Repurposing, Captain America-Style

Remember that really neat drum set we got for Grant’s 6th birthday? Well, who knew it contained a secret weapon… 

“A Midwife’s Tale” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maine midwife Martha Ballard (1735-1812) kept a diary. She wrote on loose paper with a quill pen and homemade ink … daily … for 27 years! I have a laptop, fast typing skills, modern conveniences … and I’m averaging about one blog post per month this year. Her entries were typically much more brief than mine, though, and she didn’t have photos to mess with. So there.

Author Laurel Thatcher Ulrich spent 8 years studying Martha’s diary, along with numerous other period writings and has put together a very interesting account of New England life, connecting the dots of Martha’s brief entries with the political, social, medical events of the times.

I have to admit, I’ve had this library book checked out for a very long time. I’ve started and stopped it a couple of times, not getting very far past the Introduction and some of chapter one. I thought about returning it a couple of times, but just kept renewing it because I trust the opinion of the friend who recommended it. She also recommended "A Perfect Storm," "In Cold Blood" and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," all of which I liked.

A few weeks ago, I picked up "A Midwife’s Tale" yet again, got through the first chapter and part of the second chapter, and things finally clicked. I began to understand the layout of the book and the author’s goal and also started feeling like I was beginning to know and admire Martha Ballard. I read through the rest of the book pretty quickly and even went back and re-read the Introduction twice. This book had an incredible amount of information and insights that Ulrich presented in a rich and entertaining way; she was very deserving of the Pulitzer Prize she was awarded for her work.

Bonus: there is a PBS series based on the book, so, I’m definitely going to see if I can get a copy of that!


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