I was contemplating the idea of listing and reviewing the books that I read on here. I love to read, always have since I learned how to read. However, since the occurrence of high school and college, there were a few years where a book was the last thing I wanted to set my eyes on. When that finally lifted, I found that it was just a pain in the butt to get to any Manhattan Public Library location. The nearest location to me is out of the way and I could never manage to get myself there without my books being overdue. (Getting there involves taking a train uptown, then switching onto a different train to travel back downtown and other bullshit that just makes the whole process miserable.) I might as well just buy my books, since I'm spending money on library fines. With that resolution, I realized that I have to have money to buy books in the first place (because I earn so much money as a "starving artist" [sarcasm]). Therefore, I don't read as much as I'd like. However, this blog has thus far, proven to be a great way to kill my time in my cushy (and relatively predictable) job as a receptionist, waiting for each day before I move to pass. So why not write about books?
Before I continue, I just want to put out there that I welcome all and any kind of book recommendations! Er ... well almost any kind of recommendations. Not many people would recommend theology that analyzes the roots of Christianity or early civilization - that's distinctly an honor that is to be bestowed upon my Dad. Who reads that kind of dry stuff for fun and relaxation?!? Especially when they're not going to write a thesis or dissertation?!? The alien creature who claims to be my father, apparently. But yes, discussions, suggestions, civil disagreements - all welcome!
That said:
Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres. (I know I'm supposed to underline books, but for some reason, blogspot doesn't allow text to be underlined. Bizarre.) My friend, Mia recommended this book to me and I finished it in 2 days! I could not put it down. Scheeres wrote this memoir based on the close relationship she had with her adopted black brother and what it was like growing up as adolescents in a suffocatingly Calvinist family, in the racist mid-West of the late 1970's - early 1980's. She covers the guilt she experienced at the privileges of being white, to the obstacles that are commonly plagued by the average American teenager. Her tale continues as her parents send both her and her brother to the religious reform school, Escuela Caribe, located in the Dominican Republic. As she recounts the harrowing experience she had at the hands of an abusive and under-trained staff, one cannot ignore the flames of hope throughout every page. Even through the ruthlessness of struggling to survive, she and her brother never forget about freedom just beyond the cement walls of their prison, and the faith and hope that some day they'll fit in to the loving family that they never had.
Scheeres' memoir is not the most uplifting story of human survival, but it is definitely a far cry from depressing. The one thing that I marvel at is the juxtaposition of man's ability for distortion and torture, and the robust faith of human nature that things can get better, even in the worst of times.
Julia Scheeres has her own website if you'd like to find out more about her, and her campaign against abusive religious reform schools. I'd recommend poking around after you read the book because the site definitely gives you a little more of the closure that you're craving after you're done.
Thanks for the recommendation, Mia!
