Review: The Midwife’s Confession

May 27, 2011

The Midwife’s Confession by Diane Chamberlain

Summary: When Noelle Downie is found dead of an apparent overdose, her best friends Tara and Emerson are left blindsided by her death and struggling with burning questions. Everything they knew about their longtime friend—her natural calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family—portrayed a woman who completely embraced life, not someone suicidal.

Clearing out Noelle’s small home, Tara and Emerson encounter old photos, handwritten birth records, and sincere thank you notes from Noelle’s former patients—no hint that Noelle had been unstable during the years leading to her suicide. But among Noelle’s belongings, an unfinished letter is discovered—a clue to a disturbing past and an unbearable secret. With just one piece to the puzzle, Tara and Emerson commit to digging deeper for clues, slowly peeling back years of hidden deception that had been silently tearing apart their best friend.

My Thoughts: This book sucked me in from the beginning. I wanted to know what was going on, why Noelle killed herself, and where everything was going. I found some bits of it somewhat predictable, but there were many surprises. The big secret of what Noelle did wasn’t as shocking as the details concerning who all it affected. There were a couple of moments during the book at which I gasped out loud. (Good thing I was alone at the time! LOL)

As I read about Noelle’s past, I went from being a little sympathetic to her to outright hating her. The things she’d done, and not just the BIG thing this book is talking about. What a selfish person. How can she honestly say she loved Tara as she claimed to? I don’t think you’d hurt someone that way if you loved them. Although, I was upset to realize that it likely never would be something Tara would know about. But I know, and after reading her story found myself not liking her one bit. Oddly, though, when reading the narrative of what exactly happened that is so shocking, I could understand why she acted the way she did.

Spoiler

Baby Lily was all alone and her mother was comatose after a stroke. There was a decent chance that baby’s mother wasn’t going to recover. And her father was out of the country (for work). And she didn’t want to see Emerson lose yet another baby. Although, her covering it up was probably more selfishly motivated than in Emerson’s interests. If Emerson knew she’d dropped her baby, she probably would have lost the relationship with her. So, while I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, I think this whole ordeal was another manifestation of Noelle’s extreme selfishness.

This is an emotional read, and very good. Very compelling. I’m happy to have had an opportunity to read and review this book. And I will be looking for more by Diane Chamberlain, for sure!

Favorite Quote:

Sometimes it was hard to express how much you loved someone. You said the words, but you could never quite capture the depth of it. You could never quite hold someone enough. ~ page 337 (ARC)

My Rating: 4 stars

Source: Thank you to Tricia Carr from Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc., for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Read It: Get your own copy HERE. (This is a Book Depository link, and purchase through this link will result in my receiving a small commission at no cost to you. Your support is appreciated!)

Challenges: Counts for 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge 2011.

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FTC Disclosure: All items reviewed were either obtained by me for my own enjoyment or sent (from the author, publisher, publicist, via tour sites, etc.) in exchange for an honest review. I receive no monetary compensation for my posts. All opinions expressed are my own.

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