The Complete Call the Midwife Stories Jennifer Worth 4 Books Collection Collector's Gift-Edition (Shadows of the Workhouse, Farewell to the East End, Call the Midwife, Letters to the Midwife)

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Well, half a century is a long time and everything has changed. I would say there is more anxiety attending childbirth these days; more caesarian sections, more inductions, more drugs, more drips, more medicine in other words. Childbirth has drifted away from being a natural event into a medical condition requiring medical treatment.

My mother had planted this seed when we were children. Hearing this made me feel unbearably sad...” (Elsie would say “Jennifer’s the clever one, Chris is the pretty one”.) She didn't spend her whole career as a midwife, though; in fact, a significant portion of Worth's nursing career was spent caring for cancer patients at the Marie Curie Hospital. In 1963 she married Philip Worth, with whom she had two daughters. By the early '70s, Worth decided to leave nursing behind, and dedicated herself, instead, to a career in music. She adds: “When Jennifer was alive, I wanted to cry out to her to talk to me. Perhaps she felt the same. Or perhaps she understood – as I do now – that it was what was unsaid, rather than any words that passed between us, that mattered the most. A deep and enduring love.” Having given birth with the support of a midwife three times, when I heard about this one, I knew I had to make time to read it. The Midwife is the memoir of Jennifer Worth (“Jenny”) and her experiences in the East End Slums of post-war London. I think three things come together to make this a very interesting book. That is a very deep question, and I do not readily wear my heart or my faith on my sleeve. Call the Midwife

I listened to this on audio, narrated by Nicola Barber, and it was excellent. She does fantastic voices and accents, and I plan to listen to her read the other two books in the series. It is that innate ability flowing forth, to communicate with such graphic, vivid, convincing, and compelling reality; which has firmly grasped, held, and enraptured this grateful reader. Jennifer Worth’s (neé Lee) practical and strongly empathetic observations left me unsurprised to learn that from 1973 she had pursued a successful second career in music. By comparison, fiction as a genre rarely achieves the same realism: with, I feel, the notable exception of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord Of The Rings” – but then to achieve what he did, Tolkien had to create an entire fictional mythology; an absolutely stupendous amount of work! The structure of the book is anecdotal, but even I who dislikes short stories, was in no way disappointed. The sisters of the convent become as members of a family, each with their own idiosyncrasies. Each child born is a wonder. And Jennifer, the author, is surprisingly honest about her own weaknesses and failings. Every new birth was my favorite experience, just the joy, the thrill, the privilege of bringing a new life into the world. I’ve had hundreds of “favorite experiences.” What a wonderful life. Four years ago this month, Jennifer was diagnosed with advanced cancer of the oesophagus. She declined treatment and sought to die in peace.

Also in the first book, Ms Worth takes the reader with her on a bicycling tour (the nuns used bicycles to get around), witnessing what it was truly like to be a midwife in some of the most harrowing circumstances. Women gave birth in the most deplorable conditions in tenements which were overcrowded and filthy… some of which were the remainders of buildings which had actually suffered damage from German bombs during World War II. Ms Worth relates humorous tales and tales that will absolutely break your heart. I couldn't help but feel such sadness at the thought of each new child fighting his way into a life full of such squalor and desperation. It seems to me that with as difficult as life can be, at the very least, EVERY child should enter the world in much better circumstances. The friendships between Jenny, the midwives, and the nuns was wonderful. There was no negative feelings, jealousy, or resentment between them even though they worked such long hours and were constantly under high pressure. They were supportive, caring, and all around good people. I loved Trixie, she had such a strong and endearing personality. I especially loved her no nonsense attitude and her refusal to pander or listen to anyone else's rubbish… She made a change from the usual doormats in literature. Mr Collett's story was the most heartbreaking and moving, I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards. He had such a hard life filled with so much tragedy, he was all alone and had no friends or family left.

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That being said, I actually came away from the book "Call the Midwife" feeling a little unsatisfied. I certainly enjoyed the stories that she told. Some were heart-breaking, some sweet or funny. I enjoyed the subplot about Jenny discovering a profound faith in God (though I found her a little unrevealing about other aspects of herself-- who is this man she loved so much?). The religious subplot is, sadly, conspicuously absent from the TV series. Well, in my day it was said that it took seven years to make a good midwife, so obviously experience counts a good deal. I think the innate ability to inspire confidence in a woman in travail must be high on the list. Training, knowledge, judgment, patience all come into it, and the capacity for hard work. Worth died on 31 May 2011, having been diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus earlier in the year. Asthma has always been part of my life, but never eczema. I was fifty seven when it started, just two little itchy patches on my legs. I thought nothing of it. They were so small - nothing could have told me of the horror that was to come. Within about six months these two little patches had spread to cover my entire body, from my forehead to my feet. My skin was sloughing off all over, water poured out of my body, my legs were swollen up to look like elephant legs.