Jesus Land: A Memoir Summary and Reviews

Jesus Land: A Memoir
by Julia Scheeres

Jesus Land: A Memoir
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Book Summary Information

Author: Julia Scheeres
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-01
ISBN: 1582433542
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Counterpoint

Book Reviews of Jesus Land: A Memoir

Book Review: Where broken hearts live.
Summary: 5 Stars

This is quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read. After finishing it, I wanted to start it all over again. From the very beginning, you feel this heaviness- this sadness- over the whole story like a thick winter fog. Julia Scheeres' sort of dry, matter-of-fact telling of her childhood with her adopted black brother makes you think she might not care all that much about his predicament in the home of Julia and her fundamentalist Christian parents, but she does care, more than anyone knows. Her brother David is such a sad, sad character it makes my heart ache just thinking about him. He had such a sweet soul, and all he wanted was to be loved in a family (sounds trite, but it wasn't). Another brother is a bit player, and even though he impacted Julia's life in reviling ways, it's David who leaves his mark on her heart. The mother character belies the true nature of her persona. She may think she's a wonderfully giving Christian person, but she's just an evil witch. The book is not capricious like Running With Scissors, nor does it evoke images of grungy little Dickensian children like in The Glass Castle. It just plainly states what happened in a seemingly "normal" (on the outside) family, but what not so subtle influences can destroy the hearts and minds of young people. Jesus Land touches on so many issues: Christianity; prejudice; teen angst; bad parenting; and the list goes on. This book definitely lays out full bore for us what our lives really are- a complex juxtaposition of many issues- even though it may want to be about living in a fundamentalist Christian home or having an adopted brother, it won't let itself be just about one thing. The ending leaves you pervasively saddened and feeling exhausted by the inequities of life.

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