Scan barcode
sidshea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
4.0
larryerick's review against another edition
3.0
This is a well-written, engaging narrative of a Peace Corps workers time with a midwife in Mali. The ending is particularly moving. It is hard to say how much differently it would have affected me if I hadn't spent time with Peace Corps workers in a similarly third world country and in similarly "depraved" (by developed countries standards) rural communities. No electricity. No running water. No safe drinking water other than bottled. Squat toilets if any at all. And yet these communities have their Moniques, strong, intelligent, resourceful, persistent individuals who would be pillars of the community if they had been born in America, but would only be "welfare scum" if they tried to move to America.
verenaahartmann's review
5.0
To be honest, I was a bit scared that there would be terrible gory details about childbirth and female genital cutting ... there were, but told in a way that even I could stomach (I'm sure most will be able to handle it). With this out of the way - this book is a delight, even with the hardships described.
Kris Holloway tells of her two years spend in a small village in rural Mali, clearly under third world country conditions. She worked there as a volunteer and assisted the village midwife, Monique Dembele, a truly inspiring person!
If you think about picking up this book, yes, please do so! I don't want to take away from your reading experience getting to know the story of Kris' and Monique's beautiful friendship, I will only promise you, you will not regret reading this. There will be laughter and tears along the way.
Kris Holloway tells of her two years spend in a small village in rural Mali, clearly under third world country conditions. She worked there as a volunteer and assisted the village midwife, Monique Dembele, a truly inspiring person!
If you think about picking up this book, yes, please do so! I don't want to take away from your reading experience getting to know the story of Kris' and Monique's beautiful friendship, I will only promise you, you will not regret reading this. There will be laughter and tears along the way.
witchofottawacounty's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
3.75
sarah_reading_party's review against another edition
5.0
this was such a great book! i would recommend it for anyone who is interested in sub-saharan africa, women's friendship, midwifery, the peace corps, coming of age... this true story/memoir incorporates so much good! it's also a quick read.
erinmp's review against another edition
5.0
Monique Dembele is a midwife in a tiny village in Mali. Kris Holloway is a young Peace Corps volunteer from Ohio who is placed in said village. The two almost immediately develop an intense bond of friendship and sisterhood, which Holloway recounts in her memoir. The two years that Holloway spends in Mali are sometimes difficult, with sickness and village traditions interfering with progress. But the book is really about Monique and the women's friendship. Monique is an amaing woman--with a sixth grade education and nine months of medical training, she is the village's sole healthcare worker. "Worker" is an adequate term, as all she does is work. She labors tirelessly at the clinic, then returns to the family compound for daily chores, and often she gets called in the middle of the night for a birth. Through it all she is uncomplaining and accepts her life for what it is.
I loved this book. Really, really loved it. Monique was such an amzazing woman--a legacy that I hope her children can continue and thankfully Holloway tells the world about. It was not really what I expected--it was much better. I assumed that it would be more of an academic/western look at miwifery practices in Africa, but it was really about the unlikely friendship between the two women. Amazing and highly recommended.
I loved this book. Really, really loved it. Monique was such an amzazing woman--a legacy that I hope her children can continue and thankfully Holloway tells the world about. It was not really what I expected--it was much better. I assumed that it would be more of an academic/western look at miwifery practices in Africa, but it was really about the unlikely friendship between the two women. Amazing and highly recommended.
bekmorr's review against another edition
4.0
Eye-opening and enjoyable. What an amazing person Monique was!
themoonphoenix's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Excrement, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Medical content
ocit's review against another edition
5.0
Starting the reading, I was skeptical that I would be reading from the point of view of a Peace Corps volunteer with a savior complex. Instead, what I found was a volunteer who stayed true to their character, a powerful friendship growing, and the hardships of a midwife in Mali.
Holloway told the story of Monique in such a beautiful way, it felt like I knew Monique myself.
Holloway told the story of Monique in such a beautiful way, it felt like I knew Monique myself.