My favorite of the three in the series as it was darker and not as sugary.Really enjoyed hearing stories of the nuns with Sister Monica Joan in particular who is as entertaining in books as she is on the BBC TV series of Call the Midwife.Heart wrenching to read at times especially the ship's daughter and also the botched abortion but it made me better appreciate the fact I was born female in the late 60s.

This book was definitely weaker than the first two, but that's to be expected, as it's an autobiography and I'm sure she already used all the best stories in the first two books. It didn't matter, however, I still found it fascinating.

Blimey, this memoir was bleak. Jennifer Worth's third book about her years serving as a midwife in London's East End in the 1950s was much darker than the first two. It was well-written and the stories were all compelling, but it covered some serious stuff, including babies who died during delivery, botched abortions, children killed by tuberculosis, a father who prostituted his daughter on a ship, and the Contagious Diseases Acts.I need to pause here to explain how horrified I was to hear about...

Imo, this deserves 3.5 stars, but it felt wrong rounding it up to 4 stars as it was slightly less light-hearted than the first two volumes of the trilogy. In this 3rd and last volume of the “Call the Midwife” series, Jennifer Worth ties the loose ends of her first two volumes describing the hardships and joys of nursing in the East End in the 1950s. The author was obviously a firm believer in the progress made in midwifery from the Midwives Act, 1902 onwards. It’s wonderful to think that over th...

This isn't like Jennifer Worth's first two books in the series, The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times and Shadows of the Workhouse. They were sweet memoirs of how hard it was in times gone by, but there were rays of sunshine, love and jollity to enliven the days. The books were fairly faithfully filmed as a sugar-candy feelgood somewhat addictive series. This last book was filmed in very much the same manner but was not faithful to the book. It was quite a surprise to see that Wort...

I liked this. Even though this is nonfiction, it reads like fiction....and I mean that in a good way. This was fascinating. These midwives working, helping, enduring. This covered so many major issues, like poverty, birth control, abortion, unwanted babies, adoption and more. Life as a woman was hard and they were desperate at times. It was so sad, but this was also surprising and heartwarming. There is always need for service, just because times change, there will always be needs to be met.

Gone are the happy baby stories, gone are the bitesize glimpses into a past full of amazing titbits that are so fun to read. The first two books focus on the joy of babies being born with some tears but mostly laughs and fun of Nonatus houseThe writing style changes, the outlook changes the length of the stories changes............and I love it. This book is filled with essays about the East End. Essays about how devastating tuberculosis really is in an wonderful intergenerational story. It has

I have been thinking about what I want to say about this series. First of all, I have to give a caution to my friends who my want to read these books. They are not for the feint of heart! They are full of some very descriptive harsh realities of life, particularly for that time and place in history. I was once harshly criticized at a book group because I did not finish a book that was too brutal and ugly. The person who chose the book accused me of having my head in the sand. That book was ficti...

This memoir continues on with the recollections of Jennifer Worth and the other midwives living at Nonnatus House. There are three books in this series. After reading book #2, which was incredibly bleak and depressing, I wasn't certain if I wanted to continue on with the series. Thankfully this final book had a much better mix of humorous stories, along with the devastating tales of suffering, disease and poverty. Although I am a fan of the tv series, I realized the scripts didn't precisely foll...

I would recommend this series all around. They’ve made me laugh and cry. I love them and hate that they have come to an end.

Another entertaining and insightful book by Worth. Sociological issues are explored, babies are born and some die, and the nuns and midwives persevere. As a whole this was a wonderful series. I really got a feel for the East end of London in the forties and fifties, the poverty, the sickness and the strength of the sisters and the midwives. I am going to miss the antics of Sister Monica Joan, the coarseness of Sister Evangeline and the quiet wisdom of Sister Julienne. This series was such a perf...

In this third book, Jennifer Worth largely reverts to the format of ‘daily’ life based around the life of the convent, and some of the more memorable, less straightforward, deliveries that she and her fellow midwives were called upon to perform. She doesn’t entirely abandon her portrayal of extreme social hardship, so graphically and vividly portrayed her second book, “Shadows of the Workhouse.’It is that innate ability flowing forth, to communicate with such graphic, vivid, convincing, and comp...

Such an amazing series. I'm so sad to say good-bye to Nonnatus House and its lovely midwives.

4.5 stars - SpoilersReally enjoyed it. The stories were engrossing, the people were fascinating, and the 1950s East End setting was easy to imagine and immerse into. Random Thoughts:-I preferred the format of this one compared to the second book, there was a lot more focus on Jenny's experiences, her patients, and midwifery in general.-I enjoyed getting to know more about Cynthia, she was a bit of a non-character in the earlier books… All that I knew about her was that she was nice and had a cal...

This is the last book in the trilogy which has been developed by the BBC into the television show “Call the Midwife”. This book more closely resembles the first one, with an emphasis on stories about the nurses and the nuns of Nonnatus House, who delivered thousands of babies in the slums of London’s East End in the 1950’s.Although I enjoyed this series very much, I am a little uncomfortable with the author’s intimate narration of events which were outside her personal experience. Since this is

I mistakenly read this one before Shadows of the Workhouse! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which is obviously in the same vein as Call the Midwife. People who love the BBC series should know, however, that not all the stories in the memoir end up as resolved and happy as depicted in the series (which I love). Even some of the disturbing stories are more disturbing when you read them! However, though the essays on the "ship's woman" and back-street abortion are emotionally trying to read, I feel...

I am so sad to see the end of this trilogy! Jennifer Worth is such a talented writer and she brought the East End of London to life as it was in the 1950’s. The entire Call the Midwife trilogy was less about birthing babies as it was a description of a time and place that no longer exists. This last book included photos and it was great to see an actual photo of Jennifer as a young woman along with many photos of London in the 1940’s and 1950’s. The last chapter provides an update on what happen...

As with the first book, The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times, I enjoyed most of the stories. I have a very different view of some of the issues brought up, and cannot agree with this:"The Criminal Abortion Act 1803 was repealed in 1967. Knowing that I had been a midwife I was sometimes asked if I approved of it or not. My reply was that I did not regard it as a moral issue, but as a medical issue. A minority of women will always want an abortion. Therefore it must be done properly...

Heartwarming, heart wrenching,informative,insightful...an absolute delight!

In the Call the Midwife series it was hard to finish the 3rd and final book in the trilogy. I wanted to turn the page and still be able to read the next story. Each chapter was a mini-story; I easily wanted more.But the 3rd book will bring back the crazy, unexpected births that you read about in the first book. Jennifer Lee saw some amazing things living in the poor, East End Docks of England right after World War II. From an utterly poor woman, with no clothes, or bed to her name, giving births...