Summary

Chapters 19 & 20

With new ambition, Louise writes to the school board on the mainland that graded her high school papers from the time she was home schooled, and asks them to write her a letter of recommendation for college. She is accepted to College Park in the pre-med program, but upon hearing that there are no placements for female doctors due to all the wartime doctors returning to their posts, she leaves her studies to become a midwife. Upon graduation, she takes a position in an Appalachian community where the nearest hospital is two hours away. This way, she thinks, she’ll be working like a doctor even though she isn’t one. For the most part, Louise loves her time in the mountains. She delivers every pregnant woman’s baby, and even some of the difficult animal deliveries. One evening, she is called to...