18
Book Reviews
Leaving the Witness:
Exiting a Religion and
Finding a Life
By Amber Scorah
Viking (Penguin Random House), New York, NY. 2019. ISBN-
10: 0735222541 $15.49 hardcover $14.99 Kindle (Amazon.com).
ISBN-13: 978-0735222540 288 pages.
Reviewed by Doug Duncan
One of the best ways to learn about and understand cultic
groups is by reading the stories of those who have left those
groups. An excellent example of such a story is Leaving the
Witness…, by Amber Scorah, in which she chronicles her life,
departure, and early recovery from her time as a Jehovah’s
Witness (JW).
Scorah and her husband were missionaries for the JW’s in the
city of Shanghai, inside communist China. She opens the book
with a description of some of her first impressions upon her
arrival inside this strange (to her) culture. Then, she skillfully
weaves her story back and forth, telling about her background
and how she grew up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) in
Vancouver, Canada, in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic
father.
Scorah does well as a Canadian ex-patriate living in China
because she becomes skilled in the language—perhaps even
more so than her husband and some of the other JWs living
there. She eventually has a podcast for English speakers who
are trying to learn the Chinese language and culture, but that
comes later in her time there. One suspects that Scorah’s natural
intelligence and curiosity have helped her along this path,
though she has little formal education, and she is probably
not even aware of how gifted she is. However, it is clear to any
reader of this well-written book that she is quite talented.
In the process of telling her story, Scorah has some interesting
reflections on how, as a JW, she was an outsider in her own
culture back in Canada, and how that standing relates to being
a Westerner living in China. Because their missionary activity in
China is illegal, the JWs there have to keep a very low profile.
Thus, they are not able to meet as often as they would in a
free country such as the United States or Canada, and that has
the ironic effect of loosening the level of control Scorah was
subjected to by the JWs. That circumstance left her with more
time to think and reflect about what she was doing there and
why. As she started to consider her life and mission in China,
the author began to question why God would have ignored a
people such as the Chinese, who have a history extending back
thousands of years with a culture, philosophy, and profound
religious thinking that rival those of the West.
Late in her time in-country, Scorah develops a transocean
email relationship with an American man, which affords her
an opportunity to begin to explore her doubts and misgivings
about her life and beliefs in the Witnesses. They have to be
careful in what they say because they assume their emails are
being monitored by the Chinese government so they come
up with euphemisms so they do not have to use words such as
Jehovah or Bible. I found Scorah’s descriptions of her life at this
time to be very interesting—and relatable for those of us who
have been through similar experiences in the process of leaving
cults—because, while she is busy exploring her doubts about
her faith and the loveless marriage in which she was trapped,
she is still teaching the Bible to several Chinese nationals and
indoctrinating them into the JWs.
Inevitably, her life eventually blows up as she decides to leave
the Witnesses, and she and her husband split. Of course, all
of her Witness friends shun her, and she is left all alone in a
foreign country. Nevertheless, she manages to survive and after
another year in China, she moves to the United States.
She well describes her struggles entering a culture that she was
estranged from, both by distance while she lived in China the
previous few years, and also by being part of an insular cultic
subculture for her entire life. She takes up residence in New York
City, where some incredibly sad and tragic things happen to
her. But the book is ultimately a tale about the triumph of the
human spirit, the inspiring tale of one courageous woman who
manages to overcome tremendous odds to embrace a life of
freedom. I enthusiastically recommend it, not just to former JWs,
but to former members of other cultic groups, as well. n
About the Reviewer
Doug Duncan, MS, LPC, was a member of an
aberrant religious group for more than twenty
years. After defying the cult leader and marrying
Wendy, they eventually left the cult and Doug
began the task of rebuilding his life. He enrolled
in a master’s program in counseling and earned a
degree and license to practice therapy. After working on their cult
recovery issues by reading all the available cult literature, attending
conferences, and becoming involved with ICSA, Doug and Wendy
started a ministry to increase others’ awareness and understanding
of cults. They are frequent presenters at churches, civic groups,
and conferences, and also facilitators of a support group for former
members of cults and high-demand groups. Additionally, Doug
offers individual counseling to former members. n
...the book is ultimately
a tale about the triumph of
the human spirit...
