WILL YOU kindly help me? (page 6)

Guest with Questions

Because I'm here for only a short time, someone else may have already asked the question. I would be intrigued to know why a person would become a witness in the first place. What was it that initially attracted you to this organization and what was your state, emotionally, spiritually and even physically prior to becoming interested? Were you on solid ground, were you looking for something, were you going through a traumatic experience, or like my mother, were you in a great need to connect to anyone that showed any interest in her, that someone would listen. The fact that witnesses came to the door may be irrellevant; that Mormons could just have easily shown up at that door that fateful day. Maybe these aren't the questions you had in mind. If so, sorry.

Nathan Natas

Terry, thanks for your candid replies to my questions. I now have a better grasp of this project, and I've got to tell you, this is an important IMPORTANT story! It is part of America's history and part of OUR generation.

You and I are very close in time. My experiences ran parallel to yours, up to and including the physical ("turn your head and cough") EXCEPT that I pioneered and my draft board gave me the ministerial deferment.

Many of our generation who served in Nam were fated not to return. Had we been drafted, we might have been among their number, but I think not. I know enough of your mind to expect that once you had taken the Army's skills and intelligence tests, doors would have opened for you and you might not have handled any weapon after your basic training was complete.

I hope when you tell your story you will meticulously detail the WATCHTOWER's policies and lies and also document the way those policies have changed so that today "alternative service" is acceptable.

Will you be going through LULU to publish, or through another publisher? Major publishing house, maybe? Whatever else you choose to do, I urge you to NOT publish as pdf unless you want to see your work stolen. 'Nuff said on that issue.

Let us know THE MINUTE this book is available to purchase.

Guest with Questions

Sorry, I misread. I thought you meant that the Org was your prison. Didn't realize that you actually spent some of your years in a Federal Correctional prison.

lonelysheep

Hi Terry,

Apologies if these have been addressed already:

When you were incarcerated, did any thought ever enter your mind that maybe there is no such thing as god?

What gave you the wisdom to only think on the inside rather than live in an illusion of outside thinking while in a correctional facility?

What kind of person do you speculate you would be today if your thinking at that time allowed you to see the realization that the jw's in your cong. were only living on the outside without compassion for those that were in?

sweetstuff

Everyone asked really great questions, not sure if this was specifically covered, but did you ever go back to the prison to visit anyone you did feel a friendship or connection with? I know when I read a book, I want to feel like I am right there, in that moment with that person. Feeling it, smelling it, experiencing it as thought I was there right along side you. I want to know how it felt, the minute they locked the door and you realized it was real, what the cell looked like smelled like, what was racing through your mind unsaid during your experiences in prison. And you are a hero in my books Terry, not because you went to prison, but for everything you have done since leaving it. Can't wait to read the book!

Terry

Good Cop/Bad Cop
It just dawned on me, that you would have had to go to war. With so many young men dying in this war, your chances of coming back in a body bag, was great. So in essence, the JW's saved your life. Please comment, and try not to be too loud.

Actually, that's not what the choice really was. Unknown to the majority of JW's, the actual legal provision under the U.S.Military Training and Service Act is to provide Conscientious Objectors alternate service.

I was actually sentenced to work in a local State Hospital. The elders in my congregation told me to REFUSE. So, what I had to refuse was not fighting and dying in Viet Nam at all. It was refusing to help people in a hospital !

JW's are amazed to hear me say this. But, the congregation overseer and the assistant made it abundantly clear that working in a hospital was viewed by the Society as a compromise of my Christian integrity.

Isn't that amazing?

JW's went to prison because they refused to help people as part of a legal alternative to military duty!

Terry

What I would like to know is did you realise it wasn't the truth while you were locked up if so you must have felt gutted and alone or did you realise some time after when you were let out?
The crazyiness of it all is that I bet no one in the Jdubs gave a fig about your stand especially once you started to question the big lie.

