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To A Different Drum
Librarian note: An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
June 27, 2023
Struggling to put into words how I feel about this book. It genuinely changed me. The autobiographical view of Pauline was hilarious, real, and filled with awe. I literally couldn’t put it down but never wanted it to be over.
I loved this part at the end as she returned from over half of her life spent overseas
“I am committed to serve him wherever and however he wills. It is a commitment that has nothing to do with my convenience. It is a life sentence so to speak. It is a commitment not given begrudgingly but with joy. I am his, and he is my sovereign lord.”
I loved this part at the end as she returned from over half of her life spent overseas
“I am committed to serve him wherever and however he wills. It is a commitment that has nothing to do with my convenience. It is a life sentence so to speak. It is a commitment not given begrudgingly but with joy. I am his, and he is my sovereign lord.”
January 7, 2024
Totally inspiring book that I recommend every believer read. I hadn’t heard of this missionary and her story and trust in the Lord through many challenges is really both challenging and inspiring. It’s well written and easy to read too.
October 9, 2023
This was such a good biography especially the last half. Her testimonies of God’s faithfulness were incredible! I especially loved the story of God’s provision to her that starts on page 200. Then book from that point on just got better and better.
June 22, 2025
To be honest, I’ve been reading so many autobiographies, so stories of provision and turnarounds are rather ordinary for me.
It was sort of hard to read in the beginning and it felt more like listing of all life stages, but it got more “storytelling” towards the end.
Was still worth reading. I’m glad Brother Andy handed me the copy!
It was sort of hard to read in the beginning and it felt more like listing of all life stages, but it got more “storytelling” towards the end.
Was still worth reading. I’m glad Brother Andy handed me the copy!
October 19, 2023
Another challenging biography, this time of the “world’s biggest scaredy cat - Pauline Hamilton. A remarkable story of brokenness and the difference Jesus makes in Pauline’s life and in many others.
April 11, 2025
First autobiography- LOVED!
May 18, 2024
She meant to end her life in a car, aged only 23. God would finally bring her life peacefully to an end in a car some 55 years later. In between he had many good plans for her.
This is the remarkable, hard-to-put-down autobiography of a drug dependent college dropout who was transformed into an academic success, college lecturer and missionary. Pauline Hamilton (1915-1988) went on to spend 30 years as a missionary in the Far East, with a powerful testimony of God’s leading, provision and gracious working—a cross between a Gladys Aylward and a David Wilkerson.
Brought up by Christian parents, the bumptious youngest of five, Pauline shut the door on God when she was nine. Urged to put her trust in Jesus, she asked if a person she disliked would be in heaven. Hearing that she probably would be, Pauline said she definitely did not want to go there. A series of blunders and blows led her, fourteen years later, to hurtle determinedly towards taking her life.
After two years at medical school, she was told she had TB and needed to take a year out from her studies. Her boyfriend’s response was to say that they should break up because she was “as good as dead”. A few weeks later he eloped with her best friend. Then a second letter from the medical school told her she was expelled for bad behaviour, in which drugs and alcohol had played a part.
As she rushed towards her hoped-for oblivion, God stopped her in her tracks. Overwhelmed with a sense of God’s care, she gave her life to him there and then. What, she soon wondered, had God saved her for? What was she to do with her life? After completing a physiology course in another university followed by a PhD, she became a college professor.
Three years on, she was beginning to take an interest in China and Chinese people. Then she was invited, out of the blue, to take up a teaching post at a Chinese university. She turned it down, thinking that if she went to China it would be to take the gospel to the Chinese, not academic learning.
Her first contact with the CIM (China Inland Mission, later Overseas Missionary Fellowship) was when she spilled hot coffee all over the Home Director at a US Keswick conference. Her subsequent application to the CIM was rejected on the grounds of her age (over 30), health record, academic over-qualification and lack of Bible training. Even Gladys Aylward would struggle to trump that!
The rejection made Pauline all the more convinced that God wanted her in China. She sent a stinging letter back to CIM, refuting point by point their reasons for turning her down and pleading for a physical examination to prove her health. Despite being examined by a doctor whose records said that she was dead, Pauline was found to be in good health and fully recovered from the calcification that had threatened to cripple her, or worse.
