A book that reflects the changing attitudes to pregnancy and childbirth in an isolated community in Nova Scotia and one woman's fight to protect the old traditions. It is a novel full of historical detail, long-forgotten traditions and heartwarming friendship that will keep the reader gripped from first page to last.
'I know this girl. Iris Rose Ketch. She lives on the mountain. Mother says her father hires her out, sells her body, for money.'
How long had it been since I'd seen her tired, little-girl face worrying over her mother at Deer Glen? A year? No more than that. It was autumn, my first birth with Miss B., when I'd seen those same wide eyes, watching through a crooked staircase, waiting for a miracle. This child, who'd been set aside by a mother who was always short on food, clothing and love, wasn't long from becoming a mother herself. I knelt at her feet. 'You're safe here, Iris Rose. I'll take care of you now.'
