Surfers Paradise 
A former Gold Coast gym owner and aerobics instructor who endured a debilitating back injury credits orangutans with saving her life.
Sue Feenstra had dedicated her life to attaining and promoting health and fitness until she sustained a back injury so serious that she was told she would remain bedridden for an undetermined length of time, possibly indefinitely.
With the only hope of recovery a complicated back surgery, Sue faced a difficult road ahead. Instead of giving up, Sue let her mind wander through the forests of Borneo and wrote the 38,000 word work of fiction “Pongo – Hands Through The Forest” entirely on her iPhone.
Born in the “Year of the Monkey” and having always felt an affinity for our primate cousins, Sue has had the plight of the orangutans in the back of her mind for many years. She is genuinely perplexed as to why nobody has really delved into their world via a literary platform before now.
“They are such a gentle species,” said Sue.
“People have written stories featuring all kinds of animals, and I was waiting for someone to write one about orangutans, but it just never happened.
“This is a story that was waiting to be told.”
Aimed at readers of all ages and set for release in June this year, Pongo is a fictional tale about a young orangutan named Pongo who enlightens the reader of the plight of deforestation threatening his species.
A story set to educate and inspire those setting off on their own journeys into high school and beyond, Pongo encourages conservation and protection of our precious planet.
Teaming with the Orangutan Foundation International Australia and its founder Kobe Steele, an inspiration and advocate herself, Sue has pledged 15% of all book sales to go directly toward bringing the orangutan back from the brink of extinction before it’s too late, and with the recent loss of Sudan, the last male white rhino in existence, this message of conservation could not come soon enough.
Sue does not see herself as an activist or a conservationist; but an advocate. She genuinely wants to start a movement, and used what could have been the end of everything to kickstart a new beginning.
Living proof that any situation can be turned into a positive with the right attitude, Sue believes that as we are the caretakers of the world, we must come together to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
This is a sentiment shared by many, with even Her Majesty The Queen getting in on the act. In her recent ITV documentary with David Attenborough entitled “The Queen’s Green Planet”, Queen Elizabeth II expresses her love of the environment, and how she hopes that many generations to come will still be able to enjoy the flora and fauna of today.
Pongo – Hands Through The Forest can be pre-ordered now, with copies being shipped on the launch date of 5th of June, 2018 to co-incide with World Environment Day!
For more information about Pongo – Hands Through The Forest, or to pre-order, please visit: https://www.hellopongo.com.
