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The Forgotten Midwife
Laura Anthony
Publication Date: May 12th, 2026
Simon & Schuster Canada | Gallery Books
368 Pages
Amazon | Goodreads | Bookshop.org
Genre: Historical Fiction | Women’s Fiction
This book will break your heart. We have two timelines, and both are sad for different reasons. Riley is getting married and dealing with her grandma’s dementia. During a rare moment of clarity, her grandma hands her a birth certificate from the 1950s in Ireland. Riley decides to go there to investigate.
In the second timeline, it is 1954 and Margarete has to leave her boyfriend, Joseph, to become a nun because her sister has passed away. She is sent to a home for “fallen” girls and sees just how terribly these girls are treated. While there, Margaret runs into Delia, her friend’s sister, and decides to become her protector.
I have read a lot of books and have seen a lot of movies based on these unwed homes of the past. What makes this one so different is that we get to see the point of view of the women who help run these homes. These girls were so resilient, and Margaret was so brave in trying to help them. Why is it always the female who has to take this situation on? Why are the males never shouldering any blame?
Another way this story was different was the two timelines. Riley is in 2023, and she travels to Ireland to find out about her past and her family’s history. I loved the way the past revealed itself and met up with the present. It is handled very well, and the writing style is as captivating as the subject matter; it felt very personal. I know this topic has been done to death, but I can’t get enough of it, and the heart of this book makes the usual tropes easy to overlook. The characters were flawed and brave and very realistic and human. I cheered them on, especially when they triumphed.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction, I would recommend this for sure; it is very well researched and is filled with raw emotion. I have The Women on Platform Two by this author on my shelf, and I look forward to reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
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