Want a NOOK? Explore Now
A dusty carved box containing two locks of hair and a century-old letter regarding property in Switzerland, and a burning desire to learn about her biological family lead nurse-midwife Lexie Jaeger from her home in Oregon to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. There she meets Marta Bayer, a mysterious lay-midwife who desperately needs help after an Amish client and her baby die.
Lexie steps in to assume Marta's patient load even as she continues the search for her birth family, and from her patients she learns the true meaning of the Pennsylvania Dutch word demut, which means "to let be" as she changes from a woman who wants to control everything to a woman who depends on God.
A compelling story about a search for identity and the ability to trust that God securely holds our whole life—past, present, and future.
KyCarolyn
Posted September 5, 2012
Good story line. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Helpful in gaining a better understanding of the Mennonite and Amish cultures.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Fitzysmom
Posted March 26, 2011
I'm always a bit skeptical when one of my favorite authors teams up with another author to produce a book. Will my favorite author's voice be heard? Will the resulting text be worth the time spent reading it? I am happy to say this time I was very pleased. Mindy Starns Clark has been one of my favorite authors but I had personally not read anything by Leslie Gould. In the future I will be looking for more of Ms. Gould's work.
The story revolves around Lexie Jaeger who is a nurse-midwife in Oregon. From an early age she knows she is adopted, but has little information about her family of origin. With a death bed confession of her adopted father, Lexie's quest to find out her story begins.
Lexie's journey to find the truth takes her to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where she agrees to help out a lay midwife who has found herself in a bit of legal trouble. The twists and turns in the story make it a very quick read.
The story left me with new insights into the feelings of adopted children, even those who wind up in very wonderful adopted families. Before this book I had never really thought much about the types of loss and abandonment they would feel. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of Amish fiction. This isn't your run of the mill story; it is definitely set apart by the different subject matters that are brought out within the text.
I received a copy of this book from Havest House Publishers and Mindy Starns Clark for my review.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.halfpint64
Posted October 18, 2011
It is a very good book. wonderful story line. Highly recommended.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 17, 2011
I loved this book. I am looking forward to reading the next in this series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 10, 2011
Could not put this book down.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.JulieSurfaceJohnson
Posted March 12, 2011
The Amish Midwife by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould kept me reading into the night. The authors skillfully demonstrated how the Amish (and other Anabaptist groups) struggle to maintain their identity despite encroaching modernism. In addition, they showed how tentacles of secrecy surrounding adoption can reach far into the future and impact children and grandchildren in a negative way. I particularly enjoyed Lexie's character development as she attempted to uncover, layer by layer, how she fit into their community. The strong ending left me wanting to read more in this series.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ElizabethFC
Posted March 1, 2011
This is an engaging account of a young nurse-midwife, raised by her adoptive family in Oregon, who travels to Pennsylvania to discover the truth about her past. She ends up learning much more than she expected, both about her family and herself. Issues of identity, forgiveness, and belonging are deftly interwoven into the story of this woman's quest. The gradual unraveling of the mystery holds the reader's attention throughout. An added bonus is the respectful but candid depiction of the Mennonite and Amish cultures.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lexie Jaeger has known all her life that she was adopted, but now her father has passed, and on his deathbed, he gave her a box, that held clues to her past. Having the letters in the box read to her, by a member of her Mennonite congregation, Lexie knows that she has to find out more about her past, who is her birth mom?
Lexie's trip into her past brings her to the heart of Amish country in Pennsylvania. A local lay midwife, is in legal trouble, she has been charged with manslaughter of a baby and the mother. As a nurse midwife, Lexie can help, but Marta sends word through a friend that she doesn't want Lexie's help. That does not stop Lexie however, she shows up on Marta's doorstep, determined to find answers.
Finding out what she wants to know is not easy however, Marta is very close mouthed about the entire situation, and what Lexie does learn makes her wonder even more. Meeting a 'cousin' who is nearly her mirror image stirs Lexie to dig deeper. The fact that the Amish, like to let things be, complicates her search. Will Lexie learn who she is? Will she find what she needs to fill that empty spot inside her heart in Pennsylvania?
I loved this book, it is the first I have read by these authors, and they just made the story come alive to me. Firstly, I have always been fascinated by midwives, and I enjoy Amish stories, so the combination of my favorite things, really made me want to read this book. The proverbial icing on the cake for this book, to me was the fact there was enough mystery and suspense to really draw you into the story. Truly this is a great book, that you will not want to miss. Fans of midwife stories, Amish fans, and mystery and suspense fans will all enjoy this book! Group discussion guide included. 321 pages, $13.99 US 5 stars.
This book was provided for review purposes by Harvest House Publishers, no payment was received for this review.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Just outside of Aurora, Oregon, three weeks after baby number 244 is born, her dying widower adopted father informs twenty-six years old midwife Lexie Jaeger with the rest of the truth that he and his late wife concealed from her. He tells her to never forget how he and her adopted mom loved her and finally admits his Montgomery County, Pennsylvania biological maternal grandma sent her a carved box. When her beloved dad dies, Lexie looks inside the box.
After helping 245 enter the world, Lexie decides to travel to Pennsylvania to meet her birth family and learn why she was given away. She leaves behind James who she has been seeing for several years as she obsesses with a need to know her kin. In Pennsylvania, she meets the family and assists Aunt Melia the lay-midwife accused of manslaughter when her Amish patient and baby died during delivery. However, as Lexie begins to learn about her roots, she finds secrets that her biological family feels are An Inconvenient Truth. She considers leaving for home, although she knows God would expect her to forgive those who let her down as a baby.
The first Amish Clark and Gould collaboration is a strong family drama that focuses on a person's bone-marrow deep need for a specific identification in which he or she believes they belong. With action provided especially by midwife responsibilities in light of the manslaughter charge and a supporting romantic subplot, The Amish Midwife is a terrific character driven tale as Lexie learns you can and cannot go home.
Harriet Klausner
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 28, 2013
Enjoyed reading. Great story with most of the pieces remaining hidden until the end. Cant wait to read more in this series and by these authors.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 4, 2013
Great story, kept me guessing right til the end. Highly recomend this book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 22, 2012
I liked the part where Lexie was helping to take care of the midwifr's daughter after she got drunk.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 20, 2012
Very good book. It was a very touching story. But also a mystery. I couldn't wait to see how it ended.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.kimberdee69
Posted January 16, 2012
This was a great book. Couldn't put it down. Cant wait to read the next in the series.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.mkfg
Posted March 27, 2011
What a strong issue (adoption) and the desire of those adopted to find their natural family ... and those unspoken desires of the heart. I truly recommend this for any "adopted" person and for those of us who aren't, to have a special understanding of their situation. This book kept me on the edge till the very end. Thanks Mindy.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Teresa923
Posted February 18, 2011
I loved the story. The amish lifestyle woven in with the complex set of family secrets and insecurities woven in with the power life events of mid-wives is a wonderful blend.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 6, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted May 29, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted July 14, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 18, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
A dusty carved box containing two locks of hair and a century-old letter regarding property in Switzerland, and a burning desire to learn about her biological family lead nurse-midwife Lexie Jaeger from her home in Oregon to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. There she meets Marta Bayer, a mysterious lay-midwife who desperately needs help after an Amish client and her baby die.
Lexie steps in to assume Marta's patient load even as she continues the search for her birth ...