I have a reading scheduled on May 15th in Atlanta, GA. It is a new restaurant called the Lamplighter Cafe. As an exjw, my book is about the experiences me and my friend faced gowing up in the religion and trying to be normal adults. My book is called 'The Colon Chronicles'. My avatar is the cover. For a description of the book you can go to the publishers website: www.junetwentyninthpublishing.com or go to here: http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Benton-Fazzolari-Watchtower-Jehovahs-Witness/dp/0615194370/ref=tag_stp_st_edpp_ttl
If you are interested in coming to the book reading, please let me know. I can give you directions and so forth. Again, it is in downtown Atlanta. Here is a link to the location: http://www.junetwentyninthpublishing.com/629promotionalevents.html
Also, here is an excerpt from my book. A large part of the content of my book is humor. Although living through the ordeal of surviving those truly uncomfortable social situations as a jw was painful. Humor can found during the reprogramming of the mind. Enjoy:
Here is an except which shows a JW character getting that visit of encouragement from the elders: Fisher's glowing explanation was interrupted by a knock on the door.Two Alfred Hitchcockesque silhouettes stood outside holding brief cases.Rich's eyes opened, he wiped drool off his mouth and felt frightened.His fear was confirmed when Fisher completely abandoned his treatise entitled, "Of Gravity Bong" and shouted to Rich, "Rich, Rich, it's a couple of old guys from your church."
"Ahhhhh.What do they look like?"
"They're both obese and bald.One has some severe razor burn and the other has a clip on tie.It looks like the slightly fatter guy hasn't shined his shoes in a decade."
"Shit."The unkempt shoes gave it away. Brother Michael Beagley was visiting with "encouragement" and at that moment it started to rain.
Fisher did what he knew would really perturb Rich.He let the obese churchmen inside.Immediately, Brother Beagely's large enflamed nostrils contracted with condescending energy.Then he glanced quickly to the other fat man, Brother Collar, and nodded with his dangling chin flapping one step behind.A whisper could be heard, "Smells like grass."
"Hi there Fisher, is Richard available?"
Fisher had a choice and of course chose the thing that would most upset Rich."Yes, I'll get him."He walked down the short hall, opened the bedroom door and stepped with one bare foot onto some tweezers covered in cat excrement.Fisher recognized it as Blinky's shit."Rich, your church elders are here to encourage you."Rich stumbled from the bed and walked to the living room.
"Hello, Brother Stadium," said Brother Beagley, "this is Brother Collar.Brother Collar, this is Brother Richard Stadium.We were in the neighborhood visiting Brother Chuck Knox, so we thought we'd stop by and talk for ten minutes.Can we have a seat?"
"Sure" said Rich.
"Brother Stadium, it seems like you've been toting the line lately with your conduct, association, and attitude in general.Do you realize that bad association spoils useful habits?In fact, let's look at that scripture, shall we?"
Rich walked into his bedroom, head down, and searched intensely for his bible.It was an early nineteen seventies green edition with his name etched in pseudo gold leaf on the bottom left hand corner.It was a gift from a Ugandan church member twenty-three years his elder and ten years earlier.They read the scripture together.Just behind the skin of his forehead his skull trembled insanely.He thought he could feel the fixed joint separating like the crusts of land under ocean waters.He could sense the tendons in his knees aging rapidly.
"It seems that you're missing several of our church meetings.I noticed that you've missed twenty three of the last thirty one meetings, most of which are on Thursday night, can you explain yourself?"
"I've been busy."
"Too busy for the lord."
"Well, I've been under stress from…"
"If you come to the meetings then that stress will disappear."
"But you don't understand, the church meetings give me stress."
"WHAT! That's crazy.The church is a place of refuge from this evil and corrupt world."
"My parents…"
"Listen, we could all blame our parents.My parents were Catholic, now what could be worse than that?"Brother Collar piped in, "Did your parents ever force you to speak in tongues?"
"No, but…"
"Your parents raised you the right way.Read this, it says, 'Do not forsake the gathering of yourselves for to incite to fine works.'Do you know what incite means?It means to sharpen.I sharpen you, you sharpen me."
As much as Rich wanted to rejoice in that reciprocal formula and as much as he admired the behemoth eloquence spraying from the church elder's mouth, he couldn't agree.His central nervous system wouldn't let him; neither would his colon.But he did comply.
"I will be at the next meeting."
"Well, that's just fine Brother Stadium."
Rich thought the visit was over and was about to thank the churchmen and walk them to their cars, much like the conclusion of an average nineteen fifties date, but it wasn't over.