Aibala. The Story of a Midwife

From the author of “Salihat,” a novel laureate of the national literary award “Manuscript of the Year.”

1986. Dagestan. A mountain village. Aibala is the third of four daughters of the local midwife. She is not beautiful, and she is sure she will never marry. Aibala helps her mother—she knows more than just delivering babies; she also eases women’s pain. Her calling is to be a midwife in her village, but Aibala wants to study further, to learn obstetrics.

Running away from home, she will take a difficult path—from a nurse in a rehabilitation center for pregnant women affected by the Chernobyl accident, to a student at a medical school and then a qualified midwife. But the circle of fate will twist in an intricate way, and Aibala will return to her native village to find not only the long-awaited profession, but also personal happiness.