“Aliisa’s Letter” by Carol Van Der Woude A REVIEW

About Aliisa's Letter
Karin began her career as a nurse in Chicago. She was gaining skills and becoming comfortable with all the technology associated with childbirth. When her room-mate becomes ill and dies from mysterious causes, Karin's plan for a successful life in Chicago falls in disarray.
One hundred years earlier Karin's great-grandmother came to Michigan as an immigrant from Finland. When Aliisa arrived in Calumet, the town was booming with wealth generated by the copper mines. Aliisa found a job as a maid in the house of a wealthy merchant. She dreamed of having her own home in town one day. But the copper miner's strike and mine conditions have an impact on her future. Aliisa's dream is dashed.
Despite the years separating the two women, Aliisa has a message of hope for Karin.



Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Pleasant Word-A Division of WinePress Publishing (June 15, 2010) Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414115318
ISBN-13: 978-1414115313
Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces

About the author

Carol is the descendant of Finnish copper miners and resilient Finnish women that immigrated to Northern Michigan. She has spent many summers vacationing in the Keweenaw Peninsula and has explored the rich history of the area. Hiking through wilderness that is bordered by Lake Superior, she enjoys berry-picking. She finds refreshment walking along the beach of Lake Superior listening to the waves roll in.
Carol enjoys gardening, preparing meals, and making pies and jam. She has been married to Dan for 32 years and they have three children. The arrival of grandchildren has motivated her to renew knitting projects.
Carol graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in nursing. She has worked in labor/delivery units in Michigan and Illinois. For many years she taught Lamaze classes. She is grateful for the experience of attending homebirths with a physician practice.
Carol’s experiences as a nurse have given her the opportunity to witness God’s marvelous design for childbirth. A woman’s intricate hormonal system, her response to pain, and the physics of infant rotation and descent, are part of the process. In the best situations, health care supports birth as it unfolds. She feels fortunate to have had the experience of assisting birth in the home setting.

MY REVIEW
“Aliisa’s Letter” by Carol Van Der Woude is a wonderful story. It takes place in two parts of the US. Chicago and In the U.P. , Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I’m quite familiar with the U.P. because I’ve lived in parts of it and travel through it every summer. So this book talked a lot of places that I’m familiar with.
Karin, a nurse in Chicago starts off with having to go to two funerals. Her grandmother that she didn’t know and her roommate. Both of these funerals send her on a journey of discovery trying to find out how her grandmother lived and how her roommate died. It is very interesting how these two stories come together to make one story.
Different parts of this book tells about different ways to give birth. Hospital setting to home setting, different complications and benefits. This book also talks about abortion and some effects it can have on women.
Karin goes to the U.P. to attend a friend’s wedding and also finds out her grandmother was also a resident of the U.P. She has the opportunity to visit the U.P. several times and sees how different hospitals and doctors offices work.
I love babies and birthing and was quite taken with this story. You get many views about what is best for mother and baby and see how things turn out if you rely on your own strength and not on the Lord.
This is a really sweet book that I would recommend. It opens your eyes to many different ways to live life.


http://www.carolvanderwoude.com/index.htm

http://carolvanderwoude.authorweblog.com



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Thank you to Wine Press for providing this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255