clients delivers her 25th child! Amazing enough in itself but the mother only speaks Spanish and the father only speaks English. Despite this (or some would say because of this) they have a very special relationship. The father is as excited about the 25th child as he was with the 1st and very obviously treasures his wife.
The book is not without flaws. At times it rambled, jumping from one event to the next without any chronological order. There are times when she could have left details out even though it helps you understand the emotional weight she had to carry. The sadness could be overwhelming.
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