The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir (Beacon Press, Boston Oct. 2008) is now available on www.amazon.com and in most major bookstores. The Blue Cotton Gown is not about birth but about caring for women throughout the life-span.It addresses such universal, contemporary issues as drug abuse, teen pregnancy, menopause, mother-guilt, infertility, domestic violence, transgender change, midlife sexuality, keeping a marriage together and the crisis in the US health care system. Sound like a lot? All in a day's work for any health care provider who takes the time to listen. The book is receiving excellent reviews, is a compelling read and makes a great discussion tool.
The Blue Cotton Gown is a work of the heart, a story about ordinary women who carry burdens in secret and a tribute to all who struggle to survive with their souls intact.
Nobody writes with more candor and compassion about women's woes and women's triumphs than nurse-midwife Patricia Harman. Her behind-the-exam-room-door memoir is a bittersweet valentine to every woman-young and old-who has ever donned that thin blue cotton gown, to every dedicated healthcare provider, and to every husband-wife medical team. I couldn't put The Blue Cotton Gown down." -Sara Pritchard, author of Crackpots and Lately
"With compassion, forthright honesty, and talented writing, the author draws the reader into her patient's lives, the memories of whom last long after the book is finished.” Helen Varney Burst, original author of Varney’s Midwifery
"Patsy, more than any other writer in this time, has the skill to take us into a world where tragedy and joy mix every time the exam door closes behind another woman.” Penny Armstong, co-author of A Midwife’s Story
Nobody writes with more candor and compassion about women's woes and women's triumphs than nurse-midwife Patricia Harman. Her behind-the-exam-room-door memoir is a bittersweet valentine to every woman-young and old-who has ever donned that thin blue cotton gown, to every dedicated healthcare provider, and to every husband-wife medical team. I couldn't put The Blue Cotton Gown down." -Sara Pritchard, author of Crackpots and Lately
"With compassion, forthright honesty, and talented writing, the author draws the reader into her patient's lives, the memories of whom last long after the book is finished.” Helen Varney Burst, original author of Varney’s Midwifery
"Patsy, more than any other writer in this time, has the skill to take us into a world where tragedy and joy mix every time the exam door closes behind another woman.” Penny Armstong, co-author of A Midwife’s Story
