Apparently the most exhaustive list of English-language exJW books (primarily memoirs) published this millenium

by Corney 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • Corney
    Corney

    ...is found in a recent Journal of CESNUR article:

    1. Abrahams, Kyria. I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah’s Witness Upbringing. New York: Touchstone, 2009.

    2. Allen-Wilske, Brandi. The Invisible Jehovah’s Witness Girl: My Rise Above Life as a Witness. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace, 2014.

    3. Anderson, Barbara, with Richard E. Kelly. Barbara Anderson Uncensored: Eyewitness to Deceit: Discoveries of a Former Jehovah’s Witness Insider. Tucson, AZ: Parker Ridge Publishing, 2018.

    4. Brooks, Christine. Crazy Town: Growing Up a Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    5. Buitron, Steve. Blinded by the (New) Light: My Personal Journey from High School Dropout to Attorney. 2014. Kindle only.

    6. Burns, Jason. Born a Jehovah’s Witness, Book 1. 2019. Kindle edition only.

    7. Casarona, Keith. New Boy: Life and Death at the World Headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Sedona, AZ: the Author, 2019.

    8. Castro, Joy. Island of Bones: Essays. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 2012.

    9. Castro, Joy. Truth Book: Escaping a Childhood of Abuse Among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 2012.

    10. Clark, Daniel. I, Witness: The Shocking Insider’s Story of Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: Villa Press, 2015.

    11. Clarke, Gulfrey. Aquamarine Blues. Berne, Switz.: Cacoon Publishers, 2014.

    12. Coburn, William. The Spanking Room: A Child’s Eye View of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Enumclaw, WA: Winepress Publishing, 2008.

    13. Curtis, Linda A. Shunned: How I Lost my Religion and Found Myself. Berkeley, CA: She Writes Press, 2018.

    14. Daniels, Vincent. Holly Jolly Nothing. Detroit, MI: Tiny Word Books, 2016.

    15. Davies, Alexis. Toxic Faith: Yet Another Traumatic Tale of Leaving the Cult of Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    16. Dixon, Jean S. Thirty-Five Years a Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2019.

    17. Ellis, Beth. Bad Things in the Night. London: Ebury Press, 2010.

    18. Evans, Lloyd. The Reluctant Apostate: Leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses Comes at a Price. N.p.: JLE Publishing, 2017.

    19. Foreman, Joanna. The Know-it-all Girl: A Memoir by a Former Jehovah’s Witness. Corydon, IN: Per Basket Publications, 2013.

    20. Frye, Roald E. My Christian Quest from Jehovah’s Witness to Son of God. Christian Respondent, 2006.

    21. Hale, Christopher. Disfellowshipped! Forced Exile and Liberation: A True Story of Finding My Truth and Rebuilding Life After Being Disfellowshipped from Religion and Family. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    22. Harrison, Stacey. Breaking Free: A Poetic Journey of Healing. Seattle, WA: Amazon Services LLC, 2017. Kindle edition only.

    23. Hayes, Dwight E. Banished! From Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2011, 2017.

    24. Hayworth, Jenny. Inside/Outside: One Woman’s Recovery from Abuse and a Religious Cult. N.p.: the Author, 2014.

    25. Jackson, Robin. Losing the Faith. N.p.: the Author, 2011.

    26. Jennings, Charlotte. Confessions of an ex-Jehovah’s Witness. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2008.

    27. “Jezebel.” I Am Jezebel: A Former Jehovah’s Witness Breaks Her Silence. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    28. Jones, Shelley Smith. Petting Tigers: My Life as a Witness of Jehovah. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    29. Juel, Bo. The Least of God’s Priorities. N.p.: Exodus, 2015.

    30. Kelley, Diane. Satan’s World. Pittsburgh, PA: Dorrance Pub. Co., Inc., 2005.

    31. Kelly, Gail Sharpe. Beyond My Understanding: My Life During and After Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2019.

    32. Kelly, Richard E. Growing Up in Mama’s Club: A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Tucson, AZ: Parker Ridge Publishing, 2007.

    33. Kelly, Richard E. The Ghosts from Mama’s Club. Tucson, AZ: Parker Ridge Publishing, 2012.

    34. Kelly, Richard E. Mariuca and Marilyn: Saying Good-bye to Mama’s Club: Exploring the Effects of Undue Influence. Tucson, AZ: Parker Ridge Publishing, 2015.

    35. Lee, Brenda. Out of the Cocoon: A Young Woman’s Courageous Flight from the Grip of a Religious Cult. Bandon, OR: Robert Reed Publ., 2010.

    36. Love, Valerie. Confessions of a Christian Witch: How an Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Lives Magickal & How You Can Too! N.p.: the Author, 2020.

    37. Mac, Ritchie. Holy Terror in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Watchtower. N.p.: Freedom Underground, 2015.

    38. McDaniel, Debbie L. Out with Consequences: A Journey out of Jehovah’s Witnesses. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.

    39. McGinley, A. Attic Alone: An Ex-Jehovah’s Witness Finds the Church. New York: iUniverse, 2010.

    40. McMillin, Jill. Freewill: A Memoir. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    41. McRoberts, Steve M. Falling in Truth: The Education of a Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2014.

    42. Mallory, Rebekah. Train Gone: A Coda Ex-Jw Memoir. N.p.: Unkind Press, 2020.

    43. Marsh, Barry Grant. Witness Tampering: My Story of Coming to Christ Out of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019.

    44. Matthews, Charlie. Mental Man: How Love Saved Me from the Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2014.

    45. Michaels, Jennifer E. What is Love? My Question…God’s Answer. N.p.: JEM Publishing, 2012.

    46. Miller, Alan. Fade from the Truth: A Tale of Learning then Unlearning the Beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2012.

