What are some books to read

lilacia

I apologize because I know there must be information on the board in a thread somewhere, but I read

in another post about a book called the Crisis of Conscience that was a suggested read. Any other suggestions?

DevonMcBride

Hello and welcome to the board

There are quite a few books to read such as Diane Wilson's Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness www.dianewilson.net
and Steven Hassan's Releasing The Bond's www.freedomofmind.com.

Devon

garybuss

Welcome! There are lots but these two are on the top of my list after Crisis Of Conscience,

You can get them here,

http://www.freeminds.org/sales/menuframes.htm

DevonMcBride

Another good book is The Gentile Times Reconsidered which can also be purchased on Freeminds

Devon

Nathan Natas

Yes.

"Apocalypse Delayed: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses" by James Penton

also

"Visions of Glory" by Barbara G. Harrison. You can read this book for FREE online at:

http://www.exjws.net/vg.htm

Both CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE and APOCALYPSE DELAYED can be purchased from http://www.freeminds.org

Joyzabel

Here are the books I read while existing the WT. Help me get things in perspectice.

Fictional Books

The Red Tent

The Celestine Prophecy

Illusions

Have fun!

Joy

another place to order some is www.commentarypress.com

or there is a banner up above that you can click on and find another place to order them

PS Welcome to the board.

shotgun

The best first book to read is Steven Hassans...Releasing the Bonds...It prepares you to understand why you so adamently believed what you did and why your family still does..if that's the case.

Welcome to the forum

Lady Lee

Churches That Abuse By Enroth
Combatting Cult Mind Control By Steven Hassan
Healing Spiritual Abuse By Ken Blue
Recovering From Churches That Abuse Ronald Enroth
Subtle Power Of Spiritual Abuse By Johnson & Vanvonderen
Thirty Years a Watchtower Slave by W. J. Schnell
Captive Hearts, Captive Minds by Tobias, M.L., & Lalich, J.
Crisis of Conscience (3rd Ed.) by Franz, R.
In Search of Christian Freedom by Franz, R.
Moonwebs: Journey into the Mind of a Cult by Freed, J.
Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses by Botting, G. & Botting, H.
Awakening of a Jehovah's Witness by Diane Wilson (great for a female perspective)

Those are the books about spiritual abuse I have in my library. A few others about emotional abuse (and you may find it applies) are:

Emotional Blackmail by Forward, S.
Verbally Abusive Relationship By Patricia Evans
Adult Children Of Abusive Parents by Steven Farmer
Divorcing A Parent By Beverly Engel
My Parent?s Keeper By Eva Marian Brown
Soul Survivors By J. Patrick Gannon
Toxic Parents By Susan Forward

Many people find that they had parents who because of the JWs wound up being abusive and some see the organization itself as the toxic/abusive parent

Winston Smith :>D

My top two?

Ray Franz's :CoC

The other book that should be read IMO early as a JW exits the WTS is:

alt

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1573920061/qid=1080349923/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6774780-7263965?v=glance&s=books

I recommend that because an existing JW always wants to know:

"If this is the wrong GROUP, then which GROUP is right?

I know i sure did.

I wanted to trade one set of lock and stock answers for another predefined set of answers.

Groups are beneficial to an extent, but are like loaded guns:

...they can be the most dangerous of tools in the wrong hands, and the uneducated can be easily manipulated if they are not aware of group dynamics.

This goes not just for religions, but also for political parties, nationalistic ideals, race agendas, unions, etc..., you name it.

Don't jump out of the frying pan and into the fire of another dangerous group.

Learn to think for yourself, develop your AUTHENTIC INNER SELF and grow from the healthy tension that exists in one's life as you live your TRUE LIFE in-between group definitions and you become beyond catagorization. Don't let anyone slap a label on you.

When you become wholly part of a group and let it define who you are as a person,

...the group will then also define who your enemies are... before you even meet them.

Now go out there and enjoy YOUR LIFE

lilacia

Thank you all for your suggestions! I was never baptized, but raised as a JW until I was about 16 and then I had a conversation with my Dad about my future goals (college, freedom to choose my own beliefs). I had also shared with him that I had followed all his guidelines and had been raised without holidays and had grown up without having any special, childhood memories, no birthdays, no Christmas family togetherness. I did not feel ready at any time, to become baptized. Of course, he had been spoken to by the elders repeatedly, for my lack of moving forward. My folks and sister were all baptized. My mom eventually was DF for smoking. My sis therefore cut all ties with her. My Dad remarried a woman who was not a JW so then he faced DF but he, for reasons known to him, met with the elders and has long since gone to meetings and service and so forth. I am sure the fact that my sister would have cut ties with him too, at first, forced him to make a choice to make sure he did not give her a reason to stop talking to him. My sis and brother in law do have contact with me and have a good relationship with my children. My sis did not have children of her own becuase she did not want children in "this system". I do not discuss anything related to JW with her or my Dad, although he recently sent me a book "Learning From the Great teacher" for my kids or for me to read to them. I do not shoulder any responsibility to attempt to make them see any truth but the one they live their lives by. They are EXPERTS in countering anything anyone brings up. Those of who who are or were JW know that hours are spent in dealing with counter arguments and how to answer questions and biblical verse and so forth. Anytime in the past when I have asked a question, to attempt to get her to think in a different pattern, she used the older sister to younger sister approach and would say "I am not doing this with you". As far as my own feelings, I just NOW, over 15 years later, feel ready to explore my spirituality. Thnak you all for your reading suggestions and for your welcome.

What are some books to read

Fictional Books

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