I know, I know, it’s spring already here in the northeastern United States, but I haven’t had a chance to talk about Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon yet and y’all, it’s a great read. The book thrillingly and romantically explores the world of Martha Ballard, a real life midwife from post-Revolutionary War Maine who assisted a thousand women or more in childbirth and never lost a single mother. (We could talk about the maternal mortality rates today in this country, but I’d rather stick to Martha Ballard.)
What’s more, at the age of fifty or so, that’s right, in her menopausal brilliance, she started keeping a diary, overcoming cultural restrictions on reading and writing, which were widely denied to women. That she was able to procure the paper and ink to write hundreds of pages before she died was also no small miracle.
Frozen River brings Martha delightfully to life with a historical murder mystery, fizzing with elements of romance. Lawhon’s storytelling evokes the historical dramas by Julian Fellowes, witty and stylish, and uniquely fueled by the tension of a midwife’s life, from typical birthing challenges to clashes with medical “authority” and the law.
Lawhon could have taken many liberties to bring Martha to modern readers, but in portraying Ballard’s courage and relentless fight to center justice and women’s health the novel does not skimp. No wonder Frozen River is still on the bestseller lists in springtime! Loved this book about a powerful, brilliant woman who cared for other women at their most vulnerable.
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