Discussion for The Midwife's Confession

[mupt02]

What was the most surprising secret in Noelle's past?

[Chymerra]

I think that it was that she was Emerson's half sister.  With all the secrets in the book, this one struck me as the one that surprised everyone the most.

[beepbop1]

Gosh, there are so many secrets that I was shocked to learn about!  I sort of figured out that Emerson was her sister, and early on I felt like Jenny is the child that had to have been switched b/c Noelle loved midwifery and I couldn't imagine putting her passion at risk for just a friend no matter how close but for a sister...well that's a different story!  I was surprised to learn that the Grandparents had figured out that Noelle was their granddaughter and was saddened to think that they waited so long to let Emerson know that Noelle was already gone.  BUT, probably the biggest secret that shocked me was that Noelle was a surrogate...5 times!!!! I thought for sure she had Sam's baby and gave it to that family that she met the first time she went with her adoptive mother to a patient.  I COULDN'T beleive that people so close to her could miss 5 pregnancies!!!!  I was utterly shocked by that!

Other things:  I was really saddened by the fact that Sam and Noelle actually did sleep together, right before Tara and Sam's wedding :(  And I am torn about ending the book without Tara every finding out....on the one hand at least she still thinks her husband was the man she thought he always was, devoted and faithful and knowing that would have destroyed her perception of him and their relationship as a whole...on the other hand, I feel like Tara's character is entitled to know the truth so she doesn't have a misconception of who her husband really was. 

How did you feel knowing that Tara never found out about Sam's infidelity before their marriage????

 

[babygirl5151999]

I'm torn on that, because on one hand I don't know if I'd want to know, but on the other hand he's dead it's not like she can confront him.

I was kinda shocked too that her and Sam didn't have a baby (that's what it was kinda sounding like).

I wonder how it felt for Sam to have Noelle birth his child. And do you think Ian and Tara got together eventually?

[Bleacheddecay]

Yes. I thought she and Sam might have had a baby too. For her to steal a baby was the most shocking I think.

[mupt02]

The biggest surprise was the surrogacy.  I was expecting her to have had Sam's baby. 

I don't know how it would have been for Tara to find out about Sam and Noelle.  With neither person there to answer any questions, I think it would have left her wondering even more.  Could she really be sure it was just a one time thing, etc? 

I could picture Tara and Ian getting together, but a while down the road.  I think Tara would take advantage of the current situation with Grace and use the opportunity to get to know her and understand her better.  Then, I maybe after Grace went off to school, I could see her getting together with Ian.

Do you think Anna responded appropriately, especially to Jenny, with pretty much the first request being to get tested to see if potential sister's were a bone marrow match?  I have a hard time with this one and really think this was the wrong approach.  I understand the urgency, but it seems to me like she is doing more potential harm to the relationship than good.  It's like the first statement is "yeah you are my daughter, we can use you to save my real daughter" and not something of "let's get to know you."