content: I was disappointed in this book. I am searching for a book that is equally as awesome as 'A Virtuous Woman', but it looks like Kaye Gibbons isn't going to give it to us. In this book the women are survivors because they have to be. I was disappointed in the cold, compassionless character of Charlie Kate. Her character shined through her words and actions: beneath that arrogant surface lay a very insecure, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and angry person. I can understand why she didn't have a man: who would want her? Her hatred of men, I think, was more of a jealousy. She had no compassion, so she tried to make up for it in her 'intelligence' and 'literacy'. She tried to hide behind those midwife skills. Although the book was long, it was shallow and I expected a deeper plot.