According to some, my book proves the Jehovah's Witnesses right. I showed that when you leave the religion, you become a miserable drug-addicted Satanic whore.
The truth (not that it matters) is this: I'm sober, Buddhist-y, working for a non-profit in the coolest gosh-damn city in the whole world, and happily single. Like most miserable heathens, I spend my free time taking photos, going to the gym, or having dinner with friends (all of whom are warlocks and thieves).
Most importantly, I spent three years diligently writing and publishing a book, which has been the most fulfilling and amazing experience of my life.
This is what happens to you when you leave the Jehovah's Witnesses: you take up photography and creative writing and eat a lot of Thai food. Sometimes I listen to audiobooks. Satan clearly has me in his clutches.
If you are raised as a Jehovah's Witness, when you leave the organization, you will be a naive retard. There's no way around it. You will screw up your life for a little while, because no one taught you how to live in the real world. You will need to learn by making mistakes.
If the Jehovah's Witnesses want to use unavoidable growing pains as proof of the voracity of their religion, I can't stop them. That's like pretending your muscles don't ache when you first start working out.
The Jehovah's Witnesses twist everything to fit their own world view, and they will twist this, too. That is to say: I disagee. What happened to me at the end of the book isn't proving them right because they don't allow themselves to be proven wrong. That's why I don't argue with Jehovah's Witnesses. Debating them only bolsters their narcissistic view of themselves as solitary martyrs.
According to the video below, however, I'm Perfect, You're Doomed is "The greatest book ever written". Damn. Um, thank you!? It isn't, but thank you.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
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8 comments:
"veracity". The word you wanted, I think, is "the veracity of their religion" otherwise you're saying the religion wants to eat a lot.
Which could work too. ;)
Your photocomments cracked me up (especially the one about chips in small bags) and I'd love to read your book sometime. I'll look around for it.
Take care :c) -- Gabrielle
I was attracted by the cover because it reminded me of all those demented idyllic yet sadistic illustrations I remember so well from the 60's, 70's and 80's. Like Norman Rockwell, the propaganda artwork of the JW's has a very unique signature and look one can spot from 100 feet away. Well, maybe only 85...
The book was great BTW - truthful, funny, definitely sad in many places. Next time I find myself becoming excessively happy, I'll just crack that story open again.
The end clearly doesn't prove JW's right - it just proves that we're all human. We live, breathe, love, laugh, hurt and make mistakes. The mistakes aren't all that bad though. They can be exciting, and of course how else would we learn?
Thanks for sharing a piece of your heart and soul with us Kyria. It couldn't have been easy, but I'm glad you did anyway...
Chris Coleman
Moorpark
I find it a little strange that JWs have gotten so upset with your book. Really, you don't attack any JW doctrines in your book. You mention some. You mention how some of these beliefs made your life difficult. However, your book wasn't really an attack on JWs. It was simply your experience.
You are correct, however, in stating that you really can't get into discussions with JWs. They are convinced that they are perfect and we are doomed. Even when I show that Biblically there are issues with their teachings, they simply fall back into the "well, the Society says that isn't the case."
In regards to your book, I understand how some people are frustrated with the ending, but it is a true story. Life is open-ended. Perhaps you can write an epilogue for the paperback.
Yeah, I love the cover, too. I was so happy when I saw it, mainly because everyone told me: "Get ready, your cover art is gonna suck."
When I saw it, I was like "Wait... does this suck? Because it doesn't SEEM to suck!"
I agree that mistakes aren't all bad. In my life, they've rarely been useless. At the worst, I learn not to do something twice!
And isn't that the definition of insanity? Carrying out the same actions but expecting a different result? :)
Paul... It's an ex-JW's who is upset with the book, actually. The JW's, for the most part, have kept their mouths shut!
And, yes... veracity. Whoops!
When I first left the organization, my life was a wreck. I got involved with the wrong crowd and before you know it I was turning tricks for crack money. Boy, were those crazy days. I had hit bottom and I realized that my life was in complete chaos. Recognizing the error of my ways, I went back home and opened up my old pioneer service planner and started sobbing as I wrote, the tears staining the pages... blurring what I had just written. I knew the things I had learned as one of Jehovah's Witness were so valuable and I just threw them away when I left. I was determined to regain my life and put the things I had learned into practice once again. Then tears of pain gave way to tears of joy! The things that I had learned... they were still with me! All I had to do was let them back into my life. So I took that service planner and I put it back to work. I was determined to use that planner to chart my way to the real life. Now, I never miss a date with a trick... and the detailed records about people, which I'd learned to keep out in service, have been very useful in reaching the hearts of the previous week's customers as they reach for their wallet when I make my return blackmail visits on rainy weekday mornings.
So never let anyone tell you that all of the things you learned as one of Jehovah's Witnesses are useless! That kind of talk that tears down is just what Satan and his demons want you to believe!
You absolutely rule.
I like the cover as well. It repeats one of the recurring themes in Watchtower artwork: happy people smiling away while billions of people are killed behind them. The cover really says it all.
kyria,
I know witnesses must love thinking that everyone who falls out of the "truth" is so very sad, lost... and drug addled! But amazingly enough, I am as relatively unscathed as you can get! i have a lovely family, a great job, and create super pagan art that sells like hotcakes! I have a fantastic network of creative friends, and wouldn't trade it for anything! Even a fake paradise earth that was supposed to have come a long time ago!!
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