A Guardian For Mothers

In the month of May we celebrate mothers. We all share the universal experience of being born from a mother. One way or another we entered the world any way ranging from a natural birth at home to a cesarian section operation in a hospital.
In The Birth House author Ami McKay takes us back to the basics to visit the closely knit community of Scots Bay, Nova Scotia. Set in a WWI backdrop the people of "The Bay" are raised on brown bread, shad and tea. With no electricity, telephone or automobiles in the town, the community relies on the healing powers and advice of a midwife for a variety of ailments and childbirth assistance.
The story is told through the eyes of teenaged Dora Marie Rare who finds a kindred spirit in the towns old midwife, Miss Marie Babineau. A victim of gossip and somewhat of an outcast in social settings Miss B. is known as a witch, or an angel "as long as she’s got the gift whenever they need it." Free-spirited Dora considers herself to be a black sheep of sorts being the only girl born after five generations of the Rare family name. Dora was also born with a caul over her eyes. Miss B. sees this as a sign that she "sees more than us all." The old midwife decides to take Dora under her wing and teaches her the art of "catching babies.’ Dora learns tricks like blowing cayenne pepper off a feather to encourage a tired mother to push!
Contentions arise when Dr. Gilbert Thomas opens up a maternity home in a nearby town. The womens social groups topics soon turn from knitting and idle gossip to concerns about issues of women’s rights and control over their bodies. There ensues debates between the doctor encouraging the latest scientific medical procedures, metal tools and drugs and the traditional midwife who uses common sense intuition, prayers and natural herbal remedies.
The novel is wonderfully written with an interesting mix of characters, scenes and period references to a time of prohibition, rum running, book banning and burning. The author takes us along with Dora to visit Halifax at the time of the explosion and Boston during the suffragist movement for the women’s right to vote. The reader gets to follow Dora on her coming of age journey and witness her devotion to her craft despite modern time influences.
McKay draws you in to the story as if you are reading from an old scrapbook with the addition of newspaper clippings, advertisements, letters, herbal concoctions and even a recipe for Groaning Cake. I might try to bake this one myself but I won’t be mixing the batter in between contractions as traditionally recommended!
The author writes with a down to earth style and treats her story with a good dose of Acadian folklore and maritime traditions. Being from the East Coast myself I really enjoyed the local dialogue and colloquialisms. Like the midwives depicted in the novel McKay also displays a great deal of insight with her writing. Miss B. advised Dora "No matter what you do, someone always knew you would."
One thing for certain is we all owe some gratitude to midwives who act as spiritual guardians for mothers and help bring us into the world.
Something to think about...



Wanda Lynne Young




A Guardian For Mothers was published in the May '07 issue of Real Women Magazine in the Reader's Corner column.

A Prayer For Peace And Pasta

I awoke this morning to see a mourning dove couple sunning themselves on the fence. It’s a sure sign of Spring! This particular change in season tends to bring on a quest for personal renewal. Many of us try to refresh our spirit and hurry the warm temperatures with tropical vacations. If you don’t have your passport in order, I can suggest escaping it all by delving into a book like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

In this nonfiction novel the New York based travel journalist writes a personal account of her year long spiritual journey to the three I’s, namely, Italy, India and Indonesia. The reader shouldn’t expect this read to be anything like a tourist guide or one of those self-help books either. The book reads much like a diary. That being said, it’s no surprise that the author managed to fund her travels with an advance on the novel yet to be written. Well, lucky her, just jealousy talking here!
Throughout the course of the book Elizabeth spends most of her time eating, meditating and contemplating life more so than taking in the sights. She is on a soul- searching mission with the main purpose of healing herself. Coming off a long drawn out divorce, a failed rebound romance and a suicidal depression the author decides she needs to find some sort of balance to her existence. In her self- deprecating style Liz describes her depression with humor, "my life had gone to bits and I was so unrecognizable to myself that I probably couldn’t have picked me out of a police lineup." She begins her year of travel with a four month stay in Italy. It is here that Liz wants " to explore the art of pleasure in Italy"and learn to speak Italian to boot. She eventually drops out of language class and decides instead to learn from the locals and tour several restaurants in search of the best pizza in the world. It turned out to be in Naples, but I digress. Liz manages to leave Italy feeling full and a little less empty inside.
After her carb overload in Italy the author heads off to immerse herself "in the art of devotion in India." She checks herself into a yoga Ashram where she enjoys a cleansing vegetarian diet and prepares herself to be enlightened. Her whole state of seclusion in India could be described as an emotional and spiritual rehab of sorts. After much struggle to quiet her mind Liz discovers her own mantra and learns to meditate to a point of pure bliss. To tell you the truth, this section of the book dragged a bit for me. I guess I had to be there to "get it". Anyway, moving on. The author’s final destination is Indonesia, Bali to be more specific. She views this culture to be the utopian answer to her "pursuit of balance." This is where Liz tries to blend her desires to enjoy the pleasures of life with her need to stay spiritually connected.
The author’s view is not so much religious but spiritual in her outlook. As a reader, an interesting idea came up when the author noted the many people of differing faiths joined together for the similar purpose of reaching divine grace. She suggests the concept that all religions could fit together like pieces of a grander puzzle forming the picture of God.

Something to think about...

Wanda Lynne Young

A Prayer For Peace And Pasta was published in the April '07 issue of Real Women Magazine in the Reader's Corner column.