Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali

The mud bricks used to repair the birthing house symbolize what a community can achieve when it works together. The updates to the birthing house are Holloway’s idea, and she and John secure the funding for the project. However, they are frustrated by the men of the village who refuse to do the work without compensation.

The day the work begins, light rains fall, and Holloway fears no one will show up to work. However, the men appear ready to work, declaring that wet mud bricks are best for building a foundation. The mud bricks symbolize the community coming together to create a building that will preserve future generations.

Before he leaves for the Liberian front, Pascal gives Monique his ring, which is engraved with his initials. Monique says she will never take the ring off; it symbolizes their love for each other, a love that can never be realized because of their arranged marriages.

After the Malian coup d’état, Monique loses Pascal’s ring, which foreshadows the tragedy that follows. Weeks later, Monique hears Pascal’s name on the radio listed as having been killed in a border skirmish. The loss of the ring symbolizes the bitter truth of her life: She will never be with the man she loves.

The motif of death recurs throughout the book, underlying every day at Monique’s clinic. Malian women have one of the highest fertility rates in Africa, and that statistic is paired with a maternity mortality rate that ranks among the top 10 in the world. Death stalks the villagers and especially haunts the women and children of Nampossela.

Mortality rears its head toward the end of the book to claim Monique, who ironically dies during childbirth. Her death, caused by illness and an inept hospital staff, demonstrates the danger of mortality in Mali.