The Wild-Bird Child: A Life of Amy Carmichael

By: Derick Bingham

Narrated by: Ellery Truesdell

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

She has become a legend.

Brilliant, personable, and passionate, she is arguably the most gifted of all Irish woman writers of Christian literature.

During the time of the Raj in India, Amy Carmichael discovered a custom of the time in which children were "married to gods" and so introduced to a life of prostitution. With a mixture of courage and heartbreak, she began to uncover the facts, sometimes under disguise, for the government. After independence, the Indian government courageously prohibited the practice by law. Against difficult circumstances, Amy and her colleagues provided a safe home for these children against awesomely difficult circumstances at Dohnavur in South India.

Until her death in 1951, she devoted 50 years of her life to rescuing babies and children from dangerous backgrounds in India.

Amy, a Christian missionary, social reformer, and writer of 35 books, once described herself as a "Wild-bird child and in no wise tame": Her life proved her observation to be hauntingly accurate. Millions of people have been influenced by her life and writing.

For this biography, the first by anyone from her home County, Derick Bingham carefully researched Amy Carmichael’s original letters now placed by the Dohnavur Fellowship and Miss Margaret Wilkinson in the Northern Ireland Public Records Office.

As Bingham tried to uncover the heart and conscience of this extraordinarily self-effacing legend, he is on record as saying that it proved to be one of the greatest spiritual experiences of his life, and in this biography, listeners will find spiritual gold.

©2019 Emerald House Group, Incorporated (P)2020 Emerald House Group, Incorporated

Needs a good editor but still worthwhile

While this biography contains much that is good, it desperately needs a good editor. The author includes much content on historical events and other historical figures that really have nothing to do with Amy Carmichael. Also, I would have enjoyed more stories of how Amy rescued individual children, her campaign to work with authorities to change the practice of dedicating young girls to the gods, etc. A lot of the narrative feels general—like we are looking at Amy’s life from a distance. However, the author clearly has thoroughly researched Amy Carmichael’s life. He includes a wealth of quotations from Amy’s own wonderful letters, articles, poems, and books. In my opinion, this book is worth listening to if only for this content.