Sally Hepworth's "The Secrets of Midwives"

Sally Hepworth has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the U.K., and Canada, where she worked in event management and Human Resources. She is the author of Love Like The French, published by Random House Germany in February 2014. She lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and two children.

Here Hepworth dreamcasts an adaptation of her new novel, The Secrets of Midwives:

Oooh, this is fun!

Okay, for the role of Neva, the youngest midwife, I think Jennifer Lawrence would be great. Neva uses humor and sarcasm as a shield to intimacy—with everyone, but most especially with her mother, Grace. She keeps herself to herself and the only time she lets her guard down is when she coaches her clients in labor. I also think Scarlett Johansson would do a great job in this role, as would Amy Adams.

Grace, Neva’s mother, is a home-birthing hippie. Fond of flagrant displays of emotion, she drives her conservative daughter crazy. As soon as I started writing this character I started visualizing Susan Sarandon in the role. Goldie Hawn would also be great.

Lastly, there’s Floss, the retired English midwife, who continues to run classes on natural birthing at the local community center and dole out sage advice to her daughter and granddaughter. For this part, if Judi Dench wasn’t available, the shooting of the film simply couldn’t go ahead.

Visit Sally Hepworth's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: The Secrets of Midwives.

--Marshal Zeringue