The Midwife's Confession

Noelle has a heart for so very much love. Not knowing who you are can harm that simple fact. Tara and Emerson have very rich but different lives. The Book weaves a story of 3 women as the live such a different life than each sees. The author takes a terrible and tragic moment to tell of a very deep love that still missed so much for Noelle. The twists and unanswered questions leave two friends searching for answers they may not want to find.The author tell this brilliantly and let's you feel what everyone is feeling. Each character is unique and brings such depth to a story. I found myself wanting to embrace Noelle while her actions created a mess her life spoke volumes. A great read demanding I keep turning the page to know what happens next!

When Noelle, a midwife living the simple life (single, childless, a love of gardening, long skirts - you get the picture), commits suicide, her two closest female friends, Tara and Emerson, are in for a surprise. (Or two or three).Whether it's about her practice of midwifery or darker deeds, going through her old papers is a true opening of Pandora's box. Quickly her friends wonder if they knew her at all and can't help but dig further to get to the truth - especially when they realize they and their lives might well be part of that truth, despite not knowing it for years. There is the frustration of not being able to ask Noelle herself. Sam, Tara's recently deceased husband, seemed to know a lot too that he didn't let on and can't reveal anymore.The chapters are told in turns by Tara and Emerson, with a few flashbacks on Noelle's life. We end up the story wiser than them, with a couple of extra pieces of information they'll never discover.OK, so the secrets kept by Noelle are so huge they're not always quite believable. But I went along with the story, and the telling and the twists were so good that I was able to ignore that (but hence 4 stars). Another big bonus was how interesting the relationship between Tara, Emerson and their teenage daughters was, and Tara's trying to get to grip with being a widow.Finally, I am quite fascinated by the whole midwife thing (akin to witchcraft in some novels really). If you liked this book, you'll probably enjoy "Midwives" by Chris Bohjalian.

Very good book, had ny attention from the beginning, couldn't put it down had to find out what happened.

It’s difficult to imagine anything like this happening. The story is well paced, and the characters are defined well, also.

Emerson, Tara, and Noelle, women now in their forties, have been friends since college. When Noelle commits suicide, Tara and Emerson try to pick up the pieces and understand why. Instead of answers, all they find are more questions that make them realize they didn't know their best friend at all.A few of the aspects of this story stretched my suspension of disbelief a bit further than I'm comfortable with, but overall I enjoyed it. The web of secrets and lies that Noelle has managed to ensnare herself in unravels at a fairly quick pace once it actually starts. She made a lot of bad choices, kept a lot of secrets that she shouldn't have, but I found myself less interested in her part of the story, and more interested in what Tara and Emerson were going through. I could see the fallout coming, and I knew it was going to rip their lives apart.The one lingering question I had was Noelle's suicide, which opens the book. I never found a reason for it. I mean why she chose that exact moment to kill herself. It sounds like she just sat down to eat dinner one night, decided she couldn't live with her mistakes anymore, and killed herself. Maybe that's exactly how it happened, but I kept thinking there had to be more to it. Someone found out what she had done, or she discovered that it had somehow been even worse than she had thought all of these years. Maybe it was brought up somewhere in the book, but I don't know how I could have missed it.Overall, I liked this book, certainly enough to keep reading Diane Chamberlains' work. I believe this is the second I've read from her, and I'm looking forward to reading more.flag

Couldn't put this book down. Love this author - she writes so well - you feel like you know the characters and feel so much part of the story. Such a great read. What a story!

No sabes en q terminará, te mantienen interesados hasta el fin

Don't be fooled by the innocuous title. The "Confessions" will blow your mind. Finished it in 3.5 days (perks of being a working individual 🙄😐). Love the book.!! Seller turned out to be a let down, ordered Hardcover. And check out in the image what I received. The binding issue aside, the Book is quite a good read. Go for it!!

As usual with this author, she never disappoints! Hard to read at times but that's the talent she has to mirror life...

This book was impossible to put down once I started reading it. It's such a page-turner. Brilliantly written and highly recommended