A nurse-midwife takes readers behind the exam room door of her rural
West Virginia clinic in this "utterly true and lyrical" memoir
(Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean)
As a nurse-midwife and the manager of a women's health clinic in West
Virginia, Patricia "Patsy" Harman bears witness to the struggles and
triumphs of every woman who walks through her exam room door. She sees
Heather, a teenager pregnant with twins, through the loss of both babies
and their father. She cares for Nila--a longtime patient who must try to
make a new life without her abusive husband--and helps Kaz transition
into a new body. The only thing more varied than these women's
backgrounds are their stories, which they share with Patsy inside her
small clinic, covered only by a blue cotton gown.
In her memoir, Patsy juxtaposes these heartbreaking and uplifting tales
with her own story of keeping a small medical practice solvent. She
recounts conversations with her patients over the course of a year and a
quarter--a time when her own life seems on the brink of collapse due to
financial troubles, malpractice threats, serious medical problems, and
marital strife. Honest, compassionate, and wise, The Blue Cotton
Gown is an unforgettable memoir that shines a light on the varied
experiences of women everywhere.
"In her sweetly perceptive memoir, Harman reveals how her exam room
becomes a confessional . . . she reminds [women] that they're not
alone."
--People