In the autumn of 1946, Pauline entered the CIM training home in Philadelphia and sailed for China in January 1947. (My personal interest kicks in at this point, as my mother sailed for China from the UK just three months before and must have been in the CIM language school at Anqing at the same time as Pauline.) Language study was a real struggle, along with the surprise and even mockery that it brought. How could a college professor with a PhD be such a poor language student? What would her students in the USA think of her having to write out corrections ten times?
One thing Pauline had to learn several times over during her missionary service was that God’s plans are often different from ours and that there is no point in fighting them. She was devastated when told at the end of her language course that she was to teach as a one-term stand-in at Chefoo, the mission’s school for its workers’ children. She had gone to China to take the gospel to the Chinese, not to teach science to missionaries’ children! She was more devastated on arrival to find out that the school had no science equipment, no laboratory and no science text books!
Pauline is refreshingly honest about the difficulties that arose between her and other missionary workers and helpfully describes how they were worked through and resolved. A forthright telling off by Miss Broomhall (an English member of staff), followed by Pauline giving back quite strong criticism of the way she had been treated, helped to clear the air. Pauline speaks of her own failings and spiritual stumblings in a disarming and encouraging way. Missionaries are not perfect Christians and the strains of missionary life can magnify character flaws that might have gone undetected at home.
Further disappointment came when Pauline was asked to stay at Chefoo for a whole year, not just a term—and then for another year. At the end of two years, the headmaster, Stanley Houghton, tried to persuade her to stay on. After prayerfully considering it, she told him plainly that she would not. She had come to China for the Chinese and to the Chinese she would go. Though willing to submit to God’s clear leading, that did not mean always doing what other Christians wanted her to do. She was a strong-minded woman who could not be cowed.
In God’s providence the door for missionary work in China was already closing. Pauline was to find her life’s work among the Chinese on the island of Taiwan. There she became heavily involved in student work and then in ministry to young men who were in prison and to gangs of delinquents on the streets, once even being called to prevent a gang fight that was about to break out. How she secured the trust and love of these young men, and went on to see many converted, is a heart-warming reminder of the power of God’s grace.
Pauline’s many stories of how her needs were met and intractable difficulties were resolved are a reminder of God’s faithful provision for all who put their hand to the plough of serving him. These stories are told with a touch of self-deprecation and no hint of triumphalism. You are left with the thought that if Pauline could trust God to guide and provide for her in such miraculous ways, then so can you.
Aged only twenty-three, Pauline had tried to end her life in a car. Fifty-five years later, God called her home while she was riding in a car, fully ten years after she had been given only weeks to live with a cancer diagnosis. Much of those last ten years was spent back in the USA, writing this account of God’s dealings with her and then speaking to students and Christian groups. She summed up her life with the headings of a sermon she heard in Pennsylvania: He never let me go, He never let me down, He never let me off.
This book will surely leave you with a desire to serve and trust God, and to see him at work in your life, just as Pauline Hamilton did.
This is the remarkable, hard-to-put-down autobiography of a drug dependent college dropout who was transformed into an academic success, college lecturer and missionary. Pauline Hamilton (1915-1988) went on to spend 30 years as a missionary in the Far East, with a powerful testimony of God’s leading, provision and gracious working—a cross between a Gladys Aylward and a David Wilkerson.
Brought up by Christian parents, the bumptious youngest of five, Pauline shut the door on God when she was nine. Urged to put her trust in Jesus, she asked if a person she disliked would be in heaven. Hearing that she probably would be, Pauline said she definitely did not want to go there. A series of blunders and blows led her, fourteen years later, to hurtle determinedly towards taking her life.
After two years at medical school, she was told she had TB and needed to take a year out from her studies. Her boyfriend’s response was to say that they should break up because she was “as good as dead”. A few weeks later he eloped with her best friend. Then a second letter from the medical school told her she was expelled for bad behaviour, in which drugs and alcohol had played a part.
As she rushed towards her hoped-for oblivion, God stopped her in her tracks. Overwhelmed with a sense of God’s care, she gave her life to him there and then. What, she soon wondered, had God saved her for? What was she to do with her life? After completing a physiology course in another university followed by a PhD, she became a college professor.
