Synopsis:
This book gives an eye--opening account of the day--to--day reality of a fieldworker in the African bush and the trials and triumphs of work with an international aid organization. Sent by Doctors Without Borders to Shamwana, a small remote village deep in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an American nurse--midwife comes to know the extraordinary suffering and equally extraordinary strength of the village's women and their families. Traumatized by a decade of war and famine, the bleak landscape of Shamwana, once teeming with animals and vegetation, had been stripped bare by people desperate to survive. Her letters home each Sunday morning, written to make sense of the overwhelming challenges she was facing, are featured here to provide a loving picture of the people who both inspired and depended on her: Gerardine and Beatrice, the local midwives; Benson, the devoted Congolese physician who worked in conditions unimaginable in other parts of the world; and Mario, the Muslim Unimog driver who accompanied her as she visited villages where children were dying of measles, and invited her into his family. At once heart--wrenching and humorous, joyful and filled with grief, her riveting narratives allow us to encounter the realities of childbirth and survival in a time of war. She expresses her own horror, frustration, and small victories while questioning the limits of human strength, the role of international aid, and the meaning of her place in the world.
Review:
"In "Sunday Morning Shamwana, Linda Robinson describes working conditions unimaginable to me, a physician who had seen the best and worst of emergency wards from Chicago to Boston to Maryland. Struggling with minimal resources to aid the suffering women from Congo as they gave birth and sometimes as they died, she wears her heart on her sleeve as she recounts the highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies of this time as well as her endeavor to redefine herself following a time of personal crisis. Her experiences are laid out with a palpable passion conveying joy, fear, friendship and resolve that seem to reverberate at the end of each chapter. I came away from reading this book echoing the words of an old friend: 'Surely you know the meaning of making it count.'" --Herbert Morse, MD, National Institute of Health"
"The journal format with which Linda Robinson documents her time in the Congo working as a midwife for Doctors Without Borders was compelling and I found myself unable to put [the book] down. As a midwife, I was struck by the remote conditions and the loss of life with which everyone becomes accustomed, but as an American, I could not help being horrified by the lack of food and support. Linda describes well her emotions, the politics, the amazing people, and the community where she lives. She does not shy from being frank and honest about the good and the bad of the experience. She does not glorify the team or herself and constantly questions their 'work.' The stories will amaze you." --Catharine Heffernan, CNM, MSN, past president, American College of Nurse Midwives, Maine Affiliate"
""This book is so rich from so many points of view as "il temoigne and conveys . . . admiration for the Congolese people, for . . . patients and coworkers, for the environment, and even for MSF and their discipline and obsession for the safety of their staff (probably built on their historical experiences in these dangerous settings). Each Sunday morning letter is "un sincere cri du coeur de la semaine and a description of events often so tragic that they desperately and urgently needed to be said. "Merci de l'avoir ecrit pour nous tous." --Robert Gossart, MD"
"I found this to be one of the best books I've ever read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I find myself so envious of [her] trip. I don't know if I would ever have the courage to do something like that by myself and . . . I enjoyed reading about [her] experience. I have been recommending [her] book to all my friends . . . I also enjoyed reading about [her] strong faith and . . . mass experiences. I found myself at the end of the book hoping [she'd] decide to stay another year so that I could keep reading! I'm sad that it's over." --Kristi Losquadro, owner, Saltair Inn, Bar Harbor, Maine"
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