This is a fantastic fictionalized narrative about the life of Martha Ballard, a midwife in New England, during the years after the American Revolution. This follows Martha through a six-month period of her life in which she is involved with multiple births, a murder trial, and a rape trial. The story takes place over a few years and is documented through her day journal. There are cute moments between her and her husband and many flashbacks to the beginning of their marriage. The children are also a significant part of the story, as many of them are involved in the murder trial and their connections to the other members of the community. As much as I loved the story part, as a historian, I also love the facts. Lawhon writes a fascinating factional section toward the end of the book where she discusses the history of the rape and murder trials and how important Martha's story is to the history of Obstetrics, having thousands of births with no deaths of mothers.