In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.

Determined to hide the identity of her baby's father from others, a third-generation midwife is separated from and bound to her mother and grandmother by a similar secret from the past. Discussion guide available online.

When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain. In this small town high in the Tennessee mountains, surrounded by nature, she hopes to outrun her heartbreak and find the solace she needs to heal. But instead of peace and quiet, she encounters an enigmatic artist with a craving for solitude, a fairy-tale sprite with too many secrets, a helpless infant, a passel of curious teens, and a...

"In a village in a medieval fiefdom buffeted by natural disasters, a motherless shepherd boy finds himself the unlikely pivot of a power struggle that puts all manner of faith to a savage test, in a spellbinding novel that represents Ottessa Moshfegh's most exciting leap yet. Little Marek, the abused and delusional son of the village shepherd, never knew his mother; his father told him she died in childbirth. One of life's few consolations for Marek...

The story of the Dionne Quintuplets, the world's first identical quintuplets to survive birth, told from the perspective of a midwife in training who helps bring them into the world. Reluctant midwife Emma Trimpany is just 17 when she assists at the harrowing birth of the Dionne quintuplets: five tiny miracles born to French farmers in hardscrabble Northern Ontario in 1934. Emma cares for them through their perilous first days and when the government...

"When a young woman's plans for her future fall apart at the close of World War II, she discovers new purpose as a midwife in the hills of Kentucky--and a possible chance at new love."-- Provided by publisher. When the soldier she planned to marry at WWII's end writes to tell her he's in love with a woman in England, Francine Howard seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service....

Amish midwife Abigail Graber loves bringing babies into the world. Then a difficult delivery takes a devastating turn and the young mother dies. When a heartless judge confines Abigail to jail, her sister Catherine comes to the farm to care for Abigail's children so her husband, Daniel, can work his fields. Catherine meets Daniel's cousin, Isaiah, who is deaf and thought to be simpleminded, and endeavors to teach him to communicate.

The Great Depression has hit West Virginia hard. Men are out of work; women struggle to feed hungry children. Luckily, Nurse Becky Myers has returned to care for them. While she can handle most situations, Becky is still uneasy helping women deliver their babies. For these mothers-to-be, she relies on an experienced midwife, her dear friend Patience Murphy.

Molly Ziegler is proud of being a successful midwife. At age twenty-one, she's unmarried and fodder for gossip in her Amish community. Even as her meddling mother urges her to marry the town's most eligible bachelor; Molly wants more. And in newcomer Isaac Gruber, she has found her way out. If Isaac will pretend to court her, her mother has to stop matchmaking, once and for all. What Molly didn't plan on are the unexpected feelings the businessman...

With the aid of trapper Alex Armistead, widow Grace Martindale uses her midwifery skills to help the natives in the untamed Oregon Country, but not everyone welcomes her presence, and she finds herself in more danger than she could have imagined.