Another Book That Resonated With Me

 

Another Book that Resonated with Me

 

I have always found the profession of Gynecology and Obstetrics fascinating. When I was younger, I remember telling people I wanted 7 children. I even planned for all of their names to begin with C’s so I could say I had the Seven C’s (like the salad dressing, Kraft’s Seven Seas, LOL). Life had other plans, though. Since I married in my 30s, and had children in my mid to late 30s, I’m very happy with my decision to have just two. I’ve been seeing the same OBGYN for almost 30 years; however, he is now solely a Gynecologist. I learned this at my last visit when I casually asked if he had he delivered any babies that day. He smiled and told me he had retired from Obstetrics several years ago and now focuses on women’s health across all the stages of the reproductive journey.

Back in the 1700’s, midwifery existed largely outside the emerging field of gynecology, rooted in tradition, experience, and community knowledge. Today, of course, midwifery works alongside modern gynecological science to provide evidence-based and comprehensive care. I remember reading my fist book about midwifery when my mom and I were deep in Oprah’s book club picks: Chris Bohjalian’s Midwives. It’s a fiction novel about a Vermont midwife who performs an emergency C-section on a woman she believes has died, and it explores the emotional and ethical weight surrounding childbirth. It was gripping, one of those books that stays with you.

But most recently, I read Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen river, and oh my… that book truly resonated with me. Not only it is beautifully written, but is layered with such meaningful reflection that I found myself wishing I’d purchased my copy instead of borrowing it from the library. This was my first Lawhon novel, and it absolutely won’t be my last.

The story isn’t fast paced, and that’s exactly what I loved about it. The slower rhythm gives you time to savor every detail, every quote, every quiet moment that makes you stop and think. Martha Ballard, a real historical figure, is a midwife in Maine, and the story is set in the late 1700’s. When the frozen body of a man is found in the river, Martha, respected as both midwife and healer, is drawn into the mystery. Through her daily journal entries, she pieces together the truth about his death and the secrets surrounding the people involved. This novel is historical fiction at its finest, and Lawhon is a genius in the way she develops Martha Ballard with such depth and authenticity.

Reading The Frozen River reminded me why stories rooted in history matter so much; they bridge the worlds of who we were, who we are, and who we’re still becoming. Historical fiction takes people with real worries, real gifts, and real grit, and brings them right into our world for a little while. Lawhon makes Martha Ballard feel so alive that you can almost hear her footsteps in the snow and her pen scratching across the page of her journal. Her determination, compassion, vulnerability, and quiet courage stayed with me long after I closed the book. I even told the librarian when I returned the book that he had to read it.

I’m also realizing more and more what I love most about historical fiction. It reminds me that the past isn’t really gone at all. The past is just waiting for us to lean in and listen. And in Martha’s case, listening to her story doesn’t just connect us to history, it inspires us to stand a little taller ourselves.