| View Larger Image | Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart- A Midwife's Saga | Paperbackby Carol Leonard (Author)
| List Price: | $15.00 | | Price: | $12.82 | | You Save: | $2.18 (15%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Bad Beaver Publishing | | Page Count: | 368 Pages | | Publication Date: | June 25, 2008 | | Sales Rank: | 52,792nd |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
A memoir of a young midwife practicing in the wilds of New Hampshire who trained with a wonderful old country doctor, fell in love with her obstetrician back-up, and ultimately became a national leader in the struggle to reclaim the profession of midwifery in the United States. A story of love, loss and deep dedication to birthing women. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 22 reviews)
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In Love by K. Boyer  5 Stars
November 20, 2009
I am in love with this book! It's a pageturner, it's fun, heartworming, radical, hilarious, outrageous, and, simultaneously heartbreaking and common. There is a common thread in all humans that makes it easy to relate to Carol's story, as well as the stories of her clients. Great book! I'd recommend it to anyone, not just midwives. Can't wait for her next book coming soon!
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I waited a long time to post this review... by Christy Pinheiro EA ABA (www.ChristyPinheiro.com, http://selfpublishingreview.blogspot.com) 5 Stars
October 09, 2009
I waited a long time to post this review...because I had to digest this book. It was wonderful (at first)-- the stories were touching, and funny. I loved reading about all the home births and crazy politics surrounding midwifery. The stories are so wonderful and touching... I felt like I had made a friend... like I was actually there experienceing this entire journey with the author.
Now, I hate spolier reviews, so I won't spoil the book by revealing what happens, but I spent an hour crying after I finished the last chapter-- which I actually finished alone on my couch at 2AM-- probably not a great idea. I felt like I had been punched. You can't make me your friend and then slap me in the face!! The feeling didn't leave me for days.
This book is an emotional rollercoaster. I felt giddy, then happy, then crushed. But the whole thing isn't a bummer (there is a light at the end of this birth canal).
Just read it. All the reviews are true. This book is THE one.
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A fascinating read, herstory of the 70s homebirth movement by Birthsage 5 Stars
September 01, 2009
Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart- A Midwife's SagaI loved this book. Couldn't put it down from the time I opened it. Carol shares her journey into the world of midwifery in such an entertaining and intimate way. This was a time that I remember well and, even tho I live in Canada, the memories I have are parallel to Carol's. I thought that I loved the book because it was a history that I knew so well and it was so much fun to read someone else's perspective of those times BUT a young midwifery student who is just beginning her journey also told me she couldn't put it down so I think it's a book for all women. Congratulations to the author. Highly recommend it.
Gloria Lemay, Vancouver BC Canada
[...]
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The very definition of a brilliant saga by Corinne Ferry (Saratoga Springs, NY) 5 Stars
August 25, 2009
A truly good novel will make you feel as if you are right there with the characters. Usually a book is categorized into a drama, suspense, or tragedy etc... Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart manages to take you on a journey of full spectrum emotions. You will find yourself crying for reasons you've never cried before (the tears of joy are my favorite). This amazing life story of a Midwife fighting for what she believes in sets your heart ablaze with inspiration, sympathy, and joy. It is the most satisfying and sorrowful book I have read in years. Every woman should read this book. I consider this book required reading to anyone thinking about being a mother, doula, midwife, or business woman.
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I have never been so viscerally affected by a book by Audacia Ray (Brooklyn, NY) 5 Stars
July 19, 2009
I have never been so viscerally affected by a book as I was by this one. Seriously, never. I squirmed, I clutched at my heart, I cried.
Let me explain: in my admittedly limited and very finite universe, vaginas are for fun and especially for putting things into, they are not for pushing out babies.
This book is all about pushing out babies and the intense physical, emotional, and family stuff that comes along with it. That's stuff I've never personally experienced, or actually thought about all that much.
In the reality of the world and the female experience of vaginas, most women in the world push a baby out of their vaginas at some point. Carol Leonard is all about giving women the opportunity to do this in a way that honors their bodies and their individual experience and is not medicalized, sanitized, and dehumanized. In other words, she's a midwife, and has become a powerful and noisy proponent of undisturbed birth. Starting in the 1970s she has fought against the medical takeover of birth by empowering women to make their own choices about their birth experiences. This means that she's attended thousands of births in rural New Hampshire and caught babies in all sorts of peculiar circumstances, many of which she writes about in this book.
I learned a hell of a lot about the birth process and especially the power of women's bodies in this book. Even if I never give birth, this book was so worth reading, just to know and understand how strong women are. Also, Carol Leonard is really hilarious, and approaches her work as a activist with a big heart and a huge sense of humor. Behold these few sentences about teaching women about their bodies and encouraging self-exams:
"Susie and I are Abbott and Costello with a speculum. We take off our pants in church basements, in universities, in consciousness-raising groups. It is educational - and a little bit naughty."
Amazing.
Since I finished this book a week and change ago, I have thought about it often. I suspect that I'll think of it often for years to come.
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