New book out

mouthy

"To Thine Own Self Be True" by Catherine DE Boer.
In it is the stories of two EX JW's.It cost's $106.00
But I believe you may get it from the Library...( or on Amazon

betterdaze

To Thine Own Self Be True: A Narrative Analysis of Social Group Disengagement and Associated Identity Implications

Product Description
Individuals who experience momentous shifts in self- understanding due to their disengagement from a social group (for example, a religious, cultural, professional, gender or sexual orientation group) can create or reclaim their identity through the telling of their stories. In this study sixteen stories of social group disengagement were collected and analysed. The study proceeded from the distinction made by social psychologists between personal identity, self-definitions derived from an understanding of one's self as unique, and social identity, self-definitions derived from an understanding of one's self as a member of social groups. Findings suggest disengagement is the product of mounting feelings of incongruence between one's personal and social identities, ultimately culminating in the privileging of personal over social identity. The results speak to the indomitable nature of the self to develop and the painful and destructive ramifications that occur when individuals live with high levels of incongruence between their personal and social identities. Guidelines for direct social work practice are presented.

About the Author
Dr. Catherine de Boer is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She is currently researching the implications of forced identity transitions, such as those predicated by unemployment, injury, and illness,and the ways in which a ?good ending? is storied and achieved.

mouthy

Thanks Betterdaze

Nathan Natas

At $106 each, I'm sure people will be lining up to buy a copy.

mouthy

I just recieved this from an ex JW

Hi Grace:

Thanks! Since I don't go on the JWN site (or whatever it's called), please
tell Apostate from Washington that the book's not overpriced in comparison
to other academic books. It's on par. It's not a romance novel. The market
for this kind of book is usually Universities with schools of Social Work,
or Anthropology or other Sociological courses. It will most likely be used
as a text book. It's not meant for light summer reading, so he should tone
down his/her sarcasm about the price. It takes YEARS of research to write
an academic book like this.

mouthy

OOPs I guess that was for you Nathan LOL

carla

I have to agree with Nathan here. 106.00 is a bit steep. A dedicated psychologist could come here and come to their own conclusions about the damaging effects of leaving this damn cult. "sixteen stories" meaning anecdotal, which of course is all we have to go by anyway. I found after years of researching many (anecdotal) stories all over the internet and you can find them for nearly every group. No offense to the writer but why are text books so outrageously priced anyway?

It really takes a minimum of research to find out how difficult it is to leave any one group once one researches the basic doctrines and unspoken rules as well. Then go ask the people who have left how it impacted their life. If it isn't a cult to begin with they will not have much to say, look to the cults to produce ptsd and various other emotional, physical and mental disorders.

"It's not a romance novel." ---"so he should tone
down his/her sarcasm about the price. " -- Hello pot, this is kettle...........

ziddina

Sounds interesting... As you suggested, Mouthy, Amazon might be a good source for a slightly cheaper book...

I am SOOOOO tempted.... If I can afford it. Maybe for Christmas...

Zid

Markfromcali

can create or reclaim their identity through the telling of their stories.

If you can create your identity then that is not who you are, (unless it's actually a subroutine in the old story) which implies you're not your story. Of course just telling someone this doesn't automatically allow them to have that perspective, but I only mention this because it's easy to get lost in the stories. It is of course tremendously valuable to know those narratives especially if you're going to work with people dealing with this kind of issue, but the very basic truth that you don't have to be enmeshed with any story, new or old can be completely missed.

New book out

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