Library Book Club to Discuss “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon”: Monday, October 19th
The Library Book Club
will meet on Monday, October 19th, at 10:00 a.m. in room F145 (located
on the 1st floor of the Sheldon Family Life Center) to discuss the
month’s book choice, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.
The Frozen River
is a gripping historical mystery based on the real-life diary entries
of Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife who found herself at the
center of a murder trial. Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes,
entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the
body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy
to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a
record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the
close-knit community.
Clever,
layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an
unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a
time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River
is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who
left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.