Three years on, she was beginning to take an interest in China and Chinese people. Then she was invited, out of the blue, to take up a teaching post at a Chinese university. She turned it down, thinking that if she went to China it would be to take the gospel to the Chinese, not academic learning.
Her first contact with the CIM (China Inland Mission, later Overseas Missionary Fellowship) was when she spilled hot coffee all over the Home Director at a US Keswick conference. Her subsequent application to the CIM was rejected on the grounds of her age (over 30), health record, academic over-qualification and lack of Bible training. Even Gladys Aylward would struggle to trump that!
The rejection made Pauline all the more convinced that God wanted her in China. She sent a stinging letter back to CIM, refuting point by point their reasons for turning her down and pleading for a physical examination to prove her health. Despite being examined by a doctor whose records said that she was dead, Pauline was found to be in good health and fully recovered from the calcification that had threatened to cripple her, or worse.
In the autumn of 1946, Pauline entered the CIM training home in Philadelphia and sailed for China in January 1947. (My personal interest kicks in at this point, as my mother sailed for China from the UK just three months before and must have been in the CIM language school at Anqing at the same time as Pauline.) Language study was a real struggle, along with the surprise and even mockery that it brought. How could a college professor with a PhD be such a poor language student? What would her students in the USA think of her having to write out corrections ten times?
One thing Pauline had to learn several times over during her missionary service was that God’s plans are often different from ours and that there is no point in fighting them. She was devastated when told at the end of her language course that she was to teach as a one-term stand-in at Chefoo, the mission’s school for its workers’ children. She had gone to China to take the gospel to the Chinese, not to teach science to missionaries’ children! She was more devastated on arrival to find out that the school had no science equipment, no laboratory and no science text books!
Pauline is refreshingly honest about the difficulties that arose between her and other missionary workers and helpfully describes how they were worked through and resolved. A forthright telling off by Miss Broomhall (an English member of staff), followed by Pauline giving back quite strong criticism of the way she had been treated, helped to clear the air. Pauline speaks of her own failings and spiritual stumblings in a disarming and encouraging way. Missionaries are not perfect Christians and the strains of missionary life can magnify character flaws that might have gone undetected at home.
Further disappointment came when Pauline was asked to stay at Chefoo for a whole year, not just a term—and then for another year. At the end of two years, the headmaster, Stanley Houghton, tried to persuade her to stay on. After prayerfully considering it, she told him plainly that she would not. She had come to China for the Chinese and to the Chinese she would go. Though willing to submit to God’s clear leading, that did not mean always doing what other Christians wanted her to do. She was a strong-minded woman who could not be cowed.
In God’s providence the door for missionary work in China was already closing. Pauline was to find her life’s work among the Chinese on the island of Taiwan. There she became heavily involved in student work and then in ministry to young men who were in prison and to gangs of delinquents on the streets, once even being called to prevent a gang fight that was about to break out. How she secured the trust and love of these young men, and went on to see many converted, is a heart-warming reminder of the power of God’s grace.
Pauline’s many stories of how her needs were met and intractable difficulties were resolved are a reminder of God’s faithful provision for all who put their hand to the plough of serving him. These stories are told with a touch of self-deprecation and no hint of triumphalism. You are left with the thought that if Pauline could trust God to guide and provide for her in such miraculous ways, then so can you.
Aged only twenty-three, Pauline had tried to end her life in a car. Fifty-five years later, God called her home while she was riding in a car, fully ten years after she had been given only weeks to live with a cancer diagnosis. Much of those last ten years was spent back in the USA, writing this account of God’s dealings with her and then speaking to students and Christian groups. She summed up her life with the headings of a sermon she heard in Pennsylvania: He never let me go, He never let me down, He never let me off.
This book will surely leave you with a desire to serve and trust God, and to see him at work in your life, just as Pauline Hamilton did.
September 16, 2024
When Christian missionary Pauline Hamilton was young, she attempted to commit suicide. She got in her car, and drove it towards a cliff, but then...
