The Forgotten Midwife

Set in Ireland with dual timelines with resilient women at its heart, I was thrilled to read this book as I travelled across Ireland two weeks ago - our train even passing through the town where the book is set (Thurles, County Tipperary).

The story follows two women: 

1950's - Margaret Lannigan is forced by her family and her priest to abandon her future plans to become a nun at a convent with secrets of its own. 

Present-day - Riley is a young woman who is searching for answers and her family's history and unearths more than she could ever imagine. 

This is my first book by Irish author Laura Anthony, and it won't be my last. Her story, which is inspired by real events, pulled me immediately into the Irish setting, Irish history and lives of these two women.

I appreciate how Anthony doesn't shy away from emotional elements: the few choices granted women of the time, the suppression and outright denial of women's rights, the power of the Church and the greed of those who were meant to help and lead others. While there could be a sense of hopelessness with this heavy subject matter, Anthony gives readers characters they will cheer on; those who go against the greater power with subterfuge and determination to make the lives of others better. There are also characters you'll love to hate (I hold a serious grudge, so I wish they suffered worse fates).

Poignant, powerful and thought-provoking, this read shows how individuals can make a big impact despite going against a much greater power. It's a story about resiliency and the tenacity of the 'underdog' that will give readers (and book clubs!) much to discuss. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Gallery Books for the complimentary digital advanced copy of this book that was given to me in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Laura Anthony

Genre: Historical Fiction

Type and Source: ebook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Gallery Books (S&S) 

First Published: May 12, 2026

Read: April 19-29, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: Set in the dual timelines of present-day and 1950s Ireland and based on real historical events, a powerful, poignant novel of feminism and resilience that follows the life of a young woman consigned to work in a home for “fallen girls” who quickly realizes she must risk everything to protect them.

New Jersey, 2023. Riley Carmichael is getting married and finally joining a huge, loving family but can’t help but feel the emptiness of her own side of the church. For most of Riley’s life it’s just been her and her wonderful grandmother, Betty, but as late-stage dementia overtakes her grandmother’s mind, Riley knows she’s losing her, too. On one of Riley’s visits to Betty’s nursing home, she encounters her grandmother in one of her increasingly rare moments of lucidity as Betty desperately hands Riley a tatty birth certificate for an unknown baby born in Ireland in the 1950s. Full of questions about her heritage, Riley embarks on a trip to Ireland to find that elusive sense of home.

Tipperary, Ireland, 1954. Margaret Lannigan’s life is made up of weekly dances and spending time with the love of her life, Joseph. But when Margaret’s older sister suddenly passes away, it falls to Margaret to fulfill the family’s commitment to the the eldest daughter of the Lannigan family has joined the Sisters of Mercy nuns for generations. Forced to part with Joseph and take the veil, Margaret is sent to a Home for Fallen Girls to care for expectant mothers who fell pregnant outside of marriage. With no training or midwifery skills, she must fight to provide compassionate care she feels these women deserve amid the cruelty and abuse they face.

When Margaret meets a young and terrified Delia O’Rourke, the sister of her childhood best friend, she must find the strength she needs to protect this young woman and her baby in the face of a system built to ensure they disappear.

Based on true historical events, The Forgotten Midwife is a powerful and emotional story of the women lost to Ireland’s “mother and baby homes,” as well as the young women forced to join the orders that ran the establishments. Told with courage and heart, it’s a haunting, hopeful novel of feminine strength, found family, and love that transcends oppression.