Posts by Watchtower-Free

I finally managed to get a copy of the book, and I wasn’t disappointed as author Jennifer LoveGrove draws on her own experiences as a Jehovah’s Witness to create a rich and disturbing story.

LoveGrove, an Ontario- based writer, was raised as a Jehovah until she was 14 years old. In interviews, LoveGrove has said that the story is not autobiographical, but the setting is familiar to her. Jehovah’s Witnesses are tremendously insular and isolated, which is part of what makes this novel so intriguing.

Because of her experiences growing up within the Church, LoveGrove is able to provide the reader a glimpse into this strange and unfamiliar world. The book’s story revolves around a young Jehovah’s Witness named Emily. Emily has been raised within the Church and knows little else.

Her mother is a reluctant Jehovah, and her father aspires to rise through the ranks of the Church. Emily’s sister Lenora is a teenager, and she’s having her own difficulties with the religion. She becomes increasingly secretive and is spending time with “worldly” people; those not in the Church.

The story of Emily as a young girl is told in the third person. These sections contrast with other chapters of the book which told by a 20-something Emily in the first person. The older Emily is scarred and broken. The reader suspects that something happened to Emily when she was a child, but the secret is not revealed until later in the book.

The unique, non-linear structure of the book helps make the story more haunting and disturbing. By including the voice of the older Emily, LoveGrove is able to make the reader see just how the oppressive religion has affected Emily and her mental health. The juxtaposition of the two time periods makes the reader wonder what has happened in between, and what has led the young Emily to the fragile state she inhabits in her 20s.

LoveGrove is skilled at blending the details of life with the religious details. It is this blend that helps bring her novel to life. Her skills as a poet serve her well, and her use of language helps flesh out the story.

Watch How We Walk has drawn comparisons to the themes addressed in Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness. Both books have young narrators trapped in religious structures that are limiting and controlling. Through LoveGrove’s story, the reader learns more details about the religion and its beliefs and how oppressive religion can damaging. When members of the Church fail to follow the religious guidelines, they are excommunicated and set adrift. Family members are forced to pretend that their relatives no longer exist.

I knew that I was caught up in the story when I gasped out loud while reading it. When I finished the book, I felt satisfied and contemplative. I knew I’d been on a journey to an unfamiliar world. Watch How We Walk is dark, but the story LoveGrove shares illuminates a shadowed culture and offers readers a glimpse into a world that they would normally never get to see.

Questions or suggestions? Email me at [email protected]

23

XJW meets with 140 Jehovahs Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

xjw.

tracy metcalfe https://www.facebook.com/tracy.metcalfe.100?hc_location=streamof ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 on facebook.

started a letter writing campaign a few yrs ago to congregations.

Watchtower-Free

I just saw this on Facebook and passed it on .

Some of the critical questions about this I believe have merit .

As far as me being Terry . No . I'm white collar in appearance and very bald.

23

XJW meets with 140 Jehovahs Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

xjw.

tracy metcalfe https://www.facebook.com/tracy.metcalfe.100?hc_location=streamof ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 on facebook.

started a letter writing campaign a few yrs ago to congregations.

Watchtower-Free

http://tracymetcalfe.blogspot.fr/

23

XJW meets with 140 Jehovahs Witnesses

by Watchtower-Free in

xjw.

tracy metcalfe https://www.facebook.com/tracy.metcalfe.100?hc_location=streamof ex-jehovah's witness recovery group 3 on facebook.

started a letter writing campaign a few yrs ago to congregations.

Watchtower-Free

Update 11-26-2013 interview

Skype Interview: Tracy Metcalfe's Letter Writing Campaign And Activism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQjrsV9p2J0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

59

Letter I wrote to the person the caused me to be disfellowshipped

by jwfacts in

a thread on another forum reminded me of a letter i wrote to the person that went to the elders and started the proceedings to have me disfellowshipped.

i stopped believing in the religion when i was 25 but continued going for about ten years.

i finally started to fade at 35, but about 6 months after i had stopped going to meetings, a person wrote a letter to the elders about my website, which at the time was anonymous.

Watchtower-Free

Well done. Your website has helped myriads .

Now when a JW leaves a housholder that person goes right to the web .

Watchtower-Free

Posts by Watchtower-Free

"Apostate & Ex-Jehovalarious Meme Collection "https://www.facebook.com/groups/533379860036649/

Skype Interview: Tracy Metcalfe's Letter Writing Campaign And Activism

"Apostate & Ex-Jehovalarious Meme Collection "
https://www.facebook.com/groups/533379860036649/