Patsy Harman is a delightful lady who has made wonderful contributions throughout her life. In the sixties and seventies she lived in hippie communes first in Washington, then in Connecticut, and Minnesota before settling in West Virginia in 1974. That is where she decided she wanted to be a midwife and then became a registered nurse. Her first book was The Blue Cotton Gown, A Midwife's Memoir, was published in 2008. In Arms Wide Open, a prequel to that acclaimed book, Patsy tells the story outlined above of some harrowing adventures in different communes leading up to her decision to become a midwife.
Boston: Beacon, 2011. Hardback in dust jacket.