Harman, Patricia

Fans of Harmon's series will welcome back these beloved characters and historical fiction devotees will enjoy the period details, emotional insight, and multifaceted protagonists. [See Prepub Alert, 5/21/18.]

Harman's (The Midwife of Hope River) experience as a midwife shines thorough in the details in this quiet novel about a woman rediscovering her true self. Fans of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go Bernadette will enjoy this story of a woman's courageous reinvention.

This title is sure to appeal to fans of American historical fiction or anyone else looking for a story with plenty of emotion, spunk, and community spirit.

Memoirist Harman (Arms Open Wide; The Blue Cotton Gown), herself a certified nurse-midwife, takes readers back to hardscrabble times and adds plenty of medical drama and a dash of romance, to offer an uncommonly good piece of American historical fiction. [For a contemporary take on midwives, see Bridget Boland's The Doula, coming in September from Gallery Books—Ed.]