One of her tyres got a puncture, and the car stalled. Taking this as a sign from God that she shouldn't end it all, she changed her life around and ended up moving to China to share the Gospel with others. In 1968, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given just two months to life, yet miraculously she lived for several more years.
She wrote this book in 1984, several years after her diagnosis, and four years before she passed away.
I really enjoyed reading her memoir about how she converted many people, and the effects she had on peoples' lives, with many stories about how people came to be Christian, a lot of whom had previously persecuted Pauline because of her faith and what she was doing. There are a lot of examples in the book of how a seemingly terrible event turned out good, such as what happened after she had a car accident, and the number of people who turned to God after visiting her in hospital. She even mentions how she rejoiced even in the face of a terminal diagnosis, knowing that she was ready to face God.
This was definitely a challenging read at times; I probably wouldn't have Pauline's boldness to share the Gospel in the face of persecution as much as she did, but it was an encouraging read, and a book where I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next.
One of her tyres got a puncture, and the car stalled. Taking this as a sign from God that she shouldn't end it all, she changed her life around and ended up moving to China to share the Gospel with others. In 1968, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given just two months to life, yet miraculously she lived for several more years.
She wrote this book in 1984, several years after her diagnosis, and four years before she passed away.
I really enjoyed reading her memoir about how she converted many people, and the effects she had on peoples' lives, with many stories about how people came to be Christian, a lot of whom had previously persecuted Pauline because of her faith and what she was doing. There are a lot of examples in the book of how a seemingly terrible event turned out good, such as what happened after she had a car accident, and the number of people who turned to God after visiting her in hospital. She even mentions how she rejoiced even in the face of a terminal diagnosis, knowing that she was ready to face God.
This was definitely a challenging read at times; I probably wouldn't have Pauline's boldness to share the Gospel in the face of persecution as much as she did, but it was an encouraging read, and a book where I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next.
October 2, 2018
After God stops her from taking her own life, Pauline Hamilton is thrust on a journey of a life time: a journey of healing, of learning God's way is best, of building trust, and drawing closer to the Savior. Her path takes her away from family, friends, and dreams, all the way to be a missionary in China and Taiwan. Many a miracle is found in this beautiful autobiography as God works through Pauline to reach the hearts of delinquent boys.
Wonder if God's still working today? Unsure if miracles are real? This is the book for you! Want to see our God's greatness or draw closer to Him? This is the book for you!
To a Different Drum is filled with the struggles of real life and the power of our God to overcome those struggles.
Wonder if God's still working today? Unsure if miracles are real? This is the book for you! Want to see our God's greatness or draw closer to Him? This is the book for you!
To a Different Drum is filled with the struggles of real life and the power of our God to overcome those struggles.
August 25, 2023
Story of Pauline Hamilton. Missionary in China and Taiwan in 1950s/1960s.
Amazing descriptions of God’s faithfulness and guidance. She was a woman of prayer and God answered her prayers.
Early on she was sent to teach in a school and I really struggled to understand how that was something she fought against and definitely didn’t want to do.
Many examples of God’s provision of the money needed. Exactly the right amounts at the right times.
Struck by her ‘mantra’ from Psalm 37: Trust. Commit. Rest.
A real challenge to learn more prayerfulness.
God may not call everyone to serve him in those kinds of ways but he still calls everyone to serve!
Amazing descriptions of God’s faithfulness and guidance. She was a woman of prayer and God answered her prayers.
Early on she was sent to teach in a school and I really struggled to understand how that was something she fought against and definitely didn’t want to do.
Many examples of God’s provision of the money needed. Exactly the right amounts at the right times.
Struck by her ‘mantra’ from Psalm 37: Trust. Commit. Rest.
A real challenge to learn more prayerfulness.
God may not call everyone to serve him in those kinds of ways but he still calls everyone to serve!
June 10, 2025
Biographies of faithful missionaries and servants of Christ are always impactful and remind me of just how great my God is- now and forever. Pauline’s story of her life left a deep impact on my heart as I am reminded how God cares for his people and how He is mighty to save! Faithful, daily obedience is precious in God’s sight and Pauline’s life was a record of just that. She was consistent to share her failures and lack of trust as well and what God taught her through them.
