Pages: 319
Rating: PG-13 (There are a few chapters about a prostitute who ended up pregnant, and some of the descriptions of the prostitute life are quite graphic.)
Summary: In the 1950s, twenty-two-year-old Jenny Lee leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in London's East End slums. While delivering babies all over the city, Jenny encounters a colorful cast of women—from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives, to the woman with twenty-four children who can't speak English, to the prostitutes of the city's seedier side.
My Thoughts: I've been totally addicted to the TV show on Netflix, and knowing it's based on a memoir, I decided to check it out. Guess what? This is just the first of THREE books! Which is awesome because when I finished it I was disappointed that it ended so soon! I found this book to be completely fascinating, especially because these midwives were pioneers in the work of taking care of pregnant women. It's amazing what they were able to do.
Not all the stories are about babies and pregnant women and it's really interesting to read about some of the history of the area. I was particularly struck by the descriptions of the workhouses, which is where the desperately poor used to turn when they had no other choice. The workhouses were honestly not much better than Hitler's concentration camps. Families were separated and children usually died. Seriously so depressing.
If you've been watching the show, you'll recognize the majority of the stories, although some of them don't end quite as happily, which is a bummer. Reading it makes one grateful for all the advances in medicine and laws that we have today that make things even better for mothers.
Highly recommend this one, especially if you're already watching the show!
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