News:
Thai
edition published December
2007
Photos:
Mary's recent trip
to Bangkok
A narrative memoir of Edna Bruner Bulkley's
years in Thailand in the early 1900's
A journey to fabulous legendary Siam Edna Bruner, in 1903 at age 20, impulsively agreed to teach in a missionary girls school in Siam (now Thailand). Within months she left San Francisco for Bangkok. Through her eyes we glimpse this fascinating country and its people: the pageantry of royal celebrations, ceremonies seldom seen by foreigners, encounters with primitive tribes and wild animals. She coped with monsoon rains, troublesome insect pests and bandits amid mission duties and, with her doctor-husband, raised seven children. Five kings reigned during her 34 years there.
Edna Bruner Bulkley 1908"...A personal and vivid account of a picturesque life met
with grace and fortitude."
Frances Nemtin, author, Frank Lloyd Wright - Taliesin"A powerful story of an adventurous woman coping with strange customs in a foreign land. It is an inspiration to all women.
Claire Shapiro, author, Sparrow, a novel
"...enchanting glimpses of the exotic world of Thailand in the early 20th century. This book lends great insight into an ancient culture and a woman who dared to follow her dreams."
M. Cathy Angell, author, My Spirit Flies, a photojournal of women in their power
About the Book
Nearly as daring as young Anna of "The King and I", Edna Bruner Bulkley, barely twenty, took a leap of faith 100 years ago when she exchanged her comfortable life in California for the risks and unknowns of missionary life in Siam (now Thailand), half a world away.
This remarkable woman was the author's mother. Building on a 22-chapter memoir discovered thirty years after her mother's death, Mary Bulkley Stanton incorporated additional material found among her mother's notes, early drafts and letters. She also added recollections she and her siblings had of their childhood in Thailand and at boarding school in southern India. The book is further enriched by the inclusion of over 100 photographs, plus maps and a glossary/index of Siamese words.This book is a testament to the persistence of Mary, Edna's 84-year-old daughter, who spent twelve years bringing the story to publication.
The author and her brother, Dan Bulkley of Phoenix, Oregon were at Wattana Wittaya Academy in Bangkok December 15 - 19, 2007 for the debut of the Thai edition. Their mother, Edna Bruner Bulkley served her first three years at this school in Thailand, 1903 - 1906.
The school now numbers 3000 girls from K-12, mostly as boarding students. A Thai copy of Siam Was Our Home was given to each one. Many graduates have started private schools of their own, patterned after Wattana Wittaya Academy. The Queen of Thailand also requested additional copies.
To purchase the Thai language edition, contact the publisher, SILKROAD AGENCY, Silkroad Publishers Agency Co., Ltd., 32/3 Sukhumvit 31 Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
email: jane@silkroadagency.com
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A popular Thai magazine, DiChan, similar to Oprah magazine, published a serialization bi-monthly of Siam Was Our Home May, 2006 through November, 2007.