I finished this book not thinking of Pauline as a great, but realizing even more how great is our God. I am challenged and strengthen in my faith because of reading the story of Pauline Hamilton.
I finished this book not thinking of Pauline as a great, but realizing even more how great is our God. I am challenged and strengthen in my faith because of reading the story of Pauline Hamilton.
July 3, 2018
One of the best missionary biographies I've read.
Pauline was thrown out of medical school, diagnosed with TB and her fiance said, "You're as good as dead."
She jumped in her car to drive over a cliff and end it all. This is the story of what happened next and where God took her (to China and Taiwan).
This book is suitable for anyone who loves an easy read, full of humour and adventures. I used to give it to my teenage friends when I was in high-school. Males and females loved it.
Only wish she'd written more than one book.
Pauline was thrown out of medical school, diagnosed with TB and her fiance said, "You're as good as dead."
She jumped in her car to drive over a cliff and end it all. This is the story of what happened next and where God took her (to China and Taiwan).
This book is suitable for anyone who loves an easy read, full of humour and adventures. I used to give it to my teenage friends when I was in high-school. Males and females loved it.
Only wish she'd written more than one book.
June 11, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It is the author’s account of how God intervened during a suicide attempt, and turned her life around. She then went on to dedicate her life to serving Him as a missionary in China.
The book is full of examples of how God provided for her and protected her through some difficult and challenging experiences. I would have liked a bit more detail about her life before she became a Christian (the cover suggests perhaps a bit more than than the book provides) however it does not detract from the powerful testimony of the book. Highly recommend.
The book is full of examples of how God provided for her and protected her through some difficult and challenging experiences. I would have liked a bit more detail about her life before she became a Christian (the cover suggests perhaps a bit more than than the book provides) however it does not detract from the powerful testimony of the book. Highly recommend.
May 28, 2024
An autobiography of Pauline Hamilton, and American Missionary to China.
At first, I wasn't sure how good this would be. The writing at times felt almost juvenile, but her story was interesting. About midway through I really started to enjoy it, and by the end, I kept wanting to read more.
I was particularly encouraged by her prayer life and trust in the Lord. It was inspiring yet also refreshing. A timely read for me, and by the end was glad to have read it. If you're looking for something to encourage your soul, you'll enjoy this book.
8/10
At first, I wasn't sure how good this would be. The writing at times felt almost juvenile, but her story was interesting. About midway through I really started to enjoy it, and by the end, I kept wanting to read more.
I was particularly encouraged by her prayer life and trust in the Lord. It was inspiring yet also refreshing. A timely read for me, and by the end was glad to have read it. If you're looking for something to encourage your soul, you'll enjoy this book.
8/10
June 11, 2024
If you enjoy missionary stories or memoirs penned by strong-in-their-faith women of God- To a Different Drum is a must read!
Pauline Hamilton led an extraordinary, inspiring life. As a young person, she was thrown out of medical school with a devastating diagnosis of TB. Her relationship with her fiancé ended and Pauline was left reeling and depressed. This along with her many addictions, led her to jump in her car to drive off a cliff — BUT GOD.
As God sometimes does, He intervened in this attempt to end her life and breathed new life into Pauline. Following her conversion, Pauline’s life is never the same again. Eventually, Pauline traveled to China and would serve there in missions for almost 30 years.
This book was so enjoyable! Pauline is down to earth, tells her story in a very sincere and straight forward kind of way and really— the stories she shares are nothing short of amazing! Pauline recounts many miracles, times of difficulty and/or grief, and times when God went above and beyond. God’s plans for Pauline far exceeded her own! This is an easy-to-read book, filled with one woman’s humor and lessons learned as she faithfully walked with God.
No doubt reading this book will leave you inspired and challenged in your own walk with the Lord.
I wholeheartedly recommend this for women, men or teens.
Pauline Hamilton led an extraordinary, inspiring life. As a young person, she was thrown out of medical school with a devastating diagnosis of TB. Her relationship with her fiancé ended and Pauline was left reeling and depressed. This along with her many addictions, led her to jump in her car to drive off a cliff — BUT GOD.
As God sometimes does, He intervened in this attempt to end her life and breathed new life into Pauline. Following her conversion, Pauline’s life is never the same again. Eventually, Pauline traveled to China and would serve there in missions for almost 30 years.
