Book Review: The Birth House

The Birth House by Ami McKay is the Canadian novel that finally knocked the Da Vinci Code off it #1 spot on the bestsellers list.

It is a story about a young woman in tiny east coast town at the beginning of the 20th century. The turmoil and change in the world and more specifically within the town, the women and the minds of those who live there is given a vibrant life in the main character's struggle.

I began this book with a relatively moderate view of giving birth, as my own birth experience was hardly what I'd had in mind (but darling, it never is). The medical-ized, sterilized and somewhat removed nature of labour and delivery seemed to me a given. But after reading The Birth House, I have realized just how much of the joy and sorrow, comfort and closeness, has been taken from us by the medicalization of birthing a child. It has changed my choices for our next.

This book also gives a hilarious and somewhat irreverent look at the medical community and its opinion of women.

Take the quiz, maybe you need to make an investment in a known medical cure for hysteria (see below). Cripes, you could order it from the Sears catalogue !