Hope River

Patricia Harman

In Depression-era Appalachia, midwife Patience Murphy possesses a rare gift for guiding mothers through childbirth in the most challenging circumstances, serving those whom others have abandoned. Working in the hardscrabble coal country of West Virginia, she builds her practice on trust and openness—even as she guards profound secrets that could unravel everything she's built. Harman's richly detailed novel follows Patience as she navigates the dangerous realities of her world, from the treacherous mines that threaten her patients' families to the terrifying presence of the Ku Klux Klan. With unflinching honesty and deep compassion, The Midwife of Hope River explores the resilience required to bring hope and new life into a world determined to crush both. This moving portrait of a woman caught between her calling and her past rings with authenticity and emotional power.