The Forgotten Midwife
- Judith D Collins
- Apr 1
- 3 min read
By: Laura Anthony
Narrators: Helen Laser, Maeve Smyth
Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN: 9781668047415
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: 05/12/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
Set in the dual timelines of present-day New Jersey and 1950s Ireland, and based on real historical events, comes a powerful, poignant novel of sisterhood, family secrets, and resilience from the author of the “profound, moving, and memorable” (Fresh Fiction) The Women on Platform Two.
New Jersey, 2023. Riley Carmichael is getting married and finally joining a huge, loving family, but she can’t help but feel the emptiness of her own side of the church. For most of Riley’s life, it’s been just her and her 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, and Betty desperately shares with 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, identity, and belonging.
Tipperary, Ireland, 1954. Margaret Lannigan’s life is made up of weekly dances and time spent with the love of her life, Joseph. But when Margaret’s older sister dies suddenly, it falls to Margaret to fulfill the family’s commitment to the Catholic Church: the eldest daughter of the Lannigan family has joined a local convent for generations. Forced to part with Joseph and take the veil, Margaret is sent to Ballyvale 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 the compassionate care she feels these women deserve amid the cruelty 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.
Told with courage and heart, The Forgotten Midwife is a haunting, hopeful novel about the strength of women, the meaning of family, and the life-saving power of friendship.
Praise
As she did in The Woman on Platform Two (2025), Anthony presents a shocking and uplifting tale of perseverance.” —Booklist
“Vividly captures the horrors of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries and the agonizing moral dilemma of having to choose where and when to best rebel against abusive authority…Recommended for those seeking a fast-paced, tense but ultimately inspiring read about a woman willing to risk everything to protect the powerless.”
--Library Journal
From the Author
Hi, I’m Laura Anthony — I write stories about ordinary people living through extraordinary times, finding love, loss, and hope in the quiet corners of history. I live in County Kildare, Ireland, with my husband, our children, and far too many cups of unfinished coffee.
I’ve always been drawn to the kind of stories that stay with you—the ones that make you think about your own family, a friendship you miss, or something you wish you’d said. I try to capture real emotions, small moments, and characters who feel like people you’ve actually met, even if they lived decades ago.
When I’m not writing, I’m usually cooking, or running along winding back roads, and promising myself 'just one more chapter' of whatever audiobook I’m currently hooked on.
P.S. 'Laura Anthony' is a pseudonym, a small tribute to my late niece and my late father. But if you look closely, you might spot a ‘Janelle’ gently sneaking into my novels—that’s me.
Laura Anthony is a pseudonym for a published author of emotional women’s fiction. She lives in Kildare, Ireland, with her husband and children. WEBSITE
