Linda Fairley

If you like reading about childbirth or are a fan of BBC's "Call the Midwife", you'll enjoy it. It's utterly charming and unassuming. I highly recommend it to birth junkies, but other folk will probably find it a bit simple. I really enjoyed her voice and the stories she tells. I was in the mood for something light and this fit the bill. It is refreshing in that she'll say something like "In that moment all was right with my world and I felt nothing could bring me down" and you'll think "uh oh" and then...nothing bad happens! It's also a fun look at "the Swingin' Sixties" from her unique pov.… (mehr)

I am one of those people who always look in the bargain bins/reduced to clear items at the shops. Most of the time there’s nothing I want there, but sometimes you get a gem. Hence I often take a look at the sale/bargain section of book websites, and I’ve found some great books and new authors that way.

While I didn’t strike gold with The Midwife’s Here!, it did relieve some of my withdrawal symptoms from Call the Midwife. Linda Fairley is one of Britain’s longest serving midwives, and this is the story of her nursing and midwifery training, which took place in Manchester in the late 1960s and 1970s. I think I should mention too that Linda has written this with the aid of a ghost-writer (something not mentioned until the end of the book). While it doesn’t make much difference to the story, I felt it may have had an effect on dulling down the emotions that Linda felt. The book felt a bit clinical at times, although there are some very happy (and very sad) moments.

I always enjoy stories of nursing training in days gone by and it was fun to read of Linda’s stories. I thought that it was excellent that when Linda explained some of the now outdated practices that they learned during training, she also informed the reader of the current practice. Very important should anyone be looking for practical pointers! Linda’s lack of faith in nursing as a career for her, then finding her calling as a midwife was quite uplifting too. For those who are looking for more midwifery over nursing, be aware that the first half of the book deals with Linda’s general nursing training. I didn’t mind this, but others may!

Linda’s story is continued in Bundles of Joy, this time focusing on her work as a midwife in the 1970s and beyond. Will I read it? Maybe – I’m not as interested in midwifery as I am in medicine, but should I see it again in the bargain bin…

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