I was completely and utterly convinced that what I was doing was the best possible service I could render to Jehovah. In other words, I was a True Believer. My real dissonance began when 1975 turned into a non-event and my devout JW wife who was born into the religion started to come apart.

She realized something was very wrong when the elders pretended the Organization never said that 75 was going to be Armageddon.

We all knew that was a big lie and couldn't figure out why they were playing dumb.

That began the downhill slide.

You are right about nobody caring. When I got out there was a big zero by way of welcome.

What really irked me is when people referred to my stay in prison as "Going off to college."

The word had been spread that Seagoville was one big picnic.

How would any of them know? Nobody ever visited??

I was attacked while in prison and it left a lasting scar. I didn't talk about it to anybody back home. I can't imagine what they'd have said.

Probably, "What did you do to provoke the attack?"

I wanted to avoid that, if possible.

Terry

I will be looking forword to reading your work of 'fiction' for myself. In 1968 I was a young sister in So Cal. A brother was sentenced to prison for draft evasion and asked if I would write to him while incarcerated. I did agree but only on a brother / sister type basis. He began to write 'love' letters and preaching to me of our spiritual future toghter, like it was a done deal. His parents practically had us marrried the day he got out....yikes, I had to put a kabosh on it and they hate me to this day for dumping their boy.
sorry, I guess I should write my own book.
Did you write about any romantic interests your character may have had? Was there a 'girl back home'. Where you homesick?

The desperate feeling of being alone destroys your better judgement when you aren't allowed to be around the opposite sex day in and day out twenty-four/seven. I can understand how the brother who wrote to you began to go off his rocker. It is easy.

I do write about my romantic interests and the backstabbing of the brothers on the outside, too.

Terry

Because I'm here for only a short time, someone else may have already asked the question. I would be intrigued to know why a person would become a witness in the first place. What was it that initially attracted you to this organization and what was your state, emotionally, spiritually and even physically prior to becoming interested? Were you on solid ground, were you looking for something, were you going through a traumatic experience, or like my mother, were you in a great need to connect to anyone that showed any interest in her, that someone would listen. The fact that witnesses came to the door may be irrellevant; that Mormons could just have easily shown up at that door that fateful day. Maybe these aren't the questions you had in mind. If so, sorry.

In my case, it was boiling a frog.

You know what I mean, right?

My best friend was talking to me about the bible all the time. Eventually, he got me to go to a book study on Wednesday night. Then, to Friday night meetings. I met people who seemed to really care if I was around. Love-bombing. Nice "friends". The whole nine yards.

This gave me a social life. I went for that.

Eventually, I was attending all the meetings. It took me about seven years before I was pressured into Baptism. I was a so-so publisher when the Draft situation came along. The severity of the trial I was facing got me very serious about what I believed. It went from there.

Terry

I hope when you tell your story you will meticulously detail the WATCHTOWER's policies and lies and also document the way those policies have changed so that today "alternative service" is acceptable.
Will you be going through LULU to publish, or through another publisher? Major publishing house, maybe? Whatever else you choose to do, I urge you to NOT publish as pdf unless you want to see your work stolen. 'Nuff said on that issue.
Let us know THE MINUTE this book is available to purchase.

It is my intention to give a complete history of the Watchtower Society and not make it read like the phone book. I want to personalize the impact of the leaders on MY life. I'm the framing device (or, at least my protagonist).

I needed to dramatize it as a novel or else it would just be another rant and rave book by a disaffected apostate.

It has long been my intention to create an actual story about real people with plenty of detailed information. However, I vowed I would not quote a single scripture or quote (except paraphrasing) JW articles. That stops the story cold.

I think I managed to do most of what I set out to do.

My Plan A is to send the novel out to several mainstream legit publishers and wait for a reaction. If that fails completely to arouse interest I will probably set the book up on LULU with an ISBN and a price and have people purchase it through Amazon.

Any suggestions you might have are more than welcomed.

Thanks

WILL YOU kindly help me?

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