by Balsam 4 Replies latest social humour
Hi all,
You've got to get this book called "I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing......by Kyria Abrahams had my son and I laughing right from the first pages. Its a wonderfully funny book about the struggles of a kid raised in a cult mentality of Jehovah's Witnesses. Her humor is just great and we love it.
Ruth
Balsam,
My adult daughter bought this book and read it straight through. She related excerpts to members of our family and had so many requests to borrow the book that she resorted to writing individual names down inside the front cover. As each family member gets the book and reads it that person then marks their name off and gets it to the next person on the reading list. I'm next.
To each their own, I really hated the book. I didn't find her humor that funny, more so because every joke I'm pretty sure I heard at some point on VH1's I Love the 80's. I also feel her falling into EVERY SINGLE stereotype that JWs have about what Ex-JWs do once they leave is harmful. Here is my opinion on the book found on this thread...\
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/176397/1/Im-Perfect-Youre-Doomed-discussion
I have only read the first few chapters so far, but I think it's really funny
[inkling]
I've read it. Some parts are funny. Much, though, is sad. However, it shows a reality to some degree or another for JW youth. Kids trying to figure their place within the Society and combine that fitting into the real culture that surrounds them (it's hard enough for youth today to adapt into just our culture and regular life). School through high school is encouraged by the Society, but sets up JW kids to not be happy there at school. They are taught that everything in the culture is bad to be destroyed soon, the kids at school are worldly, holidays worldly,everything is such a big issue of evil, evil, evil. It is overwhelming for children and they can't hardly have friends there. Quitting school is considered by many of them.
Most kids cannot handle it too well, and then especially if their parents don't do it very well either. Then, so many young people get married too young. Many are ill-equipped for marriage, expenses, etc. The divorce rate is at least as much as the national average. Then, if they cannot live up to the demand of JW life, depression causes many to give in to the overload and trouble sets in and they may begin to condemn themselves. Then, as they have been taught all their life if they don't keep up accordingly to the JW program, they think they become doomed also. Thus, the Society, I believe, sets up these kids, immature, to head to negative thinking and then to negative lifestyles.
It sounds like Kyria has grown and has found her true self better for her talents and fulfillment, without family or any friends of the past. I wish her the best.
