Why Not Me?: The Story of Gladys Milton, Midwife
Brand: Book Publishing Company (TN)
Categories: Books, Biographies & Memoirs, Community & Culture


Used Book in Good Condition

Dimensions: 6.08 x 0.37 x 8.98 inches
ISBN-13: 978-0913990971
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0913990973
Publisher: Book Publishing Company (TN)
Print length: 127 pages
Publication date: January 1, 1993
subtitle: Paperback – January 1, 1993
author: Wendy Bovard Gladys Milton
review: Editorial Reviews Review The opening chapter of Why Not Me? is a courtroom scene: the State of Florida Health and Rehabilitative Services vs. Gladys Milton, age sixty-four, for providing illegal medical care. From this point, Gladys Milton looks back, telling her story to Wendy Bovard, a midwife and one of Gladys' many patients. Gladys was raised by her midwife aunt in rural Florida during the years when white doctors and hospitals refused to care for brown and black-skinned people. By the time she is a teenager, Gladys has helped her Aunt deliver dozens of babies. In 1958, after her marriage and the birth of her seven children, Gladys is asked by a school nurse to study to become a lay midwife as part of the state's plan to improve rural health care. Although initially reluctant, Gladys finally agrees, swayed in large part by the encouragement of her husband and children. In 1988, after thirty years of delivering thousands of healthy babies - many remembered in exquisite detail - and after several personal tragedies, Gladys Milton is asked to "retire" from midwifery by the state agency which trained her. When she refuses, she is threatened with "serious charges." Although adamant that "anyone who knows me knows that I'll run a hundred miles out of my way to avoid a fight," she unearths the courage to face her challengers in court. Buoyed by her faith and far-reaching support, Gladys Milton proves her family adage: "Success comes in cans, failure comes in can'ts." -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14 . -- From 500 Great Books by Women ; review by Jesse Larsen