ICSA TODAY
I Will Disentangle Myself
… and Leave
By Bob Williston
LitFire Publishing, Atlanta, GA. 2018. ISBN-13: 978-1641514255
ISBN-10: 1641514256 $36.25 hardcover $16.76 paperback
(Amazon.com). 345 pages.
Reviewed by Joe Szimhart
In his introduction to I Will Disentangle Myself…, Bob Williston
lets us know that he is not writing a scholarly account rather,
his intent is to honestly clarify his defection from a relatively
obscure new religious movement when he “lost” his faith at
age 56 after four decades of devotion. The author has been
a teacher and a historian, so he was fully capable of writing
a scholarly account—indeed, he dips deep into scholarship
in later chapters—but he opts for reflection and self-analysis,
much like a diarist. The early chapters explore the intimate
interactions he and his family experienced with his religious
group that led to his decision to challenge the leadership
and risk excommunication. His story reads more like a careful
conversation at the kitchen table than a polished lecture.
Williston defected from a fundamentalist style of Christianity
variously known as “the Tramps,” Go-Preachers, Two-By-Twos, the
Truth, the Cooneyites, the Workers, and the Friends. His former
group claims to continue the true, primitive fellowship that Jesus
and his Apostles set in motion 2,000 years ago. Scotsman William
Irvine founded the Truth around 1897, after he had a born-again
experience in 1895 listening to a Presbyterian preacher, Rev.
John McNeill. Irvine joined Faith Mission in 1895 but got kicked
out for not properly following its disciplines. Irvine was inspired
by Matthew, Chapter 10 in the Gospel to restore true Christianity
by sending his converts two-by-two and without funds to spread
his new message. His converts were known as Friends, while
leaders were Workers. Friends and Workers held Truth meetings
in their homes. In line with most Fundamentalist denominations,
Irvine taught that “learning could prove a hindrance to truth”
(p. 128).
Wealth came into the movement through Irvine’s exhortation
for converts to sell everything they owned to be preachers
or Workers. The Friends were expected to support the
Workers. Managing money proved to be as problematic as
it would be in any church or cult. Factions developed over
subtle doctrinal conflicts early in the movement, with Eddie
Cooney’s followers forming one branch around 1928 thus, the
Cooneyites. Although the movement eschewed a priesthood
19 VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 1 |2020
Book Reviews
Leaving the Witness:
Exiting a Religion and
Finding a Life
By Amber Scorah
Viking (Penguin Random House), New York, NY. 2019. ISBN-
10: 0735222541 $15.49 hardcover $14.99 Kindle (Amazon.com).
ISBN-13: 978-0735222540 288 pages.
Reviewed by Doug Duncan
One of the best ways to learn about and understand cultic
groups is by reading the stories of those who have left those
groups. An excellent example of such a story is Leaving the
Witness…, by Amber Scorah, in which she chronicles her life,
departure, and early recovery from her time as a Jehovah’s
Witness (JW).
Scorah and her husband were missionaries for the JW’s in the
city of Shanghai, inside communist China. She opens the book
with a description of some of her first impressions upon her
arrival inside this strange (to her) culture. Then, she skillfully
weaves her story back and forth, telling about her background
and how she grew up in the Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) in
Vancouver, Canada, in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic
father.
Scorah does well as a Canadian ex-patriate living in China
because she becomes skilled in the language—perhaps even
more so than her husband and some of the other JWs living
there. She eventually has a podcast for English speakers who
are trying to learn the Chinese language and culture, but that
comes later in her time there. One suspects that Scorah’s natural
intelligence and curiosity have helped her along this path,
though she has little formal education, and she is probably
not even aware of how gifted she is. However, it is clear to any
reader of this well-written book that she is quite talented.
In the process of telling her story, Scorah has some interesting
reflections on how, as a JW, she was an outsider in her own
culture back in Canada, and how that standing relates to being
a Westerner living in China. Because their missionary activity in
China is illegal, the JWs there have to keep a very low profile.
Thus, they are not able to meet as often as they would in a
free country such as the United States or Canada, and that has
the ironic effect of loosening the level of control Scorah was
subjected to by the JWs. That circumstance left her with more
time to think and reflect about what she was doing there and
why. As she started to consider her life and mission in China,
the author began to question why God would have ignored a
people such as the Chinese, who have a history extending back
thousands of years with a culture, philosophy, and profound
religious thinking that rival those of the West.
