Linda A. Curtis - Shunned: How I Lost My Religion and Found Myself

Praise for Shunned

What a pleasure to journey with Linda Curtis in her brave, captivating story of really growing up all the way. I read this book deep into the night and picked it up in the morning, unable to turn away from the unfolding adventure of a young woman determined to live a true life.

SHERRY RUTH ANDERSON, coauthor of The Feminine Face of God and The Cultural Creatives

You cant read Shunned without realizing that Lindas story is, writ large, the primal story of leaving home, in which you cant become yourself without betraying your family. A wonderful book that is about so much more than the Jehovahs Witnesses.

ADAIR LARA, longtime columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go

Shunned is a beautiful and moving account of discovery, awakening, and courage. Lindas candor, insight, and warmth are a gift.

MARC LESSER, author of Less: Accomplishing More By Doing Less

A profound, at times fascinating, personal transformation told with meticulous detail. The authors radical transformation from dogmatism to relativism and from timidity to self-assuranceunfolds gradually. Beyond providing an eye-opening look at her former religious community, this memoir subtly encourages readers to challenge childhood views in search of chosen beliefs.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

This memoir of faith, struggle and rebirth will have you on the edge of your seat. Its brilliant, respectful, insightful and most of all hopeful.

OPENLY BOOKISH

Lindas brilliant writing lights up the page. She speaks with great authenticity, insight, and candor. This book is a wonderful inspiration for anyone who has been trapped in religious dogma or constricted by social and family pressures. Her courageous journey beautifully illuminates the path to find ones freedom in the face of being shunned.

MARK COLEMAN, Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, author of Awake In The Wild

Shunned

Copyright 2018 by Linda Curtis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please address She Writes Press.

Published April 17, 2018
Printed in the United States of America
Print ISBN: 978-1-63152-328-1
E-ISBN: 978-1-63152-329-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017959980

For information, address:
She Writes Press
1563 Solano Ave #546
Berkeley, CA 94707

Interior design by Tabitha Lahr

She Writes Press is a division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC.

Names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals.

For my mother, Ruth, who nurtured my reverence for the Divine, and my father, Frank, who instilled in me an appreciation for the well-told story.

Jehovahs Witness: n. (1931): a member of a group that witness by distributing literature and by personal evangelism to beliefs in the theocratic rule of God, the sinfulness of organized religions and governments, and an imminent millennium.

Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition

I t started on a Saturday. The alarm blasted at 7:30 a.m., jolting my husband and me awake. He made the coffee as I laid claim to the first shower. We began our standard weekday routines: Grape-Nuts eaten over the kitchen sink, bed made, cats fed. Rosss off-key James Brown rendition of I Feeeeeeel Good! floated through the bathroom walls.

I pulled up the kitchen blinds to see another overcast Portland day, the sky familiar shades of gray. The brittle orange leaves of our maple tree clapped in the wind, urging me to rally. The folded chairs needed to be pulled from the closet and set in tidy rows in the living room, across from the couch, facing the television cabinet.

By nine oclock, we were ready. Ross went to the back office to organize his briefcase, preparing for the morning by reading and highlighting talking points from the latest issues of The Watchtower and Awake! magazines. I settled onto the couch, waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

Todd Sterling arrived first. He smiled at me as he let himself in through the front door, then removed his shoes and sat in his chair, the one I had set out in front, facing the others. He was wearing the standard Portland uniform: a tan trench coat. Todd was a longtime friend of the family and an elder in our congregation. Still trying to wake up, I didnt feel like making small talk and was grateful to Ross as he walked into the room, red hair damp from the shower, hand outstretched, making some good-natured joke about Todds tie.

Within five minutes, the rest of the Friends had arrived. Besides Todd, there was Hannah Thomas and her husband, Patrick. With shoulder-length salt-and-pepper hair, she had the warm, buttery eyes of a deeply caring person. As always, Patrick sat down on one of the outer chairs, shoulders hunched. The Schiller family came, too: Bob and Vivian, with their teenage daughter, Chloe, and ten-year-old son, Michael, wearing a bow tie just like his dad.

Todd led the meeting. First, we read the Daily Text, a spiritual thought for the day. Then Michael Schiller volunteered to read the Bible verse it was based on, a passage from Matthew: He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.

I unbuttoned the sleeves of my starched cotton shirt and rolled them up into neat cuffs at the elbow. I was having a hard time paying attention. Thoughts about my job were knocking around my mind like pinballs. That week I had interviewed eight candidates for our training staff and had narrowed the choices down to two people. We were in the middle of a rapid national expansion. Could I convince my boss to hire both, or would I have to choose between the two?

The meeting moved on to what the brothers and sisters would say at the doors, should we find a listening ear. The Watchtower Society provided weekly suggested talking points. This weeks topic was international peace and security, something people have longed for throughout time. We would acknowledge the complete failure of all human governments and man-made organizations to bring true and lasting peace. We would then point outusing our Biblesthat only Jehovah God could make it happen, empowering his reigning son, Christ Jesus, to bring a New System to our Earth. There were many prophecies pointing to now as the Last Days of this wicked world. Our preaching was a fulfillment of prophecy and an act of love for the people in our communities. Before God set up his righteous government on Earth, those not willing to bow to his divine sovereignty would be destroyed at Armageddon, the righteous theocratic battle that would precede the millennium. It was our Christian duty to warn our neighbors before it was too late.

After about twenty minutes, Todd concluded the meeting with a prayer. We all stood and bowed our heads as he gave thanks to Jehovah, requested forgiveness for our sins, and asked that we be guided to the humble and openhearted people in the community. We are honored to be used by you, Dear God, to help separate the sheep from the goats. And please, Father, protect us from Satan, who walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.