Delia Parr

"In small-town Trinity, Pennsylvania, 1831, Martha Cade tries to balance the demands of her calling as a midwife, the delicacy of private information she learns in that role, and the hopes and expectations she has for her daughter and for herself"--

"Life changes drastically for Ruth Livingstone the day her father puts a young child in her arms and sends her under an assumed name to a small village in New Jersey. There she dutifully awaits his acquittal, certain that her father, Reverend Livingstone, soon will be cleared of the outrageous accusations against him. When tragic events transpire, Ruth finds solace tending a garden along the banks of the Toms River--a place where she can find a measure...

"In 1830s small-town Pennsylvania, midwife Martha Cade's world changes when she faces tense relationships, a new doctor in town whose arrival threatens her job, a town scandal, and an unexpected romance."--

"Midwife Martha Cade has decided. When he returns in February, she is going to marry Mayor Thomas Dillon. That is the only decision in life in which she feels confident these days. Everything else around her feels like it's changing too fast, from her daughter's obvious affection for the town's young doctor to Martha realizing she's ready to pass on her role as midwife to someone younger." --

Martha Cade, a midwife in Trinity, Pennsylvania in the 1830s, has become accustomed to having special insights into the lives of the townsfolk and to offering advice, but her skills do not seem to translate well when she is trying to deal with her daughter Victoria who has run away to live and work in New York.