The Birth House by Ami McKay

 The Birth House takes place in the small Halifax village Scots Bay. It follows the life of a young girl, Dora, who was born to a family of all boys. There is a legend about her family name Rare. I can not tell the story as well as the book, but a young wife promises to bear her husband all male children. Dora is the first girl born in several generations. Some think she is a witch, and she curses their livestock, while others think she is special and born with the sight to see what others can not. The book follows Dora as a young girl in her family house with all her brothers, to a young adult learning the trade of a mid wife.

The most interesting part of the story was the struggle between mid wiving and modern medicine. Some of the advice the women of the town get from the doctor is crazy. The things he wanted the women to do surprised me. I can't believe how wrong the doctors were back then on the subject. For example when the women were in the last stages of their pregnancy and swollen and having trouble getting around, the doctors said their problem was they were not getting enough exercise and advised them to walk around more. It was Dora who finally spoke up and said that, no she needs to rest and lie down.

The story also brought in elements of the past such as WW1 and the stigmas attached to young men who did not enlist, and the big Halifax explosion. I really like it when stories are built around elements of truth, to me it makes them even more alive and believable. Even though Dora's character was fictional, it made the book more interesting knowing that some of the experiences she had were experienced by real people at one time.

There was a lot of women's rights issued that aroused from the wives of Scots Bay. They ranged from husbands who beat them, feeling they were obligated to please their husbands in bed, and wanting to have a say in having children. I think Dora was a women who had modern ideals but was still able to see the wisdom of the past. She fought for what was best for the women of Scots Bay, regardless of how her views were seen by the men in the town. She was stuck between fighting for women's rights, and holding on to the traditions of the past, which made her disliked by many. She seemed to be either an offense to proper traditional women, or an offence to modern science. The way that Dora was treated resembled the witch trials in many ways. She acted as a scape goat for all the troubles that happened. Yet she was strong and not afraid to stand up for what she thought was right, but also knew when to back down. Of course like anyone she had faults too, and I think that it was her ability to deal with them in her own way that made me respect her character.

I really enjoyed this book and would be happy to read another by Ami McKay.