Book Review: The Frozen River
I have a crush on Ephraim Ballard and you will too
Ariel Lawhon's work of historical fiction, The Frozen River, is a stunning tale of community, motherhood, purpose, justice, history, marriage, childbirth, life and death. And it's inspired by true events.
Many of my reader friends raved about it, and when one lent me her copy I ripped through it in a matter of days. Within thirty pages I was all in, feeling a keen relatability to the protagonist, Martha Ballard, when she says, "Like all mothers, I have long since mastered the art of nursing joy at one breast and grief at the other." It brought some comfort to know that this dichotomy is a timeless one, weaving a thread between generations of mothers before me and even those to come.
Martha Ballard was a midwife and mother in post-Revolutionary Maine. And a true hero at that. Unbelievably, hers is a story that almost "vanished from history. If not for her diary and the power of words," Lawhon writes. Martha's heroics include late night winter horseback rides to deliver babies, speaking up for the maligned in her community, working tirelessly to maintain a homestead and raise a gaggle of kids, all while making time to document it in her journal. This is serious girl crush material for me.
However, she's not the only character I was taken with. I developed a crush on her husband, Ephraim Ballard, as well. I mean, a man who regularly quotes Shakespeare ("I would not wish any companion in the world but you" he tells Martha), who encourages her calling to midwifery, who taught her to READ and WRITE in a time when this was not accessible to women, who supports her pursuit of justice, and who is endlessly committed to protecting her body and mind - not to mention what I can only picture is a very strong miller's body. And those eyes...
But I digress.
As much as the story itself was riveting, I was equally drawn into the author's epilogue. It not only gives a whole new meaning to the true impact of Martha Ballard's life and work, but a look inside the author's own journey to creating this necessary novel. And the thread between Martha's diligent journaling, Ariel’s own profession, and my own writing pursuit is not lost on me.
Ariel, the author, came across a story of a midwife with an unmatched record of live births at her own OBGYN appointment fifteen years before this book saw the light of day. She says, "This began a years long process of research and writing and false starts, but I never gave up." Ariel wrote this book during the COVID-19 pandemic, writing at home amongst her four young children. As she says, "I had to do my work right smack dab in the middle of my family life. And that is exactly how Martha Ballard lived and worked for decades." I find this so heartening because what I am aiming to do with Champagne Notes is to record my own life moments amid the chaos of family life. Ariel claims that Martha likely journaled for the same reason I do: "An intense need to re-create her own life."
Martha's most oft-quoted refrain, which you will pick up on in the book, is, "I have been at home." As a mother, this is certainly a refrain I am very familiar with, especially coming off a year of stay-at-home motherhood, and having also worked and mothered through the COVID pandemic. But regardless of profession, pandemic, or time period, hasn't it always been the case for mother's to be at home? The home is where we do our most important work of tending to our families, and it's where our hearts are, no matter what.
The Frozen River is a celebration of a heroic midwife and devoted wife and mother, and a critique of the patriarchal and prejudiced systems that were founded with our country. It is a murder mystery, a love story, a historical account and a medical journal, all in one. Most of all, it is a great reminder that small things matter. Small things like the daily chores of a home, making meals for our children, and asking our partners to watch them when we need it; writing daily reflections, finding moments of intimacy in a busy household, and speaking up when something doesn't sit right or someone is not being heard. Ariel writes, "I hope that you too are astonished by her life. I want the world to remember that small acts, done in love, matter every bit as much as the ones that make the newspaper and the history books."
I hope to move forward in motherhood with a bit more of Martha's spirit, and I'm so grateful to know her story.
