Dr. Ida: Passing on the Torch of Life

by Dorothy C. Wilson

Book by Dorothy Wilson

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Christian

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1976

Reviews

[Tom James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a woman who was of the third generation of missionaries to India who had no intention of becoming a missionary. She was determined to live in America and live a life of her own choosing. However, when her mother fell ill and needed care, the young woman returned to India, temporarily, to look after her while her father, Dr. John Scudder tended his patients. One evening, three visitors came seeking medical help for the women in their households, not from Dr. John, but from his daughter, Ida. She had to make it clear to the men that she was not a doctor and could not help them. To her horror, she discovered that custom dictated that Muslim and high caste Hindu women would be left to die rather than have a man (other than their husbands) look upon them. This was India in the 1890s, and there were very few female doctors in the country. Recognizing the desperate need for female doctors in a country that was ruled by centuries-old custom, Ida decided that she needed to return to America, not to stay, but to train to be a medical doctor. She returned in 1900 as Dr. Ida and made her services available. She began a traveling roadside clinic, started a hospital, and founded a women's medical school. The medical school went coed in the 1940s (not without controversy) and continues to this day. The book is well-written, containing factual details of her work and anecdotal accounts while maintaining the readers' interest throughout. Highly recommended.

[Jeshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply adored this book. I don't mean this in reference to the biographing ability of the author, this was average. I mean this with regard to the raw vibrancy by which the life of Dr Ida Scudder is painted is just great. Dorothy Wilson beautifully describes scenes with evoking imagery.
I was hugely inspired by this book, not just in an abstract sense but in the very real sense that hearing about the life of this saint as caused me to question my own life.

[Balint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really inspiring book about an overachiever for Christ and founder of Vellore University hospital.