Patricia (Patsy) Harman's book "Arms Wide Open"

I am about 50 pages into Patsy Harman's book, Arms Wide Open: A Midwife's Journey. The book was published in 2011 by Beacon Press. It is a very very good book!

I met Patsy about 38 years ago, when she was a hippy and peace agitator. I can't say I ever knew her very well. But I did visit the communes in Batavia, Ohio, and Spencer, West Virginia where she lived. I knew her husband, Dr. Tom Harman (I can hardly believe Tom's a physician!), and many of her friends: Kenny Przybylski, Wendy Rawlins Tuck, Tim Jenkins, Chuck Matthei, and so many more. I even lived in the ragged Batavia farmhouse after this group left for their West Virginia adventure (Rick Anderson was my house mate)..

To me the book reads like a "roman a clef," names of the characters changed to protect the innocent and guilty. The only actual names I think Patsy is using are her own name and her husband Tom's name.

So far the book has drama and tension--necessary ingredients to keep us reading. And I find the sentences well-crafted, almost at times like poetry. I keep wondering how Patsy learned to write so beautifully in a life that has been so full (and at times so hard).

Patsy has one other memoir out, The Blue Cotton Gown: A Midwife's Memoir (Beacon Press, 2009), and a novel, The Midwife of Hope River (William Morrow, 2012). I am going to read all of these books. I am so excited to see her talent blossom out like this.