    47. Moore, Zan. Alarmageddon!: Growing Up Gay And Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2012.

    48. Muir, S.P. From a Witness to Faith. N.p.: the Author, 2021.

    49. Murphy, Ron, and Mary Murphy. Held Captive by Religious Belief: A HeartWrenching Account of Two Kids Forced to Grow Up as Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Authors, 2014.

    50. Omega, Alpha. Confessions and Obsessions of a Teenage Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2019.

    51. Peterson, Brenda. Letting Go: Creating an Exceptional Life After Leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses. Victoria, BC: Friesen Press, 2020.

    52. Rippen, Peter John. Farewell to Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2014. [Note: a novel.]

    53. Rodriguez, Orlando. When Dinosaurs Fall: The Age of Extinction of Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2020.

    54. Royal, Refkije. Ravening Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: The Governing Body of the Watchtower Organization. N.p.: Xulon Press, 2020.

    55. Scorah, Amber. Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life. New York: Penguin Books, 2020.

    56. Sheridan, G.L. Let us Prey: The Life of a Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2016. [Note: “This is a fictional account based on real events…”]

    57. Smith, Michelinda. More Than I Can Chew: Stories from an Ex Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2017.

    58. Sterling, Lynita. Free from the Bondage of “the Watchtower”: From An X-Witness Perspective. North Charleston, SC: Create Space, 2012.

    59. Swan, Olly. Walk Through My Life! 2011. Kindle edition only.

    60. Talon, Brock. Escape from Paradise: Leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watch Tower After Thirty-Five Years of Lost Dreams. N.p.: Brock Talon Enterprises, 2015.

    61. Talon, Brock. Journey to God’s House: An Inside Story of Life at the World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the 1980s. N.p.: Brock Talon Enterprises, 2013.

    62. Terry, Scott. Cowboys, Armageddon, and the Truth: How a Gay Child Was Saved from Religion. Maple Shade, NJ: Lethe Press, 2012, 2017.

    63. Thomas, Nicole E. The Journey of My Life: Growing up a Jehovah Witness. N.p.: the Author, 2021.

    64. Thornlow, Brenda. My Short-Lived Life at Being Perfect. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.

    65. Townsend, Jason. Worldly: How NOT to Escape A Cult. N.p.: the Author, 2018.

    66. Trudrung, David. Memoirs of a Jehovah’s Witness Drag Queen from Fresno. N.p.: the Author, 2013.

    67. Webster, Jillian. Scared to Life: A Memoir. N.p.: the Author, 2015.

    68. White, Gail Theresa. Expert Witness: Testimony of a Former 4th Generation Jehovah’s Witness. N.p.: GTW Publishing, 2019.

    69. Williams, Gregory. My Life as a Jehovah’s Witness: “Used Abused and Forgotten.” The True Story of a Former JW. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2019.

    70. Wilson, Diane. Awakening of a Jehovah’s Witness: Escape from the Watchtower Society. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2002.

    71. Wilson, Juanita. But Now I See—A Thirst for Truth About The Truth. 2009. Kindle edition only.

    72. Young, E.W. Now A True Witness for Jehovah. Kilmarnock, Scotland: John Ritchie Ltd., 2013.

    73. Zieman, Bonnie. Fading Out of the JW Cult: A Memoir. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.

    74. Zimmerman, James. Deliverance at Hand! The Redemption of a Devout Jehovah’s Witness. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN: Freethought House, 2013.

    Secondary

    1. Beverley, James A. Crisis of Allegiance: A Study of Dissent Among Jehovah’s Witnesses. N.p.: the Author, 2021. Re: the case of James Penton.

    2. Losing My Way Finding My Soul: My Journey to Freedom from the Jehovah’s Witness Religion Journal Notebook. N.p.: One Day at a Time Press, 2020. Note: a blank book.

  • careful
    careful

    There is no doubt about it: more people than ever who leave are writing about it. It's likely due to all the social media now where birds of a feather can flock together, share ideas and experiences, and stimulate each other to write.

  • arwen
    arwen

    I’ve read a few of these books. All good

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    I think they are all memoirs. General books would be a much longer list.

    I wonder if there is any other religious group that has as many ex member books about them as JWs. There are probably not as many memoirs by former Moonies or Scientologist or Mennonites because they are smaller groups, or other fundamentalists because they are either too small or not as extreme as JWs. There are a lot of ex Mormon biographies, but even there, I doubt as many as JWs. Possibly there are more ex Catholic books, if we count those, and depending how we define the genre, and how far back we go.

  • Corney
    Corney

    The article lists nearly 40 books written by former members of polygamous Mormon groups, nearly three dozens of ex-Scientologists' biographies, and only 11 ex-LDS memoirs. It's interesting how the first two groups are grossly overrepresented, while the latter one is underrepresented (assuming the list is pretty exhaustive).

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    Punk's book is not on there.

  • Bangalore
    Bangalore

    Terry's book is not mentioned either.

  • Corney
    Corney

    Let's fix that:

    Jackson, Paul G. Millions Now Living: Interviews with ones associated with Jehovah's Witnesses and more. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015.

    Walstrom, Terry E. I Wept by the Rivers of Babylon: A Prisoner of Conscience in a Time of War. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013.

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    Another one from the forum: I Was a Teenage Jehovah’s Witness by Nate Merrit, Moon Temple Press, 2006.

  • stan livedeath
    stan livedeath

    er..Raymond Franz' masterpiece ?

Share this

Google+
Pinterest
Reddit