book advice about the 'jw experience'

by cobweb 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  cobweb

  I'm looking for a book recommendation about the JW experience for the audience of a non-JW friend.

  Here is a scenario: You have recently left the JW religion and have made a friend who has little knowledge about your old religion. You would like them to understand more about you but at this point you feel awkward about explaining your religious background and don't feel confident that you can make them 'get it'. You decide you would like to give them a book that will do the grunt work of explaining it all; one that will give them a deeper insight into your former world than you feel able to provide, which will additionally explain why it is that you are now in the position you are, friendless, unsure of many things and adrift at an age where most people have got their life sorted.

  If someone were in this situation and needed such a book, what you recommend?
  
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  dubstepped

  Not to toot my own horn, but my new podcast " This JW Life" might help, and it's free to listen to. This weekend's episode is about what JWs teach, in fact, and my goal is to make my story understandable for an audience unfamiliar to JWs. Just a thought. It's not like you can give them CoC.
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  Wake Me Up Before You Jo-Ho

  I haven't read either, but have heard good things about "The Least of God's Priorities" by Bo Juel, and also I'm Perfect, You're Doomed by Kyria Abrahams. Both are said to be page-turners in their own right with autobiographical implications and make for a fascinating read (as opposed to the more analytical style found in Apocalypse Delayed by James Penton, for example, where there's much heavy information to wade through).
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  cobweb

  I'll check those out Wake me up. I think something with a narrative which has personal experience at the heart is going to work best for a non-JW, though i'm open to any suggestions. I agree about books such as Apocalypse Delayed and CoC. They're great books but neither seem quite suited to the purpose.

  Thanks also for the suggestion dubstepped. I'll give your podcast a listen. I would like a book ideally though if something appropriate exists.
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  OrphanCrow

  WakeMe: I'm Perfect, You're Doomed by Kyria Abrahams...

  I have never read her book either but I am a big fan of her youtube videos. This is Kyria discussing her book:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL8xVBWJLbw
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  krismalone

  "Out of the cocoon" is an excellent read. I forgot the authors name, but she wrote a very candid account of how it was like being raised by a JW mother that was a heavy kool aid drinker. Very touching life story. I highly recommend!
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  blasphemous.mouse

  Personally the less I explain the better because I don't want to be overly associated with them. I say, they're a cult, stay away, keep your friends away, the niceness is a front.

  Or as Monty Python so elegantly put it, "RUN AWAY RUN AWAY"