Mountain Midwife: Life and Times of Isabella Brown Neal

Mountain Midwife is the story of Isabella Brown Neal, a hard-working, smart, outspoken old mountain woman. Belle, as she was known, traveled day and night through the hills of Clay County, West Virginia delivering babies and nursing the area's poorest families.

Belle walked or rode her old nag, often traveling alone with just a doctor's bag of herbs, a lantern, and a shotgun. Belle learned about caring for the sick from her father, Dr. Anthony Brown, and her uncle, Dr. Wash Brown, who both ...