First Line Fridays #2: “The Midwife of Borneo” by Rogerson & Fox

Welcome to First Line Fridays! First Line Fridays a fun meme hosted by Hoarding Books! The aim of the game? Grab the book closest to you and share the first line!

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Title: The Midwife of Borneo: The True Story of a Geordie Pioneer

Author: Wendy Grey Rogerson and Barbara Fox

Publisher: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

Genre: Christian nonfiction/ Memoir

“As I came out of the trees toward the mountain edge, I saw for the first time the way ahead of me. A wooden bridge crossed the chasm. It had been constructed from a log, about eight inches wide, but unlike most bridges there was neither barrier nor handrail to prevent those using it from toppling over the edge.” –The Midwife of Borneo, Chapter 1

 

During my second year of college, I encountered a serious crisis. Despite the fact that the world was crashing down around me, I was surprisingly calm as I picked up my cell phone and called my mother. Despite the fact that it was almost midnight, my mother answered the phone on the third ring.

“What is it?” She asked, her voice laden with concern, “What’s wrong?”

“Mom,” I said calmly, “I’m quitting college and joining the Peace Corps.”

“You can’t possibly be serious,” she answered. My mother was – quite understandably- not amused.

My mother didn’t let me drop out of college and join the Peace Corps, which was probably all for the best, but I always wondered what it would be like to leave my comfortable western lifestyle and experience life in a foreign country.

That’s why I’m excited to read The Midwife of Borneo. The author didn’t just dream about traveling to distant places to serve God- she as actually willing to go there!

I will also admit that I pick up this book with a bit of trepidation. I’m always leery to see how white authors write about indigenous people.

My father was from the Philippines, so I enjoy reading books that deal with Southeast Asia or the Pacific Islands. Borneo is located near the Philippines and scholars think that a great deal of cultural exchange occurred between the two, especially before the Spanish came to the Philippines.

Due to the fact that I only speak English (and some very broken Spanish) I usually need to read about my people from the perspective of the westerners who have encountered them. it’s uprising how often, even in modern literature, indigenous peoples are described as “wild” or “savage.”

Nevertheless, I’m excited to see what this author has to say about her experiences in Borneo.

 

I received a free digital copy of this book from the Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. Stay tuned for my upcoming full book review about The Midwife of Borneo! 

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Dear Reader, now it’s your turn! What are you reading? Grab the book closest to you and share the first few lines with me in the comments below! After that, click the little blue frog and visit some more participating sites for more FLF fun!