Great "Guardian"Article from XJW Author Jodie Chapman !
by Phizzy 4 Replies latest jw friends
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BluesBrother
I have read a lot of these accounts of celebrities telling of their terrible childhood in the JW , eg. Rebekah Vardy , and I have struggled to recognise the organisation that I know and grew up in. However, this account you must admit tells it the way it is .
I see nothing here that is untrue. It is just stated bluntly and without the Watchtower gloss. Yes , this girl is right .
I read Orwell too but after I had awoken and the similarities were obvious.
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Phizzy
Jodie it seems is a different character than the likes of the JW Bashing XJW's. She was obviously a full on believer to a great extent, and seems to have empathy and respect for those still trapped in the Org.
Jodie's Books are good, obviously based upon the J.W's but they are not named. The dedication in the second Novel says (from memory) "I have changed the name of the religion in this Book, out of respect for my mother, I have written the Story out of respect for me".
The first Novel, "Another Life" showed me a lot about the nature of Love. the second "Oh Sister" was interesting to me, as it follows the lives of some of the characters from the first one, after they have left the religion. I identified with a lot of their emotions.
Jodie is working on her third Novel I believe.
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TonusOH
I read 1984 when I was in high school, so right around 1984. Now that I think about it, that might have been why they asked us to read it. The USA was in the midst of the Reagan years (he would win a massive landslide victory in 1984) and the book fit comfortably into the anti-USSR feelings that America was fully immersed in as the cold war lurched towards its unexpectedly sudden conclusion.
But I didn't link it to the WTS or JWs, since I was 100% in as a young man. Even when I read it again, years later, I did not notice the parallels. It was so firmly entrenched in my mind as an anti-socialist/anti-communist book that I couldn't see it in any other context. The grip that a cult can have on a person is mind-blowing, in hindsight.
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Phizzy
1984 is an anti-totalitarian Book, not anti socialist. Orwell is showing how easy it is for States to become Totalitarian, and how difficult it is for individuals to resist and oppose, and for groups to do so. No doubt in the forefront of his mind was the rise of Fascism.
It is a timely reminder in the Era of Trump and similar figures.
I too did not "get" a lot of what I read as a young man, being indoctrinated and Mind Controlled by the J.W org. from birth. It is a constant regret for me, much of what I read should have made my awakening happen much earlier in life, but Mind Control is so very strong, insidious and downright Evil.
Jodie's Books show clearly the effect of Mind Control at work on her characters before they break free.