Saturday, December 16, 2006

A Book Review: Jesus Land

I just finished reading the book Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres. I was mesmerized by this book, completely unable to put it down. It was the intense and disturbing memoir of a woman who was raised in a mixed-race family in rural Indiana, and her terrible experience at an abusive, yet allegedly religiously-based reform school as a teenager. It disturbed me because it revealed prejudices which exist in our country currently which I thought we had moved on from in the 1960's. It is terribly sad, but definitely has a message and story that is worth reading. Be warned, it does not paint a pretty picture of religion, exposing how people can do terrible things to others and call it Christianity, and the scenarios are graphic at times. It certainly does not leave you with a warm-fuzzy feeling, but is a wonderful book all the same.

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