The Poisonwood Bible

In 1959, the bad-tempered missionary Nathan Price leaves Georgia with his family “to bring salvation to the darkness” of Africa. Though rejected by the Baptist missionary board for lack of psychological fitness, he defies them, moving his wife and four daughters unsupported to the jungle to save the “savage” citizens of Belgian Congo.  Set against Congo’s fight for independence, the story is narrated in turn by Nathan’s wife and four daughters. It spans 3 decades and follows the family’s falling apart and coming back together.  It’s wonderfully written. The subtle transformation of the mono-cultural daughters into culturally-blended TCKs is illustrated deftly.  TCKs from that part of the world will delight in the vivid descriptions of life in Congo – some poignant, some laugh-out-loud funny.  That said, it is a story of pain and loss that paints an extremely bitter picture of Missions, and that may make it difficult for some MKs to appreciate.  The author is a TCK (but not an MK) who lived in Congo in this era.