Late in her time in-country, Scorah develops a transocean
email relationship with an American man, which affords her
an opportunity to begin to explore her doubts and misgivings
about her life and beliefs in the Witnesses. They have to be
careful in what they say because they assume their emails are
being monitored by the Chinese government so they come
up with euphemisms so they do not have to use words such as
Jehovah or Bible. I found Scorah’s descriptions of her life at this
time to be very interesting—and relatable for those of us who
have been through similar experiences in the process of leaving
cults—because, while she is busy exploring her doubts about
her faith and the loveless marriage in which she was trapped,
she is still teaching the Bible to several Chinese nationals and
indoctrinating them into the JWs.
Inevitably, her life eventually blows up as she decides to leave
the Witnesses, and she and her husband split. Of course, all
of her Witness friends shun her, and she is left all alone in a
foreign country. Nevertheless, she manages to survive and after
another year in China, she moves to the United States.
She well describes her struggles entering a culture that she was
estranged from, both by distance while she lived in China the
previous few years, and also by being part of an insular cultic
subculture for her entire life. She takes up residence in New York
City, where some incredibly sad and tragic things happen to
her. But the book is ultimately a tale about the triumph of the
human spirit, the inspiring tale of one courageous woman who
manages to overcome tremendous odds to embrace a life of
freedom. I enthusiastically recommend it, not just to former JWs,
but to former members of other cultic groups, as well. n
About the Reviewer
Doug Duncan, MS, LPC, was a member of an
aberrant religious group for more than twenty
years. After defying the cult leader and marrying
Wendy, they eventually left the cult and Doug
began the task of rebuilding his life. He enrolled
in a master’s program in counseling and earned a
degree and license to practice therapy. After working on their cult
recovery issues by reading all the available cult literature, attending
conferences, and becoming involved with ICSA, Doug and Wendy
started a ministry to increase others’ awareness and understanding
of cults. They are frequent presenters at churches, civic groups,
and conferences, and also facilitators of a support group for former
members of cults and high-demand groups. Additionally, Doug
offers individual counseling to former members. n
...the book is ultimately
a tale about the triumph of
the human spirit...
ICSA TODAY
I Will Disentangle Myself
… and Leave
By Bob Williston
LitFire Publishing, Atlanta, GA. 2018. ISBN-13: 978-1641514255
ISBN-10: 1641514256 $36.25 hardcover $16.76 paperback
(Amazon.com). 345 pages.
Reviewed by Joe Szimhart
In his introduction to I Will Disentangle Myself…, Bob Williston
lets us know that he is not writing a scholarly account rather,
his intent is to honestly clarify his defection from a relatively
obscure new religious movement when he “lost” his faith at
age 56 after four decades of devotion. The author has been
a teacher and a historian, so he was fully capable of writing
a scholarly account—indeed, he dips deep into scholarship
in later chapters—but he opts for reflection and self-analysis,
much like a diarist. The early chapters explore the intimate
interactions he and his family experienced with his religious
group that led to his decision to challenge the leadership
and risk excommunication. His story reads more like a careful
conversation at the kitchen table than a polished lecture.
Williston defected from a fundamentalist style of Christianity
variously known as “the Tramps,” Go-Preachers, Two-By-Twos, the
Truth, the Cooneyites, the Workers, and the Friends. His former
group claims to continue the true, primitive fellowship that Jesus
and his Apostles set in motion 2,000 years ago. Scotsman William
Irvine founded the Truth around 1897, after he had a born-again
experience in 1895 listening to a Presbyterian preacher, Rev.
John McNeill. Irvine joined Faith Mission in 1895 but got kicked
out for not properly following its disciplines. Irvine was inspired
by Matthew, Chapter 10 in the Gospel to restore true Christianity
by sending his converts two-by-two and without funds to spread
his new message. His converts were known as Friends, while
leaders were Workers. Friends and Workers held Truth meetings
in their homes. In line with most Fundamentalist denominations,
Irvine taught that “learning could prove a hindrance to truth”
(p. 128).
Wealth came into the movement through Irvine’s exhortation
for converts to sell everything they owned to be preachers
or Workers. The Friends were expected to support the
Workers. Managing money proved to be as problematic as
it would be in any church or cult. Factions developed over
subtle doctrinal conflicts early in the movement, with Eddie
Cooney’s followers forming one branch around 1928 thus, the
Cooneyites. Although the movement eschewed a priesthood
19 VOLUME 11 |ISSUE 1 |2020
