New Book - Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness

by Stacey 7 Replies latest jw friends

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  Stacey

  I posted several months back about a book that I knew of that was being released in 2002. It was written by a women who was in the congregation that I grew up in. She was an elder's wife and I grew up with her daughter who is my age. The book has been published and released and is on bookstore shelves now. It's entitled Awakening of a Jehovahs Witness: Escape from the Watchtower Society by Diane Wilson. She had a booksigning at a bookstore in our local area here (Bay Area, California) and I met again with Diane. She's a great lady and has been through a lot, as have we all. Her book is an autobiography of sorts. It's more a personal story than anything else. I have started reading it, and hope to finish in in the next week or so. I'll give my review soon.

  She's also getting some local press. For those of you who live in the Bay Area, you might want to check out the San Jose Mercury News this Sunday in the Religion section. They are doing a story on her.

  All for now! Sorry I have not been around, I got a new job in January that keeps me very busy and leaves me little time to be on the board. I miss you all and hope you're doing well.

  Stacey
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  ConnieLynn

  I just finished the book; it's pretty good. It's an easy read; I finished it in one weekend. I would say it is pretty accurate, at least compared to my experience.

  What I found most interesting, being raised a JW, is the perspective from someone who became a witness while an adult, then left. I have shared it with my husband, who struggles to understand the JW mentality...I think it will be good for him to read.
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  Fredhall

  Stacey,

  I don't believe it, you are still alive. How are you?
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  dungbeetle

  Yeah, Stacey, have you been getting my emails?

  Sorry I missed your friend's book signing.

  Would you believe my local library already has a copy?
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  dubla

  hey stac! how have you been? ive been really bad with emails again (after we said wed keep up), so once again i havent talked to you forever. anyhow, the book sounds like a good one to check out, there are so many exjw books id like to read and just havent taken the time to do so yet. if you get time drop me a line, and ill try and do the same......take care, hope all is well for you!

  aa
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  Stacey

  Hi Fred. Long time no meow. I'm doing very well actually. Been keeping very busy and enjoying this wonderful life. Thanks for asking. How are you?

  Hi DB... I only got one email from you and I'm sorry for not responding. Things have been crazy busy. I hope you're doing well.

  Dubla! Hello! Please tell Simon hello for me. I miss talking to you both. I hope you're doing good. I will write a catch up note soon....

  Good to see you!
  Stacey
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  Lost Diamond

  Stacey,

  I have also read Awakening of a JW by Diane Wilson. I'll have to agree with ConnieLynn and say it's an easy read and quite accurate.

  I do feel, though, that she had a lot of personal problems connected to the trauma that she went through when she was younger. I believe this added to her frustration with the WTS...so some things she wrote about were a little too exaggerated for me. But, I did enjoy reading it.
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  Mulan

  I am nearly finished with this book, loaned to me by Mak and Sabine. It is great! I didn't have the trauma she did, and never had the great fear of Armageddon she experienced, but there was a certain fear I did have. I didn't feel God was that evil, so as to destroy people who were struggling to please him.

  I have to say her congregation must have been one of the strictest I've ever heard of, while ours was much more liberal, to say the least. Or maybe ours just didn't want to deal with difficult things. We sure never had the 'police' action her elders undertook.

  I suspect her memory is a bit tainted, but that is to be expected. She talks about a change in a couple of the books that we were never notified of, and she only learned them while conducting Bible studies, and the student had the newer version of a book. One of them, I remember clearly, we had a paragraph in the KM, to cut out and paste into our books, to correct an error. It was a big error, saying the sower was Satan and not Jesus. (a yellow book...........Man's Salvation, etc, etc.) The one from the Live Forever Book was also told to us, at our congregation. Again, maybe just differences in the elder body.

  All in all, it is a very easy read, and I am just sailing through it. Most of it rings very true.