This book was so enjoyable! Pauline is down to earth, tells her story in a very sincere and straight forward kind of way and really— the stories she shares are nothing short of amazing! Pauline recounts many miracles, times of difficulty and/or grief, and times when God went above and beyond. God’s plans for Pauline far exceeded her own! This is an easy-to-read book, filled with one woman’s humor and lessons learned as she faithfully walked with God.
No doubt reading this book will leave you inspired and challenged in your own walk with the Lord.
I wholeheartedly recommend this for women, men or teens.
June 15, 2023
Such a remarkable story of God's sustaining work in Pauline's life through decades of overseas ministry, illness, and various trials. It was especially fun to read about a female academic going on the mission field and how the Lord used her education to open doors for the gospel. I laughed out loud and wept as I read this book. It's one of my favorite reads of the year so far!
December 10, 2023
One of my favourite books I have read to date! This book about Pauline's story of how she remained faithful and how the Lord brought her through so many journeys and moments that she never would've imagined herself on/ it has encouraged me in really holding things loosely and that seeing what Romans 8:28 looks like in the perspective of someone elses life! Would highly recommend this book.
March 7, 2024
I finished it but only because I was on vacation and had no access to other books. The biography was a series of testimonies with cliche phrases and out of context verses rather than an inside view of the wisdom and obedience of a follower of Christ. Though I'm certain Pauline Hamilton's life with Christ was rich, the story lacked beauty.
August 27, 2024
It was an interesting read. I’ve never read an autobiography of a missionary. Seeing the ways in which God provided for her over decades was neat. However, it was hard to connect from an emotional standpoint. She didn’t elaborate on the struggles and doubts, the parts that made her human. I am interested in hearing about my friends’ experience of her story who were also reading this book.
February 14, 2025
My teenage son and I have read this book together and what a delightful experience. I've laughed and cried reading this book. As the daughter of a missionary, my heart relates to Pauline's journey in a different way. What I love is the beautiful reminder that its all about living for the Lord regardless of where we are. I hope my faith and trust in Him can be as steadfast as Pauline's was.
July 1, 2025
What an inspiring role model to read about! The way she trusted in the Lord is extremely encouraging…and even more encouraging is the way God comes through on his promises every time. Even if you might not (yet) be called to the mission field, I strongly recommend reading about Pauline’s amazing ministries in China and Taiwan.
June 12, 2021
Dr Hamilton's honest (so it seems) telling of her life as a missionary in China is inspiring and humbling, and motivating. Following God is not easy, but it is good.
In the book, she comes across as so REAL. I'd love to see the Bible study notes that she penned (in Chinese).
In the book, she comes across as so REAL. I'd love to see the Bible study notes that she penned (in Chinese).
April 25, 2022
This book is another OMF biography that hit differently. This story of Pauline Hamilton shows that God often works in ways we don't expect. One of the things that I admire most about Pauline is how hospitable and generous she was towards people. Even when she had so little left, she still gave everything she had, knowing that He would provide for her.
February 4, 2024
What an awe inspiring biography! There were pages that caused me to gasp, laugh out loud, and some that even brought me close to tears. God's hand is mightily shown in Pauline's life from beginning to end.
March 19, 2024
I cannot recommend this book enough! Pauline's story of faith and prayer though her very real and challenging life is insane. I will be rereading this many times. Such a bolster to my own faith and all glory to the Lord. He does amazing things and is so good and so faithful!
May 4, 2025
I found the first half hokey, overly sentimental, and not particularly compelling. But when the author starts working with the troubled youth I found her ministry and testimony of God’s work to be inspiring. So the second half made up for the first.
December 25, 2025
Easy to read - full of dramatic stories. I grew up in the 70s and 80s reading missionary biographies like this one. She is very impressive - at times too dualistic (but a product of her times) - a little too excited by compound interest!!
January 21, 2021
My husband picked this up on his last thrift store run. I really like missionary stories, they are generally very encouraging. This one definitely was!
July 25, 2022
Amazing.
August 2, 2022
Nice to finally read the rest of the story about "Granny Han."
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews