Review of Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth

As advertised on the cover, Call the Midwife is “a memoir of birth, joy, and hard times.” As a fan of the PBS series since its inception, I hesitated to read the original journal on which this true story is built.  After all, you can’t improve on perfection, can you?  Maybe you can.

The three books were “assigned” at our Third Tuesday Book Club at the Alvin, TX ,public library. I volunteered to read the first book, to be sure someone had read each of the three books in the set. I was surprised at the amount of “extra” material that was not detailed in the PBS series.  The history of British Midwifery in the introduction was instructive, and the writer’s stories/anecdotes were “better than TV.”

Some of the details were graphic, and in a few cases, I preferred the “cleaned up” version I had seen on TV.  There is humor, tragedy, great joy, and proves the saying, “Every child is a gift from God.” I will probably skip the second book which deals with the Workhouse,  but I will definitely read the third book, which has a lot of humor as society “progresses” into the sixties, a nostalgic time for me.

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Author: Rae Longest

This year (2019) finds me with 50 plus years of teaching "under my belt." I have taught all levels from pre-K "(library lady" or "book lady"--volunteer) to juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in my Advanced Writing class at the university where I have just completed 30 years. My first paying teaching job was junior high, and I spent 13 years with ages 12-13, the "difficult years." I had some of the "funnest" experiences with this age group. When I was no longer the "young, fun teacher," I taught in an elementary school setting before sixth graders went on to junior high, teaching language arts blocs, an assignment that was a "dream-fit" for me. After completing graduate school in my 40s, I went on to community college, then university teaching. Just as teaching is "in my blood," so is a passion for reading, writing, libraries, and everything bookish. This blog will be open to anyone who loves books, promotes literacy and wants to "come out and play."

2 thoughts on “Review of Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth”

  1. I’d never heard of the tv series or the series of books until it came up for book club. I can be a little hardheaded when it comes to books recommended to me; I almost decided to pass on it. Glad I didn’t.

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    1. I think I will skip the second book which Dilys read about the workhouse, but will definitely will read the third book where the 60’s arrive. Scarlett has ordered the DVD’s.

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